Movember challenges young men to ‘know thy nuts,’ screen for cancer

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Three-quarters of Canadian men don’t know testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men aged 15 to 40, according to research by Movember.

Through its “Know Thy Nuts” campaign, Movember — the world’s leading men’s health charity — is encouraging men to regularly check their testicles and know what is normal.

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Movember said that only 22% of young Canadian men are confident they can check their testicles for irregularities. One in four said they’ve never checked their pair.

Seventy per cent of young Canadian men said they would see a doctor if they noticed something abnormal with their testicles, but only 24% said they would share it with their partner.

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While the outcome of testicular cancer is often positive, early detection is critical.

Chris Jones was diagnosed with testicular cancer at 22 years of age.

“There’s a huge stigma around being a man, being vulnerable, admitting that something’s wrong,” Jones said. “That’s why I am the guy that’s up there standing on the podium saying, ‘Go check yourself,’ because it can happen to anybody. It would have never crossed my mind that I would be the guy who was diagnosed with cancer at 22 years old.”

Knowing what is normal is the first step and a hot shower is a great place to start. Guys are advised to warm up in a steamy shower, which relaxes and loosens your testicles, getting them ready to be checked.

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Then with your thumb and finger, roll one testicle to get to know what’s normal for you, checking for any changes or anything painful. Then repeat with the other one.

If something hurts or feels differently — like a lump or swelling — get it checked out by a doctor immediately.

This study was done by Dynata, which surveyed 4,000 males as young as 16 years old and up to 40 years old across four different countries – Australia, Canada, the U.K. and U.S. – from Feb. 23 to March 4.

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