Who Are T.CAS?

Steve Young set up T.CAS.  Steve was diagnosed with testicular cancer (TC) in 1996.  T.CAS is now a busy Scottish Charity; we have a strong management committee, committed to providing a first class service.  Although we are based in Scotland, we have had a great deal of enquiries from the rest of the UK; we have offered information and support via the telephone, post and email on these occasions.

T.CAS has strong links with The Edinburgh Cancer Centre.  We were very pleased to be involved with the opening of the First Male Cancer Centre at The Edinburgh Cancer Centre.  The Centre was opened by First Minister Jack McConnell (further information from link

www.scotland.gov.uk/news/releases/2003/10/4239)

Support can take the following methods: 

• Telephone Support 
• One to One Meetings
• Counselling Sessions 
• Email Support
• Texting Service

Should anyone require information about testicular cancer we will be only too happy to send details out to them.  We are currently working on the production of an audio CD; the CD will go through the process of testicular cancer – types, operation, treatments, etc.  On the CD there will be personal experience stories.

Health Promotion

We have our own health promotion leaflet.  Health promotion days and talks on self-examination and testicular cancer are offered to schools, colleges, work places, youth groups, etc.  These sessions take the form of informal chat with the opportunity for questions and answers, backed up with literature.  We are currently working on an education pack to be made available to schools throughout the UK; the pack will be made up of leaflets, information and a question and answers sheet.  A CD ROM will also be available for schools.  The CD can be left in schools for use in social education and/or can be used when information sessions are given to pupils.  T.CAS has worked in partnership with the Edinburgh Cancer Centre for the last year offering talks to 3^rd year boys in Edinburgh schools.  This is now extended to all schools in the Lothians and Fife. 

In one of our health promotion talks we invited a reporter from The Edinburgh Evening News to sit and observe (a fly on the wall)

This is what she says:

 

