A 21-year-old man is crediting Reddit for saving his life, after a post highlighting testicular cancer symptoms prompted his own diagnosis from the life-threatening disease.
Taylor 'Chase' Tyree recognised his own symptoms in those described by Reddit user 'uniballer'. Despite experiencing symptoms for months, but it was only after reading the Reddit post that he decided to visit the doctor.
According to ABCnews, doctors immediately sent Chase for further tests. After performing an ultrasound scan doctors found a cancerous tumour in his left testicle and - just four days after reading the Reddit post - Chase had surgery to remove his left testicle.
Testicular cancer most commonly affects young to middle-aged men and more than 2,000 men are diagnosed with it in the UK each year.
Research conducted by the UK’s male cancer charity, Orchid, earlier this year revealed that 75% of UK teenage boys aged 14 to 18 are unaware of their higher risk of testicular cancer and aren’t checking for symptoms.
Considering that when diagnosed, testicular cancer can be treated effectively - there is a 98% chance of survival with treatment if caught early - it seems critical that everything is done to check for the disease.
See below for a list of symptoms, from Orchid and NHS website.
SYMPTOMS:
- A dull ache or sharp pain in your testicles or scrotum, which may come and go
- A feeling of heaviness in your scrotum
- A dull ache in your lower abdomen (stomach area)
- A sudden collection of fluid in your scrotum (hydrocele)
- Fatigue
- A general feeling of being unwell
- Dragging sensation in 29% of cases
- Breast swelling or tenderness (called gynaecomastia). This is rare but may be caused by hormones, which are produced by some types of testicular cancer
- Enlarged lymph nodes in the back, which have enlarged due to spread of cancer
Symptoms Of Testicular Cancer
A lump in the testicle(01 of05)
Open Image ModalThe most common symptom of a testicular cancer is a lump or swelling in part of one testicle. It can be as small as a pea or it may be much larger.Remember that most testicular lumps are NOT cancer. At a testicular clinic at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, only 76 cancers were found out of 2,000 men seen with a testicular lump. This means that fewer than 4 in every 100 testicular lumps (4%) are cancer (figures courtesy of Mr Mike Wallace, FRCS).
Lymph glands(02 of05)
Open Image ModalSometimes testicular cancer cells can spread into lymph glands at the back of the abdomen. This can cause backache, which is usually constant and you need to take painkillers. If testicular cancer has spread, there may be lumps in other parts of the body, such as around the collarbone, or in the neck. These lumps are lymph glands that contain cancer cells.
Hormones in the blood(03 of05)
Open Image ModalMany testicular cancers make hormones that can be detected in blood tests. Doctors call these hormones markers. There is more about this in our section about diagnosing testicular cancer. Occasionally, men with testicular cancer have tender or swollen breasts because of these hormones.
A heavy scrotum(04 of05)
Open Image ModalYour scrotum may feel heavy. Your GP may shine a strong light through your testicle. If you have a fluid filled cyst (called a hydrocoele) rather than a cancer, the light will show through. A cancer is a solid lump and the light can't pass through it. Your doctor may call this test transillumination.
Discomfort or pain(05 of05)
Open Image ModalTesticular cancer is not usually painful, but about 1 in 5 men (20%) have a sharp pain in the scrotum as a first symptom. Some men may have a dull ache in- The affected testicle- Their lower abdomen