Yours Man's Disease Jon Calcott Imerman and Jon Dwoskin want young men to be aware of testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is easily cured if young men would only check. JOANNA BRODER Special to the Jewish News T his spring, Jon Dwoskin, 30, a real estate invest- ment broker from West Bloomfield, started seeing black during his daily meditations. He felt pain in his left testicle and thought it might be cancer. Remarkably, the pain that brought him to the doctor was unrelated to the painless, small cancer found in his right testicle. Dwoskin was diagnosed with stage 1 disease, meaning it was confined to the testicle. "I feel blessed that my diagnosis was so good," said Dwoskin. - The type of cancer cells making up Dwoskin's tumor (the most common type) respond very well to radiation therapy. After a month of treat- ments, Dwoskin jumped into volun- teer work to promote awareness for testicular cancer. "As I started talking to people, nobody knew how to check themselves," Dwoskin said. Although extremely rare in the general population, testicular cancer is the most common type of cancer in young men. Forty-four percent of the 250 cases diagnosed in Michigan in 1999 were in young men between ages 15-34. "I had vaguely heard of testicular cancer," said Dwoskin, "I didn't know it was considered a young man's disease." Testicular cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. Cure rates are higher than 90 percent for all stages combined, according to the American Cancer Society. More remarkable is that even in the most advanced stage, where the cancer has spread to other organs, it can still be treated and cured. Adam Beltzman, a lawyer from WARREN PRESCRIPTIONS •Gills •Toys • Cards •Jewelry • Comp Accessories 32910 Middlelleil • Farmington Hills • (248) 85 5-11 77 8/23 2002 110 Farmington Hills who now lives in Chicago, was diagnosed with testicu- lar cancer three years ago when he was just 24. "When I was diagnosed, all my friends were shocked because they didn't know they were at risk," said Beltzman. Because of early detection and his type of tumor, Jon Dwoskin did not need to get chemotherapy or further surgeries. But even if his case had been worse, his chances of surviving the disease would still have been high. This has not always been the case. Death rates from testicular cancer have dropped 70 percent in the last 30 years, mostly due to the intro- duction of a special combination of chemotherapy drugs and more aggressive surgical approaches. "Most cancers, they talk about sur- vival rates, but they don't talk about cure rates. But for testicular cancer they talk about cure rates," said Dwoskin's Southfield urologist, Dr. Michael Lutz. Despite stunning treatment advances, early detection for testicu- lar cancer is still crucial. It grows extremely quickly. The earlier it is found, the easier the treatment, the fewer side effects and the better odds of cure, according to Dr. Lutz. Said former Detroiter Beltzman, "I wish men knew about testicular can- cer (and the) need to examine them- selves once a month." Jon Calcott Imerman, a 27-year- old business school student from West Bloomfield, was diagnosed with testicular cancer last fall while out with friends. He_felt a pain in his groin so sharp that he nearly doubled over. He contemplated going to the emergency room, but like all too many people, he went home to sleep instead. "I remember thinking I hadn't played any contact sports recently ... a • INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE lig° Voted #1 Market by the Detroit News Headers C- 1 rarmin gt©n hills 52.5,o6 Midcilebeit (2+8) 855-5570 Middlebelt & 14 Mile Road 3 gcicilester oaci (2+8) 879-5222 17900 harper 0 86) 788-3650