Читать книгу Sex For Dummies - Pierre Lehu A., Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer - Страница 50

Testicular cancer usually begins as a painless lump. The sooner you find such a lump, the better your chances of having it treated without any serious medical consequences. Begin checking for lumps in your teen years.

The best time to perform a self-exam is after a hot shower or bath because the warm water allows the scrotum to relax and the testicles to drop down. You can do the check while you’re sitting, standing, or lying down.

To check for lumps:

1 Gently take each testicle and roll it between your thumb and forefinger to see if you detect anything different about how it feels compared with last time.Your testicle should feel smooth and firm with a slight softness, a lot like a hard-boiled egg without the shell.

2 As a guide, compare your two testicles to each other.Remember, it’s normal for one testicle to be slightly larger than the other and/or one to hang lower than the other.

3 If you do find something that feels different, pick up the phone right away and make an appointment to see a urologist.

4 Do this test around the same time each month to get into the habit.

Remember that the epididymis sits on top of the testicle. Some men examining themselves for testicular cancer mistake it for a strange lump. They get a real fright before a doctor explains to them what it is. So what you need to have clear in your mind is that you are checking your testicle — the hard-boiled egg. The lumpy epididymis, which lies on top of the testicle, belongs there and is supposed to be lumpy but not tender.

Testicular cancer can hit any man, but men who had one or both undescended testicles at birth (see “Making the descent” earlier in the chapter) are at higher risk. So if either or both of your testicles had not descended when you were born, make doubly sure that you perform this exam every month.

Sometimes a minor injury to the groin area may cause some swelling. This swelling can mask the presence of an undetected cancerous growth. This is why a monthly checkup is necessary — so you know what’s normal for you from month to month, and what’s not.

I know that many of you are squeamish about medical things, particularly when it comes to something in your genital area. But this testing is important, so please don’t be lax about it. Early detection and immediate medical attention are the keys for successful treatment.

If you really don’t like the idea of examining yourself, and if you have a partner, maybe you can ask him or her to complete this exercise. I don’t know if they’ll like doing it any better than you would, but you both may profit from the side effects.

I never tire of giving out this information because one time I was at a restaurant when the waiter pulled me aside. He told me that because he’d heard me talk about checking one’s testicles, he did, and he found a lump that turned out to be cancer. My advice had saved his life.