What Does Skin Cancer On The Scrotum Look Like

Testicles -- the male person sex organs that hang in the scrotum, just below the penis -- make sperm and the hormone testosterone. Like most other parts of your trunk, they can become cancer. It's rare compared with other cancers, but it's one of the most common in men ages 15 to 35. Fifty-fifty if it spreads exterior the testicle, it'due south very treatable.

Most testicular cancer starts in germ cells, which make sperm. In that location are 2 main types of germ cell testicular cancer:

Non-seminomas tend to happen in younger men and spread quickly.
Older men are more likely to have seminomas -- these typically don't spread every bit fast every bit non-seminomas.

The about mutual sign is swelling or a lump in a testicle that doesn't cause pain. It may be pea-sized or larger. Other symptoms include:

Changes in how a testicle feels -- it may feel firmer or have a different texture
A feeling of heaviness or weight in the scrotum
Pain, discomfort, or a dull ache in the testicles, scrotum, lower belly, or groin
Sudden buildup of fluid in the scrotum

If you have pain, swelling, or a lump in one of your testicles, go see your doctor. Don't put it off more 2 weeks. If information technology is cancer, early treatment can make you lot more likely to be cured. If you lot wait to go to your doctor, that gives the cancer time to spread to other parts of your body.

Doctors don't know what causes testicular cancer. They know it starts like other types, when sure cells begin to grow out of control and grade a tumor. Simply researchers are trying to effigy out what triggers that. Still, some things are known to boost your odds of having it.

Age, race, and other conditions can make yous more likely to become testicular cancer:

Infants and older males can get it, simply it mostly affects men xv to 35.
White males get it more than others.
Conditions that impact how testicles develop can raise your chances.

Before birth, the testicles develop in a baby's belly. They usually drib into the scrotum by the time they're born or at least by age i. Only sometimes, one (or both) don't drop -- this is an undescended testicle. Men who had this problem are more likely to get testicular cancer, even if they had surgery to right it. Surgery still helps, though -- testicles are easier to check when they're in the scrotum.

You're more likely to get it if a close relative, like your male parent or brother, has it. If that's the case, exercise self-exams to check for lumps about once a month. And if you lot had cancer in ane testicle, you have higher odds of getting it in the other one. Make certain to go to all your scheduled follow-ups.

In many cases, men find a lump on their own or their doctor finds ane during a routine examination. If your doc thinks it might be cancer, they may ask for an ultrasound to come across if a mass is visible. They also may recommend a blood test to look for markers -- things in your blood, like proteins or hormones, that can exist higher if you have a tumor.

With other types of cancer, doctors often test a tumor sample for cancer. But they don't exercise that for testicular cancer, because that can impairment a testicle and cause the cancer to spread. Instead, your doctor probably will practice an ultrasound, which makes images of your scrotum and testicles. If it looks like you have cancer, y'all may have surgery to remove the testicle and take it tested. This volition tell if information technology'due south cancer and what kind information technology is.

If you're diagnosed with testicular cancer, you lot'll need more than tests to encounter where it might have spread. It helps your doctor decide the kind of treatment you'll demand. You'll typically have:

A computerized tomography (CT) scan, which takes X-rays from several angles and puts them together to make detailed images of your belly, chest, and pelvis
Blood tests to see if markers are still in your blood afterward your testicle has been removed

The stage of your cancer will exist based on the size of the tumor and how far it'due south spread:

Phase 0: The cancer is only institute in the small tubes called seminiferous tubules located inside the testicle.
Stage I: The tumor may accept grown exterior of the testicle into structures nearby. Information technology has not spread to lymph nodes or to distant sites in the body.
Stage II: The cancer has spread to lymph nodes in your belly.
Phase III: The cancer has spread to other parts of your body, like your lungs, liver, basic, or brain.

Typically, you'll have surgery to remove the testicle no matter what phase or type you lot have. For stages Ii and Iii, your doctor may as well have out some lymph nodes to examination for cancer. For early stages, surgery may be the just treatment you need. And then you'll accept follow-upward exams every few months for the first few years. During those visits, y'all may go chest Ten-rays, CT scans, and blood tests.

Afterwards surgery, your doctor may suggest:

Radiation: loftier-energy beams that kill cancer cells
Chemotherapy: strong drugs that kill cancer cells

For seminomas, doctors may utilise radiation or chemotherapy. For non-seminomas, they tend to employ chemotherapy. Both may crusade infertility -- you might non exist able to begetter a child after these treatments. If you lot want children someday, talk to your doctor about sperm banking before your handling.

Your doctor may recommend that you check for lumps each month, particularly if y'all're more likely to go testicular cancer. To practice these exams:

Shower or bathe start so the scrotum is loose.
Stand up in front end of a mirror to look for swelling in the scrotum.
Hold your testicle betwixt your thumbs and fingers and whorl information technology gently.
Feel for lumps, swelling, or changes in texture.