Cancer support at work
Resources for your team
It's important to give your team the right support when they need it. That's where our resources can help.
Cancer prevention and awareness
Understand different cancers and get support if you or your employee has a diagnosis. Plus, find information on common symptoms and treatment options.
Helping children understand cancer
We've worked with specialists and families affected by cancer to create helpful guides. They explain what cancer is and look at the different types of treatments.
How to check for moles
We understand that knowing what changes to look out for can be hard. That's why we created our helpful guide so your employees can feel more confident checking their skin at home.
Cancer: your questions answered
Rita Trewartha, head of clinical services for Bupa UK and nurse with over 40 years experience, is here to answer your questions on cancer.
Transcript
Who are you?
Hi, I am Rita Trewartha
and I'm head of clinical services for Bupa UK Insurance.
I'm a nurse with over 40 years
experience, come and ask me about cancer.
What is cancer?
Cancer is essentially a group of abnormal cells.
So it starts in the cells in our bodies.
I try to explain it
that the cells are like tiny little building blocks
that make up our organs and tissues throughout our bodies
and for them to grow and divide
they get signals to do that.
And those signals also tell them when to stop growing
and dividing and to die because they're no use anymore.
But sometimes also those signals can go wrong
and the cell becomes abnormal.
And those abnormal cells may also keep dividing
and dividing more
and developing into essentially forming a lump.
Now, often you'll hear lumps referred to as tumours.
Now tumours aren't necessarily cancers, not all lumps,
not all tumours are cancers.
The way that we find out the difference is
by taking a biopsy or a small sample of cells from that lump
or that tumour to determine
what it's made up of, essentially.
So the tumour or the lump might not be cancer,
and that would be called a benign tumour.
It can still grow, but it doesn't spread anywhere else in
the body and it only causes problems
and needs treatment if it's pressing on a structure
or something nearby, a muscle or an organ.
If it's not doing that, it will live there quite happily
and not cause any harm whatsoever.
A tumour that is cancer is called a malignant tumour,
and that can grow into nearby tissues,
and that is called a primary cancer site.
But also what it can do is travel to other parts
of the body, and it can do that through the blood
or the lymphatic system in the body.
And if it does that,
then it can settle deposits elsewhere in the body,
which can form other lumps or tumours that can grow.
And that's called a metastatic cancer.
So a secondary cancer to the primary site,
but all part of the same cancer really.
I suppose the other thing to also mention is
that cancer can form in the blood cells or the bone marrow,
and that develops into what we call
as a group blood cancers.
So one of those that you might have heard
of quite frequently is leukaemia.
So in essence,
actually cancer is a group of abnormal cells.
How common is cancer?
So one in two of us will be diagnosed
with cancer in our lifetimes with the highest lifetime risk
for females being for breast, lung, and bowel cancer
and for males being prostate, lung, and bowel cancer.
And we have seen an increase over recent years in cases
that are being identified, but that's
because we are much more aware now of the risks
and we are being screened more regularly
through our national programmes.
So we are catching cancers much earlier.
For the 10 most common cancer types, more than 70% with
of those cases in the UK have been attributable
to known risk factors, and that includes lung
and melanoma, skin cancer, which are 2
of the 5 most common cancer types in the UK.
What can cause cancer?
When we think about causes of cancer,
we can't really just think about one thing.
I think it's really important to understand
that right at the outset.
So it could be, for example,
that there's been an inherited cancer gene variant.
So that's something a person inherits from a parent.
Now that doesn't mean you've got cancer,
it doesn't guarantee you are going to get cancer,
but it might mean that if you had some abnormal cancer cells
that would develop more rapidly than it would
for somebody without that gene variant.
And if that gene variant was common within a family,
as in more than one person in that family,
or several people had that gene variant in that family,
that could mean a certain type of cancer was more common in
that family than you would see somewhere else in
the larger population.
And I suppose we always need to throw in age as something
that is an increase in risk in terms of cancer.
But when we are thinking about that inherited gene variant,
it's really important to understand
that it's less than 5% to 10%.
So that's less than 5 to 10 people in every 100
that will actually carry that gene variant.
So lifestyle factors such as smoking, being overweight
or obese, drinking alcohol above recommended levels,
over exposure to UV radiation from the sun,
those are the things that are much more likely
to influence you or me on a day-to-day basis.
How do I know if I am at risk of cancer?
So a person's risk of developing cancer depends on lots
of different factors, including age, genetics,
and external risk factors.
