Making sense of testicular cancer symptoms: A qualitative study of the way in which men sought help from the health-care services

Abstract

Testicular cancer remains a rare disease which predominantly affects younger men and is increasing in incidence.Testicular self-examination has been promoted as one approach to encourage early presentation and diagnosis.This small-scale qualitative study sought to examine how men with testicular cancer had appraised their symptoms, whether they had practiced self-examination and the factors which contributed to their decision to seek medical care. The study showed that detecting symptoms could not be simplified to the detection of a mass and that metastatic symptoms were difficult for both patients and GPs to appraise.Wives were instrumental in persuading men to visit the GP and the extent to which symptoms affected the patient's lifestyle was also a factor in the decision to seek medical care. The discovery of testicular symptoms produced responses including fear of cancer and of castration.This constituted a barrier to the seeking of care, creating patient delay.The findings have implications for the development of cancer awareness campaigns, where simply giving men information may not guarantee early presentation, and for the development of assessment and referral protocols in primary care.The study also highlighted the need for emotional support to be made available to patients and their families.