Rising Above Embarrassment for the Sake of Men's Health
- Daniel Simpson, 35, was a teenager when he experienced huge swelling in one of his testicles. He went to the doctor to finally address back pain he’d suffered from for nearly a year, but neglected to mention his other issue due to embarrassment.
- Daniel, who was “16 or 17” at the time, was thankfully able to beat the disease despite ignoring the symptoms for so long. Now, the survivor wants to speak up about what happened to him so that he can encourage others to not make the same mistake.
- Doctors have seen plenty of testicles. After all, most males have them! Should you develop a symptom that you are too shy to address, please reconsider. Speaking up is not as bad as you think, and it might save your life. The human body is nothing to be embarrassed about.
Not knowing the full extent of his medical problems, Daniel’s doctor initially misdiagnosed him with a kidney infection, but it wound up being testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs, kidney, stomach, and lymph nodes.
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The Northern Ireland native has teamed up with Cancer Focus Northern Ireland charity in honor of Men's Health Week to educate and support local men, calling on them to be more “body aware” and get in earlier to get checked when experiencing symptoms.
Dealing With the Shame That May Come With Testicular Cancer
"Shame is an important topic when it comes to cancer," says Tripp Hornick, a testicular cancer survivor who was diagnosed when he was just a 21-year-old college student.
"I think we as men have an awful lot that we can learn from what women have to go through with breast cancer."
Tripp emerged from his experience with an extremely positive message: Do not be a victim. "What you accomplish is what cures any shame," Tripp says, and there's no reason you can't go on to live a happy and fulfilling life.
Learning More About Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer starts in the testicles (also called testes; a single testicle is called a testis), and these organs are part of the male reproductive system. The two organs are each normally a little smaller than a golf ball in adult males, according to the American Cancer Society. The testes are held within a sac of skin called the scrotum, which hangs under the base of the penis.
Related: Testicular Cancer Can Manifest In Interesting Ways, Know The Signs Of This Rare Disease
Testicular cancer is not common. In fact, about 1 of every 250 males will develop testicular cancer at some point during their lifetime.
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In contrast, since testicular cancer can usually be treated successfully, a man's lifetime risk of dying from this cancer is very low about 1 in 5,000.
Dr. Edwin Posadas, the medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, previously told SurvivorNet that testicular cancer doesn't often present with pain, but it can.
"Most men will present with some sort of mass on their testicle; a sexual partner or spouse may feel the mass when they're being intimate," he said, adding that some men may notice blood in their ejaculate as a result of testicular cancer, which is a less common symptom.
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