So those more associated with lifestyle.
Understanding your risk means, for example,
understanding if there is any family history,
but also what those external risk factors are
and actually how they apply to your life.
So as we know, smoking and overweight
and obesity are the primary preventable risk factors,
and 35% of all cancers
that's about 135,000 cases every year are preventable.
So you can start to better understand your risk.
I think other things that help us understand risk include,
for example, that lung, breast, bowel,
and melanoma skin cancers account for almost two thirds
of preventable cancer cases in the uk. Over exposure to UV,
so the sunshine
and substances at work, drinking alcohol to excess,
and too little dietary fibre.
Each of those could be responsible for 3% to 4%
of cancer cases in the UK.
And then there's some lesser known exposure risks.
So ionising radiation, x-rays,
or eating processed food that can account for about 1%
to 2% of cases.
And then even smaller than that, air pollution
or doing too little physical activity
could cause about 1% of cancers in the UK.
What are the main forms of cancer?
Currently in the UK, more than half
of new cancer cases in males is prostate,
lung, or bowel cancer.
And in females, half of new cases are either breast,
lung, or bowel cancer.
Can cancer be prevented?
So research shows that 35% approximately
of cancers are preventable.
And we know that smoking is the largest single preventable
cause of cancer in the UK each year,
and that's according to Cancer Research UK.
And we also know that being overweight
or obese is the second highest preventable cause of cancer.
So these are what I would refer to
as modifiable risk factors.
So something we can try to influence or do something about.
Not always easy, it doesn't mean we can't try.
So stopping smoking, maintaining
or achieving a healthy weight through diet
and exercise, following the recommended alcohol intake
guidelines and protecting ourselves from those potentially
harmful UV rays
by simple things using sunscreen and covering up.
So there's lots that we can do to contribute
to the prevention of cancer.
What percentage of cancers are preventable?
According to Cancer Research UK, over 35%
of cancers are preventable.
There's been a lot of research on this
and the World Health Organisation estimate that figure is
between 30% and 50% worldwide.
The main point to remember is managing your risk factors
and watching for changes in your body or any symptoms.
Can vaccines help to prevent cancer?
So there's an awful lot of research going on in this area
at the moment that's looking really, really positive.
But one development that there has been is the vaccine
for HPV, that's the human papilloma virus
that was identified a number of years ago as certain strains
of it being responsible for a significant amount
of cervical cancers in women.
The HPV vaccine has now been rolled out as part
of a school's programme to 11 and 13 year olds,
and that has had a significant impact in terms
of the prevention of cervical cancer.
Does genetic testing help to prevent cancer?
No, but it can help to identify if you are at greater risk
of developing cancer.
Genetic testing is a really complex area
and the results can sometimes be very
difficult to interpret.
I think I would always recommend getting some advice
before getting any testing,
and then use that healthcare professional advice
to help you interpret the results.
Does the risk of cancer increase as you age?
Sadly, yes, but it's still important
to keep a healthy lifestyle.
Half of cancers in the UK are prevalent
in the over seventies.
It doesn't mean that you will get cancer, so
therefore it's still important
to manage those lifestyle risk factors,
and also important to access any screening
that you are eligible for,
and also seek health professional advice if you've got any
symptoms at all.
How can I protect myself against cancer?
So firstly, make sure
that you access your cancer screening programmes
as you become eligible
or any other routine health checks that are available
to you, either through your GP surgery
or possibly even through work.
But most importantly,
protecting yourself is about understanding
what the risks are and checking if there is anything in your
lifestyle that you can do to modify those risks.
We know, for example, smoking and being overweight
or obese are the leading risk factors,
and 1 in 20 cancer cases are caused
by being overweight or obese.
And that research identifies approximately 35 million people
in the country at the moment are overweight or obese.
Now, that's measured on the body mass index scale,
and A BMI of over 25 is considered overweight or obese.
So that's something easy that you can check.
So depending on your circumstances, there could be lots
of things that you can do to reduce your risk
of getting cancer.
Can I get cancer more than once?
Sadly, yes, it could be a recurrence
or it could be something new.
Follow-ups are important
and recurrent cancer starts with cancer cells
that the first treatment didn't fully remove or destroy.
Now, this doesn't mean
that the treatment you received was wrong.
It just means that a small number of cancer cells
survived the treatment and were too small
to show up in follow-up tests over time.
These then grew into tumours
or cancer that your doctor can now detect.
