AUSTIN, Texas — University of Texas student Norman Torres was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 17. It was his junior year of high school, and he had been preparing for college applications and focusing in his AP courses and extracurricular activities.
“It was kind of like cancer threw itself into the equation and everything had to go on pause. I joke about this, but at the time I genuinely felt like I didn’t have time for cancer,” said Torres.
Torres started feeling a dull ache on his right side. The pain became increasingly worse, so he had an ultrasound that revealed a tumor. He had surgery and began chemotherapy treatment.
Testicular cancer wasn’t a type of cancer Torres had heard much of before his diagnosis.
“The only exposure I had was an episode from 'South Park' and Lance Armstrong,” said Torres.
Now, Torres helps bring awareness of testicular cancer as a Movember Student Ambassador. Movember is a global men’s health charity focused on men’s physical and mental health. The organization brings awareness, offers answers and provides support. It focuses on two cancers that affect men – prostate and testicular cancer.
“When you talk to men about their health issues, you kind of have to use humor, particularly for men between 18 and 35. But the awareness around the risk that men face with respect to testicular cancer in their younger years is often unknown,” said Mark Hedstrom, executive director for Movember.
Movember has a "Know Thy Nuts" campaign to raise consciousness and awareness around testicular cancer. The website offers a guide to checking for testicular cancer. The Nuts and Bolts section of Movember offers tools to tackle testicular cancer, next steps if you find a lump, answers to questions about surgery and what life is like after treatment. They also share stories from men who have experienced testicular cancer.
Despite testicular cancer not being talked about very often, it’s quite common. Testicular cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men between 18 and 35. About one in every 250 men will be diagnosed with the disease.
The survival rate for early-stage cancer is high if caught early. For testicular cancer that has not spread beyond the testis, the survival rate is 99%. Early diagnosis is key, which means checking yourself and going to a doctor as soon as something feels off is very important.
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