A simple self-examination lasting 10 seconds can make the difference between life and an aggressive cancer that leads to "cannonball-shaped" tumors in the lungs. Testicular cancer is the primary cause of a condition referred to by doctors as "cannon lung," where the disease spreads to the lungs and creates a scattered array of rapidly multiplying tumors. The survival odds drop from about 96% when detected early to 73% once the cancer spreads outside the testicles to the lungs.
Dr. Sam Ghali, an emergency medicine resident in Florida, issued a warning on "X" about this deadly danger after observing a complicated case in a young patient. In an audio recording shared on social media, he spoke about a man in his twenties who went to the hospital due to a persistent cough, and it turned out that he had advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs.
Dr. Ghali noted that multiple nodules appeared as hazy spots on a chest X-ray, which is a classic case of "cannon metastases." If detected early, through self-examination for instance, testicular cancer can largely be treatable. Whether the cancer spreads to the lungs or other organs depends on the individual patient's physiology. There is a subtype of testicular cancer called non-seminomatous tumors, which has a higher likelihood of spreading compared to seminomatous tumors that tend to grow and spread more slowly.
"Cannonball" like lesions can also arise from other types of cancer, including kidney, breast, and colon cancers. Dr. Ghali told his 472,000 followers on "X," "Immediately, we notice these large, well-defined round lesions" in both lungs. He continued, "There are so many that you can't even count them all. This is the classic appearance of what is known as cannonball metastases."
It is worth mentioning that testicular cancer is relatively uncommon; however, it is the most common cancer among men aged 15 to 44 years. Men's health experts have long urged for more self-examinations as an easy and non-invasive means to ensure that everything appears normal and does not require attention from a trained medical professional. The entire self-examination takes about 10 seconds.