Sometimes a new type
of cancer will occur in people
who've had a history of cancer.
When this happens, the new cancer is known
as a second primary cancer,
and the second primary cancer is different
from a recurrent cancer.
A recurrent cancer can be localised,
so literally in the same place as the original cancer,
or it can be regional,
and that means it's grown into lymph nodes
and tissues near to the original cancer.
Or it can be a distant recurrence,
and this means that the cancer has spread to organs
or tissues far from the original cancer.
It's called metastatic cancer or metastases.
I've had cancer before can I prevent it reoccurring?
You can minimise the risk of recurrence.
So if you are on ongoing treatment
because you're in remission, sticking to that treatment
and having your regular follow-ups
is really, really important.
If you are completely in remission,
but you have lifestyle factors that might pose a risk.
So overweight
and obesity, exposure to UV radiation, sunshine,
it's about managing the risk factors associated
with a recurrence of cancer.
What are the most common misconceptions about cancer?
So I think the most common one is that it won't happen
to me or my family because there's no history,
but I think we all know somebody
that's probably been affected, so that just isn't true.
And then there's other myths around mobile phones
and the non-ionising radiation from those and burnt foods
and eating burnt foods.
Again, there's definitely no known link at this moment in
time in relation to cancer, plastic containers
and bottles drinking from them,
putting your food in plastic bags.
There's no evidence that increases your risk of cancer.
The same in relation to artificial sweeteners
and the same in relation to stress and pesticides
and genetically modified food.
None of those things have an increased link to cancer.
How can I check whether I have any cancer symptoms?
If you know what's normal for you, it's much easier
to notice anything that changes. So instead
of regular self checks doing the same thing the same
time on a regular basis.
Just be aware of what's normal for you
and listen to your body,
and if something doesn't feel right, then you need to go
and get that checked from a health professional.
Go and speak to someone.
Listen to your body and speak to that health professional
because we know if you spot cancer at an early stage,
that does save lives.
Now a lot of people do talk about those regular checks,
but there's no evidence that that really helps.
So think about if we are talking about bowel cancer,
for example, changes in that bowel habit.
How often you go to the toilet can be an indicator
and a symptom, but it's normal for you.
So if you normally go to the toilet twice a day
and everything's the same as normal,
then you don't need to speak to anyone.
But if you start going much, much more regularly
or you can't go at all,
or the consistency is different, then that's the time to go
and get some advice.
We try not to be too prescriptive of
how long those symptoms should be there
before you seek advice,
because what's normal for you
isn't necessarily normal for me.
So listen to what your body's telling you
and get that professional advice, even if it's only
to put your mind at rest.
What symptoms should I look out for?
So there are lots and lots of different types of cancers,
which means there's lots
and lots of different types of symptoms.
So it's really not easy to give a list
and not all of those might resonate with you
or ring true for you anyway.
So some symptoms are going to be really obvious.
You are going to have a lump somewhere
that you haven't had before.
You can see a mole that's changed and is different,
but other symptoms might be more vague than that.
So you might be off your food, you might have lost weight
when you're not trying to lose weight,
you might be tired all the time and not know why that is.
There might not be a really good rationale for that.
So it really is very much about you feeling
or seeing something different for you, or as a friend
or family member, notice something different.
Then go and get that checked out with a health professional.
What can I do if I think I have cancer symptoms?
So the first thing for me is be brave and speak up.
As soon as you can. Go and see a healthcare professional.
If you've had symptoms, write it down so that you know
what you're saying to the GP.
If you can take a friend with you to help you remember,
if nothing else, whatever the doctor says to you,
that's really, really helpful
because you'll come out of that appointment
and you'll have forgotten everything
that anybody's said to you.
So fundamentally, the really, really important thing
that you really must do is if you think you've got symptoms,
go and get it checked out.
When should I seek professional advice about cancer?
Trust your instinct.
If something isn't normal for you,
if you think you've got symptoms, please go
and seek some professional advice.
If you're a Bupa customer, we have our direct acts
to cancer service so that you can phone us up
and we can give you a direct referral
to a consultant without consulting a gp,
or you can see a GP through our digital GP service,
and we also have our 24 hour Anytime Healthline manned
by nurses 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Also, if you're invited to NHS screening appointments such
as mammogram or bowel cancer screening,
or for testicular checks,
please make sure you keep those appointments.
