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Jon Fortgang, 30, is a writer. He's never done a self examination for testicular cancer.
'I'll be honest about this. My relationship with my testicles is not a hands-on one. They've got a job to do. Usually they do it. Beyond that I don't want to hear from them.
'It's a demanding relationship I know, but in one of those weird blips in male logic, I dont want to check myself precisely because I think I might find something.
'That's because testicular cancer generates in me the sort of fear other diseases would kill for.
'The Romans believed the testicles were at the core of a man's being, and they were right. They're bound up with notions of potency and masculinity. That they might not be up to scratch is deeply distressing, psychologically as well as physically.
'So it's no surprise that I've found self-checking difficult to talk about, never mind do. A quick poll of the lads ('Do you...?' 'Nope') reveals us all to be equally squeamish. Saying out loud you're afraid of testicular cancer is like admitting you cried during Titanic. It's unmanly. It's embarrassing. It isn't going to happen to you.
'But it might, and though the fags have gone and I've re-thought my underwear, I know I'm still at risk. The penis gets all the attention (hopefully), but me and my balls are re-negotiating our relationship, and in future it's going to be a bit more hands-on.'
Most cases of testicular cancer occur in men aged from 18 to 35. If you don't check, who will?
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