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Testicular Diagnosis

What happens if I find a lump in my testicle?

If you find a lump, you should go to your doctor. The doctor will feel the lump and decide whether it is a problem. He or she may give you some medicine and see whether the lump disappears. Usually, the doctor will take an ultrasound image of your testicle. If the ultrasound shows a tumor, the doctor will remove your testicle.

The doctor may also order some blood tests to check for substances which suggest cancer is present. More than 95% of testicular tumors are malignant, so the testicle is always removed. Unlike prostate cancer, it is not advised to take a biopsy of the testicular tumor because this can spread the cancer into other areas. Instead, the doctor will make a cut in your groin and remove the entire testicle. Only the testicle with the cancer tumor is removed. The surgery lasts about 45 minutes and you usually stay in the hospital overnight. If your doctor suspects that the tumor has spread, he or she will order some images to check other parts of your body.