Cycling fundraiser for cancer that affects men in their prime

He was a young man about to graduate high school and preparing for a summer to remember: Two glorious months of la dolce vita in Italy. It was 1996. But 19-year-old Domenic Dell-Elce wasn't completely worry-free. He'd been consulting his family doctor about a lump he'd found in his testicles and, though three months had gone by, the lump was still there.

Nothing to be concerned about, his doctor had said, and recommended one round of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics. The doctor kept repeating the treatments, until Dell-Elce finally demanded he be sent to a specialist.

The specialist's diagnosis shattered Dell-Elce's summer dreams. He went from being a high-school student to a cancer patient in one day. The testicular cancer had already spread to lymph nodes in his lower body. After surgery to remove one testicle, came chemotherapy and months of recovery.

But that was then, this is now.

Today. Domenic Dell-Elce is cancer-free, married and the father of a little girl. He's also the honorary chairman of a summertime cancer fundraiser that's a first for Toronto -- a 200-km bike ride, The Ride to Conquer Cancer, from Toronto to Niagara Falls the weekend of June 20 to 22. Please join him, he says: Go to conquercancer.ca and sign up for the ride of your life.

"We're going to have people of all abilities," says Dell-Elce who now works in his family's construction company and has been indoor cycling all winter to prepare for the event. "We have international cyclist Steve Bauer committed, but also people who have never cycled."

As with any fundraiser for the Princess Margaret Hospital, this one comes with lots of support -- training sessions, much help along the route, plus a complementary train to take riders and their bikes back from Niagara Falls. "It's not a race," stresses Dell-Elce. "It's far from a race."

He's clearly excited: For him, there's no greater way to give back to the hospital that saved his life.

It's not just the money, though. This race is also raising awareness of a cancer that not all young men survive, says Dr. Padraig Warde, radiation oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital. "If testicular cancer is caught at an early stage, it is highly curable," he says. "But we still lose people. While we will diagnose about 800 cases in Canada this year, we will still lose about 40 young men."

Relatively speaking, the cancer is a rare one. Compare its 800 cases a year versus prostate cancer's 20,000 per year. It affects about one in 100,000 men, mostly between the ages of 20 and 40. Because it's so rare, there isn't an organized screening program -- as there is for, say, breast cancer -- that would catch it.

As a result, it's up to men to find it themselves. (It's not unusual for a girlfriend or spouse to find it.)

"It's a major concern," says Dr. Warde, "because it affects young men in the prime of life." There are two types of testicular cancer -- one, the more aggressive, is usually treated with surgery and chemotherapy; the other, less aggressive, responds to radiation post-surgery. Some people require no treatment beyond surgery.

The cancer starts as a growth of abnormal cells within the testicle. Symptoms include a lump in either testicle; enlargement of a testicle; a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum; a dull ache in the lower abdomen or in the groin area. Some experts believe you should examine your testicles once per month, to familiarize yourself with them so as to recognize any changes that might occur. To find out how to perform a testicular self-exam, go to mayoclinic.com.

The cancer is confirmed by ultrasound, a painless non-invasive test.

"Ultrasound shows whether or not it is a lump and not just something full of fluid," explains Dr. Warde. "If it is a solid on the ultrasound, we are 99.8% sure it is cancer." Removal of the testicle is recommended, but neither fertility nor sexuality is affected, he stresses: "You can live perfectly normal in every way with one testicle."

Although the cancer is a rare one, its incidence is increasing about 2% each year.

"It's increasing significantly, and has so over the last 20 years all over the world," says Dr. Warde. "It's a rare cancer but still a very serious one."

A lump that persists for a few weeks needs investigation. Find it early, save your life.