So scared of testicular cancer! Please help!!

[Andy699]

Hi everyone!

Sorry but this is gonna be a long one. Please read! I'm so scared.

I'm only 19 but about 2 months ago, I saw a leaflet in a supermarket about testicular cancer. A few days after that, I had pain in my testicles and had a dull pain in my lower abdomen. I had a full blown panic attack. I was CONVINCED I had it.

The next day me and my friend went to the walk in centre (I had to ask my best friend I was so scared). Was sitting in the waiting room convinced I was going to die. When I saw the doctor he examined me and was really confused, he couldn't feel anything wrong with my testicles.

I was relieved but not for long, once I got home I was still convinced so booked to see my GP. He's been my family doctor all my life and I really trust him. When I saw him he examined me and he said he was 100% sure nothing was wrong. He couldn't even feel a single abnormality. He said that teenage boys just tend to get aches and pains. I stopped worrying then.

BUT... last night I decided to check again. Still no lumps but I was literally squeezing them trying to check. When I went to work today, they were hurting and I haven't stopped checking them all day. Literally I must've gone to the bathroom about 10-15 times just to check. I can't feel anything wrong with them, no lumps or bumps, they feel exactly the same.

My doctor said before I'd been squeezing them so hard and so much that was probably what was causing the pain. Please help! I'm convinced I have cancer. Is this pain really just from constantly squeezing?

Thanks so much!

[RVP]

If 2 different doctors have checked you don't have testicular cancer :P

Also your testicles are EXTREMELY sensitive, so when you keep prodding and poking them they're bound to hurt.

But good on you for going to the walk in centre :P I could have learnt something from you when I had it lol.

I was doing the same when I had pain in my testicle for a week after cycling, went to the doctors and he said all was fine but if there was still pain after a week they'll do a scan but I stopped checking and the pain went :)

So stop checking! and I'm sure the pain will go.

[Andy699]

Thanks so much! I feel really relieved now :)

[yenool]

Dude, leave your balls alone. If you keep poking and prodding them they will hurt.
Once a month is enough for a self check and if you were to ever get a testicular lump it would be quite obvious anyway.

Now, should you ever get Testicular cancer you should be aware it is one of the 'best' cancers to get, 10 year survival rates are well over 95%. Even if caught late (i.e. if you ignore a lump a long time and it has spread) then the cure rates are still excellent.

[unsure_about_this]

Hi
I am 29 nearly 30.

I am glad I am not the only one who is always checking their testicles. I been told my doctors only do it once a month. I have been worried about testicular cancer since last year when there was an article about testicular cancer awareness week in the paper. Even though I did exams when I was younger it was not as much as it is now. I think we did talked about in science about how to do self testicular exams, but mainly it was safe sex etc.
Sometimes which is naughty I do mine about 30-35 times per day.
I have been checked out twice by the doctors and said you are fine, she spend a lot of time explaining you may feel tubes etc.

I even been told my parents you are doing it far too much per month.

[RVP]

just as yenool said the success rate for test cancer is something like 98 percent.
I had it at the age of 16 I was so scared i didn't know what todo, I left it nearly half a year and my testicle grew to about a size 1 football. So not only will you have testicular pain it will grow too. So you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

[Andy699]

Thanks guys :) I remember reading somewhere that under 4% of lumps are actually cancerous... I actually calculated my chances of having it and it's under 0.1% I feel so stupid but sometimes the panic just takes over