And do remember, just
because you've been screened, that doesn't mean
that you don't need
to get checked if you develop new symptoms in
between those screening times.
So if you get any new symptoms, even between your screening,
please also go and get those checked.
What should I do before going to the GP?
So gather your information,
get some support if you want somebody
to accompany you to your appointment.
Remember, the more detail you can share, the better it is,
but it's also not a test.
You don't have to diagnose yourself.
That's what the doctor's going to do.
And think of the questions that you want to ask.
Take your time and don't be afraid to say
that you don't understand when you get
the answers from the doctor.
Just because they've explained it once doesn't mean they
can't explain it again.
Check what happens next.
If the doctor suggests you need some tests
or investigations,
make sure you find out when they're likely to happen,
when you are likely to get the results.
And I think another important thing to do is
to check what you need to do.
If you are waiting for any investigations
to happen, who do you contact?
Who's best to follow up with?
Where can I go for helpful information about cancer?
So there are lots of trusted resources out there,
Bupa's own website, .co.uk, the McMillan website,
and also Cancer Research UK.
And of course, the NHS has got
loads and loads of information.
But please, please make sure you use one
of those trusted websites.
But if you've got some symptoms
that you are actually concerned about for you right now,
it's really important to speak to a health professional
and get the reassurance you need.
How do I access support through Bupa?
If you're a Bupa customer,
we have our direct access service where you can get straight
through to see a consultant without a GP referral.
If you already have a GP referral,
you can call our member services line.
We will assess your eligibility
and guide you to the most appropriate special.
Guidance and support from our experts
Our experts are joined by some familiar faces as they discuss signs and symptoms as well as tackling some well known misconceptions.
Inside Health:
Tackling testicular taboos
Chris Hughes, TV personality, chats with Bupa's Dr Naveen Puri about the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer, how to do a self check and what diagnosis and treatment options are available. They also answer some common myths about testicular health.
Sometimes life takes really unexpected turns, and I've always been passionate about talking men's health, and you don't know what's around the corner.
Back in 2018, I went on This Morning to undergo a live testicular examination to discuss the importance about men checking themselves and how to do that correctly.
It's really given me the drive to keep talking about this important topic.
It's around 95% curable if diagnosed early.
So today I'm joined by Dr. Naveen to unpack this important topic.
So Dr. Naveen, thank you very much for joining me.
Thank you for having me, Chris.
And welcome.
And we are in a changing room.
I think the important thing around this is the fact that you know, as men in changing rooms, in sport teams, we do a lot of talking, but it's not necessarily on the topics which are actually important within our lives.
You know, it's quite a stigmatised subject, talking about testicular, how we all shower together, as we know.
But I feel for like women, it's a lot easier to do.
They go down to the park, they go out for drinks, and they'll talk about those important subjects.
But as men, we don't necessarily do that.
Yeah, I'd fully agree Chris.
I think it's one of those rare places that men are actually vulnerable, isn't it?
As you say, we shower together, we talk together.
This is like one place we can truly be open.
So let's see if we can replicate some of that banter, and.
Absolutely.
And well, the first thing, checking your testicles.
It's the easiest thing to do in the world.
Is it not?
It really is.
And that would be easy for me to say as a doctor, but honestly speaking, a testicle is really a small structure to check.
It takes literally seconds.
And if we're asking you to check both your testicles once a month, which is the frequency we recommend, it shouldn't take very long at all.
And we've got some props.
We do indeed.
So out comes the satsuma.
Right.
Show me exactly how you should do this correctly.
All right.
So a satsuma, as most men will know, is much bigger than their actual testicle is, but this is a little bigger just so we can demonstrate to our audience how to do an examination.
The first thing is you wanna stabilise your testicles.
So if you take the finger and thumb of one hand and just hold your testicle or satsuma like this.
Yeah.
Your other hand is free, and you've got your finger and thumb on that hand, and all you want to do is just make sure you run around the entire smooth surface to make sure there's no lump on there.
Your fingers have hundreds of nerve endings, in fact millions of nerve endings, so that if there was a lump on there, you'd pick it up really easily.
So stabilising the testicle, all you wanna do is take your finger and thumb and just run them entirely around your testicle to make sure it's smooth, from one end down to the other.
So maybe start at the top and work down, or start at the side and work to the other side, whichever is easier for you.
Is that easier to do when you've, I know when we have a bath as men, everything relaxes.
Yeah.
So it gives you a more kind of, Spot on.
full on approach to it, I guess.
