According to one social media post, a man had a positive pregnancy test which helped him discover he had testicular cancer.
This man took a pregnancy test as a joke.
There was one left in the medicine cabinet by his ex-girlfriend. He then shared the positive pregnancy results with a friend and wrote about his positive news on social media.
The post went viral fast and there were more than 1600 comments. One of the comments advised the man to take testicular cancer if what he wrote was true and told him to google this.
A trip to the doctor’s revealed that the man who took the pregnancy test really had testicular cancer.
There Are Various Types of Testicular Cancers
Pregnancy tests work by detecting a hormone known as HCG in the blood and urine. This hormone is secreted when the placenta is being produced.
However, it also turns out that some testicular cancers also secrete this hormone. So, many men wonder if it’s worth it to take a pregnancy test in order to check their testicular health.
According to urologist Christopher Wood, there’s no benefit from using a pregnancy test as self-diagnosis for testicular cancer. This is in fact a dangerous thing to do because some types of testicular cancers increase the HCG levels whereas others don’t.
So, a person may get false reassurance from getting a negative test or may have a higher HCG due to some other reason.
Always Consult a Doctor If You Notice Changes Down There
Wood advises men to see a doctor if they notice symptoms of testicular cancer, including changes, lumps, or enlargements in testicles, as well as heavy scrotum or pain and discomfort.
Self-exam at the shower once per month is highly advisable.
It should start in puberty. In most cases, testicular cancer is recognized through a painless mass in the scrotum. Men should always consult a doctor if they notice something out of the ordinary.
What Are the Risk Factors for Testicular Cancer?
In comparison to other cancers, testicular cancer is rare. It’s only 1 percent of all cancers in men. However, it’s the most common type of cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 35.
Wood notes that this is an illness of the young and the typical patient is in his 20s or 30s; although there are cases of patients as young as 15 or as old as 55.
This illness happens when the testicular cells grow and multiply uncontrollably, resulting in damage to the tissue and disruption of the testicle functioning.
There’s no one factor that causes testicular cancer; however, there are several risk factors associated with it, including a family history of testicular cancer, other cancer, undescended testicles at birth, etc.
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