TESTICULAR CANCER

They are two news broadcasters with a common bond: Sean Kimmerling, the WB 11 sportscaster in New York; and Dan Abrams of NBC.

Dan says, “No one expects to hear the words ‘You have cancer.’ I think it’s even more unexpected for people who are young and healthy.”

Both developed testicular cancer. But they differ in one very significant way. “Sean Kimmerling was a month younger than me, in the same business as me and was in the same hospital as me with the same disease as me. He died and I didn’t,” says Dan.

Sean died two years ago, evidence that testicular cancer can attack and kill even the healthiest young man.

Dr. John Phillips, the Chief of Urologic Oncology at Beth Israel Medical Center, says, “It’s very hard for men in the testicular cancer age group, which is basically 20- 45, to come in for any checkup whatsoever. These are men who feel like they will live forever, and they don’t want to be bothered. But something as simple as a self exam which is something they can learn from a physician can be a life-saving maneuver.”

The good news is that testicular cancer is highly curable. And now the latest research shows an early stage of one type of cancer—seminoma--can respond just as well to a single dose of chemotherapy after surgery, rather than needing a three week course of radiation therapy.

The benefit: fewer side effects.

And more good news- while patients treated with chemotherapy after surgery had an increased risk of infertility compared to those who had no follow-up treatment or had radiotherapy only, the risk was less than had been expected.

“Sometimes surgery is required to remove the testicle. And often this brings up issues of body image and infertility,” says Dr. Phillips.

77% of patients who underwent treatment fathered a child naturally, and another 10% became fathers after fertility treatment. The study also found that 83% of men said they had a satisfying sexual relationship with their partner.

Still, the ideal situation is to detect testicular cancer early with self exams so that these positive outcomes can occur.

“I think Sean’s message is that you have to detect testicular cancer early. Men need to know their bodies and be willing to go forward if they suspect that they might have testicular cancer,” says Dan.