Yeah, absolutely.
That's a great tip.
So when you have a bath or a shower, the testicle actually falls down from the body because the testicle has to be slightly cooler than the body temperature.
So having a bath or a shower, or even just some kind of workout, when you're hot and warm can lower the testicles and make it much easier to examine your testicle as well.
I like you just mentioned that you're touching it.
So we are literally looking for any kind of lump or anything what doesn't feel natural.
Yeah, absolutely.
So as I said, it should be completely smooth.
Just like that satsuma surface is.
If there was a lump or a projection on this, so let's take, for example, a pea.
If there was a pea stuck on that or a lentil stuck on that, hopefully, your finger would pick that up quite easily.
But you have to be feeling to know it's there.
The body gives you no warning signs, so unless you're feeling, you're not gonna know one is present.
And that is essentially what happened with my brother.
So I did the live examination that day.
I went home, I went to bed as you do, and three o'clock in the morning, he knocks on my door.
And I did say to him, I was like, Ben, what are you, what are you doing?
It's three in the morning.
He goes, I think I've got a lump on my testicle.
I said, well I'm not getting up at three o'clock to check it right now.
It can wait 'til the morning.
Yeah.
And then he showed me in the morning and obviously, there was a lump there, which he then went and got diagnosed.
But what would you recommend for people if they found a lump on their testicle?
How would you then go about the secondary approach to that?
Yeah, well thank you for sharing your story, Chris.
And I think your brother took exactly the right approach in checking himself, and well done for having done so.
What I'd say to anyone that feels a lump is don't be alarmed.
There can be many things that can cause a lump, but we have to be concerned to rule out a possible cancer.
In young men in particular, there are very few things that cause a lump.
And so if you've got one, let a doctor do the work for you.
And so you need to take yourself to the doctor so that they can do the next stage of investigation by referring you on to a specialist.
And I think what you just touched on there is very important.
I mean, a lot of people don't necessarily want to put themselves through the anxiety of going and getting themselves checked out.
They might kind of, I think a very common thing we do as men is like bypass the situation.
Yeah.
And put it to one side and think, okay, there's a slim chance it might be cancer, so I'm okay, I can deal with that.
Yeah.
Because with testicular cancer, it is a pain-free situation, isn't it?
It's not something which is physically gonna give you pain or any feeling to kind of alert you in that respect.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I feel like men, we can ignore that.
We can put that to one side, and that's not a good approach is it?
Yeah, no, spot on.
I mean, I think as men, we tend to bury our heads in the sand, don't we?
And unless there's a symptom such as pain or a rash or something which you can see or feel, you're not inclined to want to go and see a doctor.
I'd say a couple of things.
One is that testicular cancer actually affects younger men more than it affects older men.
So men that are the age that you're in Chris, and your brother, will certainly be affected more than say the men in my age group.
And so it's very important that you do recognise that.
The second thing to say is that when you go to a doctor, I know for a patient or for a gentleman like your brother, it's the most daunting thing.
But for a doctor, we probably see several a week actually.
And it really is just run of the mill, another gentleman with a testicular lump, let's refer onwards to a specialist.
We'll do our best to make you feel as comfortable as possible.
But it is important you get through the door, because if you don't, no help is available to you.
Yeah, and I know why we are in a rugby change room, It's quite a fitting setting.
'Cause I was chatting to Gareth Thomas about this similar situation when we were doing some filming together, and he was essentially saying he doesn't want to, or he didn't want to check himself, because he feels like what he doesn't know can't hurt him.
Right?
Yeah.
And I'm sure his approach would've changed in that respect, but the way I see that, I feel like if you do check yourself, and you don't find a lump, Yeah.
or if you do find a lump, and then you get it cleared as being fine, you can continue to check yourself every month, which you'd probably recommend.
You can tell us a timeframe in a minute.
But if you check yourself then, going on every month after that, it gives you that security in your head that if you then do find something afterwards, you've caught it early and at a good stage.
Yeah.
That is spot on too.
So in terms of frequency, I would say do a check once every month.
A good time as you've recommended is when you're just out of a bath or a shower 'cause the testicles are slightly lower in the body.
Even after a workout, you're a lot warmer.
And so doing it then is a good time as well.
It takes literally seconds.
So if you, the first time you do it, you may wanna take a bit longer just to, you know, sort of get a real feel for how you do it.
I'd also say to men, get to know your testicles.
