April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month
- Canadian comedian and actor Tom Green, now 50, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the early 2000s, but what's he up to today?
- With Instagram photos as evidence, it seems that Green is living his best #countrylife, making music and taking up an interest in photography. He's grown gray hair to his shoulders and rocks a cowboy hat and Carhatt overalls almost daily.
- Testicular cancer starts in the testicles (also called testes; a single testicle is called a testis), and these organs are part of the male reproductive system.
With Instagram photos as evidence, it seems that Green, originally from Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, is living his best #countrylife, making music and taking up an interest in photography.
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He also took to social media on Tuesday to remember friend and fellow comedian Gilbert Gottfried, who passed away today (April 12, 2022), according to multiple news reports.
Sad to hear of the passing of the groundbreaking and legendary Gilbert Gottfried. Here was the last time I saw you in Miami. My condolences to the family and friends of this genius comic, artist, and provocateur. Comedy mourns tonight. #comedy 🙠🙠🙠pic.twitter.com/F3oIp81lmy
Tom Green (@tomgreenlive) April 12, 2022
But more than 20 years ago, Green, now 50, was fighting testicular cancer, and he filmed his entire surgery for MTV. April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, so in observation and to raise awareness, we're taking a look back at Tom Green's cancer battle.
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Tom Green's Cancer Battle
In the early 2000s, Tom Green was at the top of the comedy world. He was also engaged to Drew Barrymore. Green rose to fame with his own MTV show, The Tom Green Show, and in May 2000, he aired The Tom Green Cancer Special. The special followed the lead-up to the comedian's operation to remove one of his testicles, including comedic skits and graphic footage of the surgery itself.
Green made his name with absurd and shocking stunts, so it wasn't easy for everyone to believe him when he announced that he had testicular cancer. But his decision to document his treatment left little room for questioning. Green's irreverent and sometimes morbid skits turned him into somewhat of a spokesperson spreading awareness about the disease and encouraging screening.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tom Green explained the genesis of his cancer special: "I was feeling really sorry for myself and sitting around with (sidekick) Glenn Humplik and (head writer) Derek Harvie, and we decided it might be a way of getting off the depressing tip," he said.
"We were just trying to make a fucking weird TV show, and all of a sudden people were coming up to us with somber and teary, thankful, handshaking sort of things. And we started to realize that maybe this was actually good, what we were doing."
Understanding Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer starts in the testicles (also called testes; a single testicle is called a testis), and these organs are part of the male reproductive system. The two organs are each normally a little smaller than a golf ball in adult males, according to the American Cancer Society. The testes are held within a sac of skin called the scrotum, which hangs under the base of the penis.
Testicular cancer is not common, ACS reports. In fact, about 1 of every 250 males will develop testicular cancer at some point during their lifetime.
In contrast, since testicular cancer can usually be treated successfully, a man's lifetime risk of dying from this cancer is very low about 1 in 5,000.
Dr. Edwin Posadas, the medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, previously told SurvivorNet that testicular cancer doesn't often present with pain, but it can.
Related: Save A Nut!: Testicular Cancer Survivor Mark Borja Makes it His Mission to Spread Awareness
"Most men will present with some sort of mass on their testicle; a sexual partner or spouse may feel the mass when they're being intimate," he said, adding that some men may notice blood in their ejaculate as a result of testicular cancer, which is a less common symptom.
Contributing: Joe Kerwin
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