How long can you have testicular cancer before it spreads?
So, you might be asking yourself, “How long can I just sit on this testicular cancer before it starts doing more damage?” and the short answer is…not very long! It’s no laughing matter, but we’re going to try our best to make it one as we delve into the ins and outs of testicular cancer. In this article, we’ll touch on some common questions that people have when they get diagnosed with this nasty little disease.
What Is Testicular Cancer?
Before diving headfirst into how long you can have testicular cancer before it spreads, let’s brief ourselves on what exactly testicular cancer is. The short version: bad stuff happening in your ballsack. The longer version: Testicles are part of the male reproductive system and melanoma or carcinoma typically develop from germ cells within them.
How Does It Spread?
Alrighty then – so if testicles are involved in reproduction/sexual activity/other fun things adults do behind closed doors (DON’T WORRY WE WON’T GO INTO DETAIL), how does the process spread throughout your body? Well shucks pardner’, let us enlighten you! One major way that cancers spread is through a process called metastasis – where bad cells grow out “legs” (we know technically they don’t grow legs) and travel all around your body like tourists taking selfies at every stop along the body-route.
So…back To That Original Question
Now for the million dollar question everyone has been dying to ask- how long can someone actually have testisular cancer (yes that did take me several mins come up with) before it tries its darnedest to make itself comfortable elsewhere in their system?
Well – here’s where things start getting somewhat complicated as there isn’t a clear cut, straight-to-the-point answer. Just like how you can’t expect a magician to give away their tricks, cancer doesn’t always play ball (pun #1!!), but we’ve done our research and come up with some answers.
The Answer(s)
There are multiple factors that go into answering this question so prepare yourself for a satisfying flow-chart (okay now I definitely sound like an 80-year-old medical professional):
- Growth rate: Testicular cancers grow faster than most other kinds of cancer.
- Type Stage/Atypical type : This means the identity and stage of your particular cancer will effect how quickly it spreads
- Size: So now think of it as Goldilocks’ porridge: too small means less significant damage ; too big can lead to more accelerated development which leads me onto…
- Timing: This is the final determining factor in conjunction with others; If caught early enough – before metastasis has time to kick in (mortal fear-inducing gasp) – late detection also plays its role here.
Going Deeper
Okay so let’s get even MORE specific….
Seminoma vs Non-Seminomatous Tumors
As touched on above, if testicular cancer develops from germ cells then there additionally two sub-types:
Seminomas
The slower growing type that are restricted mostly within the encasing tissue of where they started out from.
These types generally do not spread early on unless given enough time via no intervention/treatment at all.
As grim as things may seem when diagnosed with any kind of tumor/cancer , these have comparatively higher cure rates compared to non-seminatomas upon earliest detected stages . There are three different seminomas including classical, spermatocytic chromophobe cell types resulting lethality lesser extent regardless of proliferation speed
Non-seminomatous
This type favours fast growth leading to an earlier and nastier spreading around the body via lymphatic systems or blood vessels. They come with wider ranges of histologic which means they differ structurally/ genetically among each other in terms of cell mutations etc.
So, To Recap:
To sum things up; most testicular cancers tend to grow rapidly and can infiltrate neighbouring tissue in 24 hours-ish (yup. We warned ya it wasn’t a good news party we were throwing). As difficult as it may be to predict an exact timeline for you specifically since every diagnosis is different- There are options like chemotherapy, Radiations, Surgeries etc that will give patients better chances at full recovery – so don’t hesitate getting checked out if you’re feeling certain symptoms!
Signs/Symptoms
Alright let’s clock-in some “Did Ya Know’s”:
Between your legs :
– Discomfort
– Swelling/lumps
(yep those long ignored bumps could really nag on your consciousness now)
Buthh’… also general physical signs
Outside:
– Nausea/vomiting.
(This becomes more than just typical food-poisoning related disturbance when its accompanied by dizziness/fatigue)
Difficulty breathing
…………. Nope we won’t go any further into these.
Conclusion:
Treatments are worked out after careful analysis /reviewal but early detection has proven immensely helpful in reducing mortalities regarding even aggressive forms of cancer. In many cases swift medical attention can minimise spread risk effectively reaching successful treatments without overly invasive procedures having far fewer negative implications such as removal of additional organs/tissues etc.
Thanks for reading!