What Does Testicular Cancer Feel Like?

By: Rachel Mork

What does testicular cancer feel like? How can you know if you are experiencing concerning symptoms or if your symptoms are normal?

The sad truth is that it is difficult to distinguish between benign symptoms and testicular cancer symptoms. Sometimes your testicles may become sore. They might ache or feel heavy because you are sick. You might be feeling the effects of orgasm denial or they were damaged through something as innocent as a long bike ride. However, there are some reliable ways to determine if you need to see the doctor for a check or not.

Testicular cancer can feel different to different people because it manifests in several ways. It may start out as a persistent aching or heavy feeling in your scrotum. It can also manifest as a heavy ache in your lower abdomen, especially if you have an undescended testicle. Most commonly, it presents as a painless lump or painless smooth, round nodules in one or both testicles. Sometimes testicular cancer first appears as swollen testicles or one swollen testicle. Sometimes lumps are painful, but severe pain is unusual.

As testicular cancer progresses, other symptoms may manifest. The most common type of testicular cancer is germ cell cancer, a kind of cancer that starts in the cells that produce sperm. This kind of cancer can cause your body to produce a hormone referred to as HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin; this hormone may cause a man's breasts to enlarge and become tender. Leydig cell tumors originate in the cells that are responsible for manufacturing male sex hormones. This type of tumor can result in either an excess of androgens or estrogens. If testicular cancer is unmanaged, it will spread to other parts of the body in a process called metastasis. Usually this will produce lower back pain if the cancer cells have manifested in the abdomen and back. Spread to the lymph nodes is also a common secondary phase of testicular cancer, identifiable by enlarged, swollen and painful lymph nodes.

If you fear you have testicular cancer, you should see a doctor to get a diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.

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