What is Testicular Cancer?

Testicular cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in one or both of the testicles. It occurs when germ cells experience abnormal growth. Germ cells, like stem cells, have the potential to form any cell in the body. Normally these cells lie dormant until sperm fertilizes an egg. If germ cells become cancerous, they multiply, forming a mass of cells called tumors that begin to invade normal tissue. When this happens these cells have the potential to form a variety of embryonic like features including but not limited to; hair, nails, teeth etc.

Testicular cancer can metastasize, meaning that it can spread to other parts of the body. During this time cells leave the original tumor from the testicle and migrate to other parts of the body through blood and lymph vessels forming new tumors. Testicular cancer spreads most often to the abdomen, liver, lungs, bones, and brain. Testicular cancer can spread rapidly and is deadly if left untreated.

Testicular cancer has a very fast onset.  If not detected early, the cancerous tumors can grow rapidly with the ability to double in size in just 10 to 30 days.

Testicular cancer is on the rise and can affect any male from infancy to elderly. An estimated 8,900 new cases will be diagnosed in 2009 alone. 1 out of 270 young men will be diagnosed. The highest rate of diagnoses are males between the ages of 15 to 40. Due to the lack of early detection, more than 380 deaths will occur in 2009. That's 380 too many.