We always tell our female patients to get to know their breasts when they do a breast exam, and the same applies to us as men as well.
Get to know your testicle, get to know what normal for you feels like.
And if you do it month on month on month, if there ever then is a change, you'll think, oh, hang on, that's not normal for me.
Let me go and take myself to a doctor.
And you can see it much clearly.
Yeah, absolutely.
Whereas if the first time you do a check, like your brother perhaps, and that's the first time you pick up a lump, you may then wake up your sibling at three o'clock like your brother did with you and you know, raise the alarm, which is absolutely fine to do, but you may also just think that's normal, and that would be really disastrous.
But it's literally 10, 15 seconds, that's all it is.
It takes no time to check yourself.
If you do that 10, 15 seconds on each testicle once a month, that's 30 seconds of your life.
Yeah.
Thank you for that.
Which could save your life.
Yeah, it really isn't that big an ask, is it?
But yeah, as long as you make it a routine, make it a regular thing for yourself, that's all we're asking you to do.
So why do we feel embarrassed about it?
What is the problem?
You know, it's hard to pin down, Chris.
I mean, there's a couple of things that I speak to mine, based on the patients that I've seen.
I think one of the biggest things is an embarrassment about seeing a doctor and getting naked in front of them.
But as I've said, doctors see naked people all the time.
It's a part of our routine.
We'll do our best to make you feel as comfortable as possible and just talk you through the process so you know exactly what's going on.
I think another thing is the fear of the unknown.
I think some patients come to us and recognise that they may have something wrong but don't want to know what's gonna happen next.
For some men, being medicalized can be quite scary.
Things like the fear of impotence and not being able to get erections, not being able to have children which are not the case, by the way, can often cloud their their ability to come and see us as well.
So there's many myths and wives' tales out there as to why patients don't see doctors.
But honestly, it's always the right thing to do.
So please do bring yourself to a doctor whenever you need to.
I think one important thing you said there, Dr.
Naveen, is you've seen everything as a doctor, and that is the thing for men to understand.
Yeah.
Especially people who want to go and get something looked at.
There's nothing you haven't seen.
So nothing's new to you guys.
So that embarrassment factor shouldn't really be there.
Should it?
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think it's important that we emphasise that.
For a doctor, we see these things day in, day out.
And really, a good doctor will make you feel comfortable around that.
We'll recognise the very brave step you've taken to come and see us.
But it's then for us to make you feel comfortable and take the next steps for you.
And in a very basic form, what is that next step?
So if you have got a lump, without x-ray vision, we can't tell whether it is a serious lump or a non-serious one.
So what we'll do is refer you to a specialist, and they'll do what's called an ultrasound scan.
This kind scan that pregnant women have over their tummy.
So you'll have some jelly applied to your scrotal sac, or your ball bag, we'll apply a probe over it, much like a deodorant roll on.
And that will give us a 3D image of your testicle.
Completely painless, takes literally minutes to do, and it gives us an image of what's going on, and we can then decide next steps from there.
And then after that, what would be the next stages of a cancer diagnosis?
Yeah, great question.
So as with any cancer, we then need to do something called staging to see how far the cancer has spread.
And the great thing with the testicular cancer is that if it's caught early, it is completely curable.
All cancers start off being contained essentially.
They're confined to a small area.
And unless they've spread elsewhere, all we have to do is simply remove that cancer, and you are completely cured.
Now, testicular cancer grows relatively slowly in the first few months, before it gets a lot faster and starts to spread elsewhere.
So if we catch it in the first few months of it being there, you are really in a much better position than if it's a bit more further afield.
I think that's why it's important to remember that 95% curable.
Yeah.
Is a great reason in itself just to get yourself checked.
Yeah, absolutely.
And if you consider a testicular cancer, it's so easy to pick up as well.
All you have to do is feel your balls through your testicular sac, and it takes, as we've said, about 30 seconds to do every month.
It really is a very easy one to pick up if you consider that other cancers that occur within the body can be much harder to pick up.
We really have no excuse for not detecting and then treating and curing testicular cancer.
is not a long time to put aside for what could save your life essentially.
Absolutely.
I mean, when you consider how much time we spend on social media or watching TV or even an advert between one of our favourite programmes, that's longer than 30 seconds.
Exactly.
If we can do all those things, there's no reason why we can't check ourselves as well.
A hundred percent.
So what things can we do to reduce our chances of getting testicular cancer?
Are there any lifestyle factors we can change?
