Testicular & Other Male Cancers
Dicky balls? Go first to checkemlads.
This, my section on testicular cancer is based on my personal experiences; there are also some useful support resources and info links in my personal narrative. But If you need pressing ‘direct’ and authorative ‘champion’ insights and the premier support network then go first, before reading my narrative to the leading UK site.
In this part of my blog the second health section this is mainly for us fellahs and any lads n men out there that are concerned about your testicles. Well this is my offering on balls that is designed hopefully to help: Nowadays unlike in the mid 1980s when my problems began there was very little public awareness; But now there are various on-line resources and celebrity ambassadors that means you guys don’t need to be embarrassed – you’re not on your own let’s start with Love Island’s Chris Hughes & his TV prog Me, My brother, and Our Balls
Now, the rest is ‘my take’ and other links. You’ll need to worry but don’t worry-without-action and be ready for a laff! Clearly this is a personal issue, but like many of us experiencing issues relating to medical issues in our life we reflect back and think – “could I have avoided that?” or, “What could I have done differently”. So far there are two major health issues that have affected my life. I’m writing about them here because they largely arose through ignorance and my then having not anyone in my life with whom I could share levels of potential intimacy and embarrassment. I really maintain that making things public in the open arena is the best way to enable others to face and avoid crises. The same is true about health and welfare affairs as it is about being open an more visible about sexuality which I’ll go into in another section. But this section is nothing to do who sexuaality but it is, gay or straight to do with health in in the bulk men’s health. Starting off for younger guys and then potentially (though not always) for older folk, my goal is to be a portal for help / support and to be a contact if I can personally guide any one through issues with the insights I’ve gained by my lived-experience. I want to be a help and support to any and all who face these challenges.
The first (2007) & The obvious one. Which is so clearly visible is my stroke and the paralysis striking me & slowing my cognitive powers when I was 42. It’s been a hard fight to come back from being chair- or bed-bound ‘crippled’ unable to speak read write, sit or talk, but, “nothing venture, nothing win”, I’m not prone to defeatism or fear of struggle; Hope will prevail AND with help of many and reliance on support I can now look to be one of Sir Kier Starmer’s disabled who hopefully is “thriving and not just surviving“ (but I cover that in the stroke & disability part of this site).
The second (1989) & this section’s theme. I survived and after lived-fully (well really, in time-order this is the 1st issue so yes we’re onto the Balls section, which, I’ve read (but back in the 1980s. so that’s not reliable-thinking today), could have been a contributing factor to stroke was the cancer (some studies do further indicate a link between chemotherapy, long-term survival & increased risk of stroke), which should evidently not dissuade a patient from life-saving chemotherapy but rather more inform long-term post cancer lifestyle / health-management. I was diagnosed with a testicular teratoma when I was 23. I’m not describing these for any desire to oblige you to find-out nor know more about me than appropriate nor that I want self-importantly-in-vanity, to ‘tell & unburden’, but really because I do believe that a personal narrative can help others. in their (your?) personal pathways. Anyhow I do strongly believe: Making Things more visible increases awareness, and in physical and mental health sharing a narrative is something I feel a duty to do in the hope it will help others learn & gain from my experiences, therefore avoid or better cope with a thing if it occurs.
So in testicular cancer, I want to do, in my small personal way want I can, for young men, your friends & families to raise the issue. I’m not alone this; And I do want you see this part of my blog to open connections to other groups and resources. On this issue, I am of course am happy to help answer / discuss anything troubling you; but do know I have no professional knowledge here, and such expertise is likely vital and much more important than my ramblings. Along with several other organizations, fabulous platforms that exist in Health Authorities, locally ABUHB (2), on line and in support groups to raise awareness. In my youth there was no internet, nor was there an openness in discussing personal health or human-body–awareness to enable open discussion of male genitalia in any other than changing–room crude humour. Here on this section on my personal place, my message to young men ∧ your partners, "know your’ and your fellah’s balls”: it can save lives and futures.
There are some useful links here that I wish had been around when I was a student:
Many will know the Men’s health. Campaign, “Movember”. Which aims to raise awareness of male cancers (testicular cancer& prostate cancer etc.). Now there are resources-a-plenty so here are some good places to go. Here, a good description of symptoms and what to do if you have them, and guidelines for feeling your balls (2). Model ball sack for comparison: if you don’t want to go round asking to feel your mates balls to see what a normal range of balls feel like then these synthetic ball-sacks are useful.
Some of the informationals and stories here will hopefully help you gain confidence in your ability to understand if you or your man has anything that wants following-up. If there is any doubt in your mind something has changed or feels different, an ache on your balls; a hardness or one that feels bigger than the other please get a GP appointment. But do note – sure I’m a Dr., but not a medically-qualified one in any way - all I give here is shared personal experience and wider awareness of what’s involved. These links are more reliable than any anecdotes I can give. Even if it’s still Covid-19 crisis when you’re reading this and are considering make an appointment and follow it up.
The following links are. More useful and valuable than my thoughts and words – but if you are interested I’ve written up my experiences, and a hopefully with humour (including a bit black) poem I write to describe my experiences: The Saga of John's Missing Ball.
Here’s the story of young dad Philly Morris’ saga of discovering his balls are a bit weird and what follows, here’s another bloke talking openly and frankly of his battle with diagnosis & later his chemotherapy. I can relate SO much to this, it’s a hard Watch but then the outcome is generally optimistic.
So any saga of testicular issues is likely going to lead you to a discussion of your fertility: too often women are blamed directly for childless marriages and little thought is given to male infertility (which is not the same as impotence or erectile dysfunction). Rhod Gilbert is a new ambassador champion for he information and understanding of male in fertility issues and has dome an excellent awareness raising program on the TV. Its worth being aware that testicular cancer and certainly the chemotherapy etc. can be linked to infertility through low sperm count or inactive sperm. Rhod covers this in his tv programme most excellently (2). Fertility Network runs a support group for male infertility.