February is National Cancer Prevention Month and we’re focusing on testicular cancer.
According to data, 8,000 to 10,000 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer every year.
It’s one of the most common cancers for young men, but it also has one of the highest cure rates. It’s important to know the warning signs. One local man in his 20s delayed going to see his doctor and the outcome was scary.
Common symptoms of testicular cancer often include a lump, swelling or pain, but 29-year-old Christian Diaz of Anaheim can’t remember experiencing any signs.
“I didn’t really have any,” he said.
While he had some back pain, he ignored it.
Diaz was about to become a first-time dad and had applied for a second job that required a physical exam.
“They saw some unusual areas on my chest X-ray on the borders,” he said.
He went to get tests.
A few days after his daughter Ellie was born, doctors admitted him to the hospital for immediate treatment of stage 3 testicular cancer.
“I can’t have my life end so short because we just had a baby. Like my wife and I, it’s something I wanted to enjoy. I felt like I was almost being robbed of that,” Diaz said.