chairmans letter - itcf Hello there! Thank you for taking the time to visit and learn more about us. You may have heard about Testicular Cancer (TC) and started to search the internet and came across our name. On the other hand, you or someone you know has been diagnosed with TC. We found out in 2009 that my oldest son Joshua was diagnosed with Mediastinal Extragonadal Germ Cell Cancer, a very rare form of TC. Mediastinal Extragonadal refers to a cancerous tumor located outside the gonadal region.

As a family, we did not know where to begin. We may have been ignorant; we had never even heard of TC. With that total lack of knowledge, we had no idea what questions to ask the doctors and very little understanding of what they were talking about. We formed our foundation with families like ours in mind; with a desire to improve the quality of life for patients, caregivers and families who are battling and surviving testicular cancer by sharing information about the disease from a social and medical perspective, and attempt to be a support system.

Over a man’s lifetime, he has about a 1 in 250 chance of getting testicular cancer. Next time you’re in a crowd where there’s 250 or more men – think about that…….at least one will be diagnosed with TC. We are here to help. TC is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer for men between the ages of 15 and 35. Most men in that age range think they are bulletproof. “Cancer? Me? That is for old people! Young people don’t get cancer…..” Sadly, the truth is they do; and it can happen at any age. For some reason, over the last 30-40 years, the rate of testicular cancer cases has doubled and no one knows why. We think that is a problem. We think someone needs to start talking about it.

There is great news as well. The great news is that testicular cancer is almost always curable if it is found early. One of the easiest ways to catch it early is to do self-examination. We have information on our site on how to do self-examinations. Over the last 30 years, young women have been taught to routinely conduct their own breast self-examination due in large part to the efforts of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. We believe young men need the same upbringing. If you agree, click the option that says, “Self-Examine, A Simple How-To Guide”. Sign up for a free monthly email and we will remind you. We have some great medical helpful hints that will be able to help you as well.
Not many people know about TC and the easy steps there are to checking yourself. Help us spread the word.

Help us get the word out that we can fight this disease and that if you are diagnosed with TC, you do not have to fight it alone! Together, we can change culture!

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