Great question, Chris.
I mean, a lot of patients ask me what can I do to reduce my risk?
Because with the awareness, people are now looking to control their risk as well.
What I will say is that with all cancers, so let's speak generally, first of all, we know that there are certain things that certainly increase your risk of a cancer.
Things like being a smoker, things like drinking too much, things like being overweight and not exercising enough.
Those lifestyle factors certainly are cancer causing across the board.
I will also say, though, that testicular cancer, because it occurs relatively early in life, means that you've not always had enough exposure to the harms of cigarette smoking or drinking too much or other things that could cause a cancer.
And sometimes it is just bad luck that your testicles happen to develop a cancer in the circumstances that they do.
We know that some people have a genetic predisposition to that.
So sometimes you will hear about certain relatives in a family being affected, or certain relatives being affected when somebody else is diagnosed.
And so aside from being healthy and just being vigilant to the cancer being there by doing a self-examination, there probably isn't much else that I'd recommend people do at this stage.
Obviously, a subject I talk loads about, as well is my brother.
He was the one who had testicular cancer.
My cousin had it as well.
His cancer becomes secondary of the abdomen, but thankfully it was fully cured as well.
So again, it showcases the fact that testicular cancer is a hugely curable cancer.
Yeah.
Is it something which runs in the family?
Is it something that people should worry about in the family?
Is it genetically connected?
Yeah, let me be really honest with you.
I think medicine moves really, really fast, and we are constantly discovering new things about not just cancers, but all sorts of conditions.
But speaking about cancer in particular, there is a real knowledge base now around which cancers do have a very strong genetic link.
So there are certain kinds of breast cancer or bowel cancers that are very genetically driven.
We haven't discovered a one-off gene that causes testicular cancer, but we can't deny that there are clusters of testicular cancer that occur in families, and I think your family is one example, in point, with around that.
So we do know that there is some element of heredity in that equation.
What I'd say is that if you have got a first degree relative such as a brother or a father affected by testicular cancer, it does raise your risk quite considerably.
Okay.
If you've also got a second degree relative like a cousin, that also raises your risk, we're not sure by how much, but certainly does raise that concern there.
So I'd say for all men to be checking themselves regularly is important, but especially those men who have relatives who are affected as well.
Because if they've been affected, you may have a similar gene or genetic makeup which makes you prone to it as well.
Amazing, Dr.
Naveen.
That is very good advice for any man wanting to check themselves on how to do it correctly.
And if you find something, do something.
Perfect.
Simple as that.
Absolutely.
Though I think you've hit the nail on the head, Chris.
Being proactive is the most important thing.
And as long as you're doing that, you're good to go.
(upbeat music)
The Doctor Will Hear You Now Podcast:
Bowel Cancer
Dr Zoe Williams is joined by the incredible, Charlene White. Charlene discusses her experience of bowel cancer, including the diagnosis and sad passing of her mother. They are also joined by Dr Petra Simic, Medical Director for Bupa Health Clinics, to bring her own expertise to this subject matter.
I think something that's important for us all to know is what are the typical signs and symptoms that we can look out for?
The commonest ones, commonest two are bleeding from the bottom and change your bowel habit and that normally means either more loose or more frequent.
So people often think it's constipation, I'm bit constipated and that means I’ve got bowel cancer, it's actually the opposite, It's actually looser and it's actually more frequent.
So if that remains for a period of time, obviously, we gone out for a night out and we've had a curry the night before, we're not talking about that we're talking about a sustained period of time where your bowels just become a little bit looser.
And there are other there are other symptoms, you can get bloating, you can feel abdominal pain, you can pass mucus from your button, but the two commonest things, bleeding from your bottom and change your bowel habit towards looseness.
And how important is it to tackle these signs early?
So if anybody is noticing that they're having these symptoms, how quickly should they act really, It's really, really vital.
The earlier you pick up on these things, the better your outcome will be.
Every single time.
So what we know is that bowel cancer, colorectal cancer starts off life as a polyp.
So it goes from normal bowel to polyp to cancer and there's a period of time between those different steps.
So if we can pick up something at the stage where it hasn't become cancerous and it's a benign polyp, then will prevent the cancer happening completely.
But even if it has become cancer, then the earlier you pick it up the earlier you deal with it, the better the outcome, you know, always
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Further resources
Understanding cancer
Understand different cancers and get support if you or someone close has a diagnosis. Plus, find information on common symptoms and treatment.
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