A simple 10-second self-exam could mean the difference between life and aggressive cancer that leads to cannonball-shaped tumors in the lungs.
Testicular cancer is the leading cause of a condition doctors call “cannonball lung.” The disease spreads to the lungs and forms a collection of rapidly multiplying tumors.
The chances of survival worsen from around 96 percent with early detection to only 73 percent if the cancer has spread beyond the testicles to the lungs.
Florida-based emergency physician Dr. Sam Ghali took to Twitter to warn people of the deadly danger after seeing the scenario in a young patient.
In a voice recording In a post on the social media site, he told of a man in his 20s who went to hospital with a persistent cough – and was found to have advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs.
Multiple growths appeared as cloudy blobs on the chest X-ray – a classic case of “cannonball metastases,” said Dr. Ghali.
If testicular cancer is detected early, for example through self-examination, it is largely treatable.
Dr. Sam Ghali, a Florida-based emergency physician, discussed the case of a young man in his 20s who realized only too late that he had advanced testicular cancer, which manifested itself in the formation of cancer cell nodules in the lungs shaped like cannonballs
The survival rate for testicular cancer, which is limited to the testicle, is about 99 percent after five years. Once the cancer spreads beyond the testicles to the lungs, the chances of survival drop to 73 percent after five years
Nearly 99 percent of testicular cancer patients who get testicular cancer before it spreads to the body survive it. This rate drops slightly to 96 percent if the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes in the back of the abdomen.
However, if the cancer remains untreated and is allowed to spread, it often ends up in the lungs.
There are no exact numbers to quantify exactly how many men with testicular cancer go on to develop cannonball-shaped nodules in their lungs.
Whether a cancer spreads to the lungs or other organs depends on the physiology of the individual patient. A subtype of testicular cancer called non-seminomas is more likely to metastasize than seminomas, which tend to grow and spread more slowly.
The cannonball-like lesions can also arise from other types of cancer, including kidney, breast and colon cancer.
Dr. Ghali told his 472,000 Twitter followers; “Right away we notice these large, very well defined, round lesions” in both lungs.
“There are so many that you can’t count them all.” This is the classic appearance of the so-called cannonball metastases.”
Testicular cancer is relatively rare – around 0.4 percent of men will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives.
However, it is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 44.
Dr. Ghali said, “The reason I wanted to share this case with you is because this young man finally got checked out when he developed a cough that just wouldn’t go away… but he wasn’t checked for a testicular tumor,” he noted it and actually got bigger and bigger.
“We see this far too often.” The human trait of denial is very powerful. People just tell themselves it’s nothing, it’ll go away. And before you know it, time just keeps passing and you get used to the fact that you’ve been putting it off, and by the time you get checked out, it’s too late.”
Men’s health experts have long advocated for more self-exams as a simple, non-invasive way to ensure that everything appears normal and does not require treatment from a trained doctor.
Dr. Ghali added: “Folks, if you’re listening to this, if you notice something – a lump, a mass, anything strange – please get it checked out.”
The entire self-check takes about 10 seconds. Men should place their fingers behind the testicles with the thumb facing forward.
Using the fingertips and thumb instead of the tips, the thumb should be gently rolled from top to bottom on the front and side of the testicle and then back up.
This should be done on both sides and the testicles should feel smooth and firm. If a lump is felt – firm and possibly pea-sized – a doctor should take a second look.