Cancer

Ovarian cancer cells grow and multiply in the ovaries without the normal controls typical of healthy cells. These out of control cells form a tumor depriving healthy surrounding cells of needed oxygen and nutrients for survival and maximum function.

An ovarian tumor can be in just one or in both of the ovaries. Not all tumors are malignant, but if they are malignant that means that they can spread to other organs and tissues of the body which is a process called metastasis.

Ovarian Cancer Types

There are 4 types of ovarian cancers: Epithelial tumors, stromal tumors, germ cell tumors and metastatic tumors.

While testing for ovarian cancer other cell masses can be discovered that are non-cancerous such as abscesses, infections, fibroids, cysts, polycystic ovaries, endometriosis related masses, and also ectopic pregnancies.

There are a number of options you may be able to pursue with your stage 1 testicular cancer. For instance, if your cancer is a stage I seminoma, the primary treatment option is the surgical removal of the affected testicle along with the spermatic cord. This procedure is called a radical inguinal orchiectomy.

After the orchietomy, the traditional follow-up is radiation targeting the lymph nodes in that particular region. This is to ensure that any lingering cancerous cells are killed. Cancer of the seminoma germ cells (these are the ones that aid in the production of sperm) are quite susceptible to radiation therapy have a cure rate of around 95% and usually only needs a few treatments.

Diagnostics

Men who are careful about their health often ask their doctor what might increase their risk for testicular cancer? They know that different cancers have different risk factors. Smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, and exposing skin to prolonged sun exposure is a risk factor for melanoma. So, males want to know what the risk factors are for testicular cancer.

The main risk factor as most doctors see it, for testicular cancer is having an undescended testicle. There is a 10% occurrence of testicular cancer occurring in men who have had cryptorchidism. Typically the testicles will move from into the scrotum shortly after birth of a male child or sometime before the child is 3 months of age.

When you are diagnosed with testicular cancer, it is important to know what type you have as it can make a big difference in how it is treated. Your doctor will likely order more tests to determine the type you have so both of you can come up with a plan for successful treatment of it.

Approximately 95% of testicular cancer cases start in the germ cells that produce the sperm. These germ cells are also known as undeveloped cells as they have not completely formed into something else. The tumors found in testicular cancer are called germ cell tumors or GCTs and these can be found predominately in males from 20 to 40 years of age. Luckily, a majority of these cases are curable.

Of these germ cell tumors, there are two primary forms – the nonseminomas and the seminomas. A third kind also exists called a stromal tumor which is actually found forming outside the testicle, in surround tissues.

Researchers are trying to understand why the incidences of testicular cancer have been slowly rising, not only in the United States but also in other countries around the world. Does it have anything to do with the diet? What about environmental concerns? So far, there have been no definitive conclusions about just exactly men contract the disease.

In the United States alone, there are usually just over 8,000 new cases of testicular cancer each year, according to the American Cancer Society. Also in these statistics is the fact that almost 400 men will die each year of this particular type of cancer. While 400 in the scheme of millions of men in the country may not be statistically significant when looking at just numbers, for testicular cancer purposes, even one death is too many.

Seminomas Increasing