A life in your hand Sandra O'Donnell THE silence becomes almost deafening. "Testicles," declares Liz Young, as six teenage lads, who seconds earlier had been chatting about the day to day trivialities of school life, start to squirm slightly beneath her gaze. She’s propped herself up on a classroom desk, her legs resting comfortably on a chair in front of her, while she talks to a group of 15-year-old boys about bits of their bodies that women don’t usually talk to them about. "What do you call them?" she asks, and a small voice replies to a background of deep chuckles: "Baws". "Right," smiles Liz, "baws it is." The Ball Lady has come to Gracemount High - by coincidence, her old secondary school - to talk to adolescent boys about a life or death issue in their own kind of language. And if that means using slang expressions and earthy phrases, smiling at teenagers’ bad jokes and answering their questions to a chorus of sniggers, then that’s just fine by her. "We should be able to talk about these things," she stresses, as the boys listen intently. "There’s no need for anyone to die of embarrassment." Six stoney faces gaze back at her as she continues. She talks of self-examination, demonstrating how to use the fingertips to feel for even the smallest changes. The Gracemount boys watch closely, some with their arms tightly folded in front of them, others chewing nervously on their bottom lips. "Testicular cancer can be very successfully treated - it is 97 per cent curable if it’s found early," continues Liz. "But that means regular self-examination, something that a lot of people are uncomfortable talking about." Liz, 35, has no qualms about bringing the subject of testicular cancer into the open. With a husband at home who has lost both testicles to the disease six years apart, two brothers-in-law affected, and two sons of her own to worry about, Liz is determined to ensure men of all ages shake off the reluctance to talk about that very part of their bodies which they probably secretly regard as the most important. Yet testicular cancer - it can strike any time after puberty - is an issue that is gradually gaining a much higher profile, thanks to celebrities like Robbie Williams and Jude Law who have added their support to high-profile awareness campaigns. Sports stars like former Celtic player Alan Stubbs - his cancer was spotted during a routine drugs test - Millwall striker Neil Harris and three times winner of the Tour de France Lance Armstrong have all beaten the disease, while Canadian comedian Tom Green turned his brush with testicular cancer into TV entertainment by filming an operation to remove one of his testicles. And who could possibly forget the infamous live self-examination on ITV’s This Morning show with Richard and Judy, which ended with Richard lunging forward to shake hands with the "patient"? They are the kind of examples that adolescent boys can relate to - and that’s why Liz makes a point of including them in her school talks. "There’s no point going up to teenage boys and showing them a lot of literature and statistics, handing them a leaflet and saying ‘off you go now’," she explains later. "You have to meet them at their own level - and that means talking to them in a way that they can relate to." A trained accountant, Liz’s shock at learning of her husband Steve’s testicular cancer was compounded when they discovered there was no Scottish help group available. And with 210 cases of testicular cancer diagnosed in Scotland every year - around 60 of them will be treated at Edinburgh’s Western General - the Youngs realised the desperate need for some kind of support network. "We had so many questions," recalls Liz, "but sitting at home in the evening, there would be no-one to answer them." Around two years ago, they set up Testicular Cancer Awareness (TCAS) from their cottage in Pencaitland. Today they operate a telephone helpline for anyone affected by the disease - sufferers, their relatives and even their friends. They produce information leaflets, run awareness campaigns and, of course, Liz visits schools in Lothian, Borders and Fife. while many children cringe with embarrassment at their parents’ mere presence in the school corridor, Liz’s sons, Tony, 14, and Stuart, who is 12, have risen above the sniggers of some of their classmates. They know, explains Liz, there are much more important issues at stake. "Men are notorious for failing to pay attention to their health," sighs Liz. "And when it comes to having something wrong with their testicles, quite often they are just too embarrassed to do anything about it. But no-one should die from embarrassment." Grahame Howard, patient services director at the Western General’s Edinburgh Cancer Centre, agrees that men must learn to overcome their reluctance to speak about health matters. "Testes cancer is the commonest kind of cancer among men aged 18-30 and, while it’s very curable in the vast majority of cases, the cure rates drop to around 50 per cent if it’s left too late." He is hopeful that a new men’s cancer centre, due to open in October at the Western General and the first in Scotland to deal specifically with prostate and testicular cancer cases, will help encourage men to overcome their embarrassment. "Who knows why many men delay in going to the doctor?" he adds. "Perhaps some are embarrassed, they may not be aware of changes or know what a normal testicle should feel like, some may think the lump they feel has some sexual connotation. Certainly, what TCAS is doing is to be supported." Meanwhile, the boys from Gracemount High’s 4L1 class have heard Liz speak frankly about what happens when a tumour is found, how it is treated and how, even if a testicle must be removed, silicon implants can be inserted. She chooses her words carefully, anxious to strike a balance between presenting the facts and taking care not to frighten, and uses a satsuma to demonstrate the correct self-examination technique. The boys nod when Liz asks if they will remember to examine themselves in the shower or after a bath, and mumble in agreement when she stresses the importance of talking to someone if they do find a lump. There’s no way Liz can know how effective her lesson has been, she can only hope that by talking frankly about testicles she might just save a life. As for being dubbed the Ball Lady, she muses: "Well, there’s the Tampax Lady who comes to talk to the girls, so why not a Ball Lady for the boys?" Lowdown on a killer Cases of testicular cancer have risen 70 per cent in the last 20 years. While it is the 14th most common cancer overall, it is the top cancer among men aged 20 to 34. It can appear any time after puberty, striking even the fittest. Around one man in every 500 is affected, with the number of cases rising by 70 per cent over the last 20 years. The good news is that more than 90 per cent of cases can be cured - but it must be caught early. While no-one yet knows exactly what causes it, some researchers suggest that chemicals used in the manufacture of cosmetics, plastics and food cans, that mimic the female hormone oestrogen, could be responsible. Testicular cancer is also known to run in families. Some men may be at higher risk if their mothers were given the synthetic oestrogen DES during pregnancy. Men born with an undescended testicle are also at a slightly higher risk, as are non-identical twins. Sustaining a blow to the testicles does not cause the cancer, but health experts warn that wearing tight trousers can raise the temperature and may encourage the growth of cancerous cells. Regular self-examination is the best way to check for signs of the disease. Check once a month for any signs of lumps or swelling, there may be a heavy or aching feeling or general discomfort. TCAS support group provides self-examination leaflets.

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