What to Know About Radiation for Testicular Cancer

You can’t see or feel radiation but it kills cancer cells.

Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by directing strong X-rays at your cancer. You see a radiation oncologist for this treatment. This doctor specializes in the use of radiation to kill cancer cells. The doctor decides how often you need radiation and at what dose.

Who Needs Radiation for Testicular Cancer

Whether or not your doctor decides to give you radiation depends on these factors.

• The type of your cancer

• The stage of your cancer

• The location of your tumor

Your doctor may use radiation after your surgery to make sure all the cancer cells are gone. Doctors use radiation to treat seminoma testicular cancers. These are cancers that begin in the type of cells that make sperm. Doctors do not usually treat nonseminoma testicular cancer with radiation because it does not work as well.

What Happens During Radiation Treatment

This therapy is often used to kill cancer cells that have spread to your lymph nodes. Radiation therapy is a local therapy. This means it only kills cancer cells in the treated area. Lower doses of radiation may be used to treat testicular cancer than other cancers.

Men who get radiation for testicular cancer will go to the hospital or clinic 5 days a week for several weeks. The treatment lasts only a couple of minutes and is painless. It is like getting an X-ray. You may wear a protective device over your healthy testicle to help preserve your fertility.