Hello BM2004

I'm sorry to hear that you've recently found some lumps and that you're feeling worried about these. I can understand why you're finding it difficult to talk with someone about these lumps but it is important that you do let your parents, GP or another person about things. 

I wonder if you find it difficult to speak about your concerns, what you think about writing a note and explaining to your parents or someone who can support you in contacting your GP. 

Whilst you're obviously very anxious about finding these lumps, the best way to help resolve that is to get reassurance from your GP. 

I do hope that you're able to get some support with this soon. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator 

I have told the people I live with (staff members) in my independent living they said I have to book an oppointment my self and they can not help in that type of stuff I'm so scared been overthinking it non stop for the past few weeks and now I'm  starting to overthink a lot more I really don't know what to do and I know I'm never gonna be able to grow enough courage to talk to a doctor or anything like that about it. I really don't know what to do my anxiety is hitting the roof and never felt more depressed about anything in my life... really don't know what to do anymore 

When i was your age and again when i was around 20, I found lumps down there. On both occasions, they were harmless cysts. Most lumps are just that cysts or inflammation of the tubes. I was worried, embarrassed and a whole host of other things, but cancer doesn't care.

There are two ways to deal with this and neither is ideal mentally at the moment as both involve going to see your gp at some point, but it is what it is.

1) You let fear get the better of you and the problem doesn't go away. Lets say on the off chance it is something bad (odds are in your favour it isn't anything other than a cyst).

Would you rather

A) get told it is just a simple case of removing the testicle and being done with it

or

B) being told 6 months later when you were left with little or no choice but to go that it's spread to such an extent that you need a whole lotta treatment or there's nothing much they can do for you?

Second way of looking at it and the most likely scenario, it turns out to be a whole lot of nothing.  Your mind is put at ease and you can carry on with your life.

There's one simple rule with cancer from my limited experience thus far with the wife, the longer you leave it, the more treatment you will need.  None of that treatment is nice, so the less treatment you need, the better it is for all concerned. Testicular cancer has one of the best outcomes if seen to asap. The majority (not all) of those that don't fall into the vast majority are usually those who let fear rule them.

Hi BM,

This is so complicated.

First of all, most teenage males (and older guys) worry about lumps and bumps around our testes. We imagine everything should be perfect and smooth but nature doesn't work like that. At 17 your body is still developing and changing. This article might explain what might be causing the lumps around your testes kidshealth.org/.../lumps-testicles.html

The lumps under your jaw and chin could be related to almost anything from something you hadn't noticed until you became anxious about lumps, to glands which are slightly inflamed because your body is fighting an infection. 

The elephant in the room is your Mental Health diagnosis. I know from experience that anyone feeling depressed tends to imagine their worst case scenarios and fears are the most likely to be true. All I can suggest is that you talk to your GP about your physical health concerns to avoid them becoming overwhelming. At best you will be assured that your symptoms add up to nothing unusual or are easily explained and cured. At worst your worst fears will be confirmed and you will access appropriate treatment - an early diagnosis and early treatment is always better than leaving problems untreated.

The good news is that in general cancer is a disease associated with ageing. At 55 I was told that my cancer diagnosis was unlucky because I was so young. Teenage cancers do exist, but they are incredibly rare. This information may not help much I know if you are feeling anxious, but it will give you something to consider when you are worrying about things.

If you can, please try to talk to someone you trust about these concerns. 

Good luck 

Dave