Six million men have 'never checked' for testicular cancer - Bupa

An estimated six million men have never checked themselves for testicular cancer, research by Bupa UK has revealed.

The study of 1007 UK men aged 18 and over, unveiled as part of Bupa's ‘Check Your Tackle' campaign, also found that men wait for three weeks on average before getting a potential cancer symptom checked.

Many mistakenly think they're too young to get the disease (23%) and one in five said they would be embarrassed to discuss it with their doctor, or wouldn't tell anyone if they spotted a symptom.

The research found that 24% of men have never checked themselves and nearly half (45%) ‘regularly forget' to look for symptoms.

Only one in three men are aware that symptoms involve heaviness or fluid in the scrotum (33%), a quarter (24%) know that abdominal pain could be a sign and 12% said the same about back pain.

According to Cancer Research, all men diagnosed with testicular cancer will survive five years or more, however one in eight men under 35 said they had previously delayed seeking help which turned out to be cancerous.

More than 2000 men in the UK are affected each year and one in three said they were unsure what they are looking for.

Julia Ross, head of cancer care at Bupa UK, said: "At Bupa we know that early diagnosis and access to treatment can have a positive impact on the outcome of testicular cancer. That's why this Movember, while the spotlight is on men's health, we're urging men to check their tackle and become more testicle aware. Being vigilant for changes and symptoms such as a lump, swelling, pain or fluid can save lives.

Bupa said it offers a direct telephone referral service for those who may be uncomfortable discussing these issues with their doctor.

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• Topics
• PMI
• testicular cancer
• Bupa
• cancer
• cancer research