One minute, he is a young, healthy, physically active man with his entire life in front of him. The next, he’s a patient in the lobby of the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University Health waiting to see a urologic oncologist after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. But he won’t be a patient for long as the team welcomes him into their extended clinical family to make sure this man has every resource he will need throughout his treatment process.

According to the American Cancer Society, the average age of a testicular cancer patient is about 33 years old. Dr. Zach Klaassen said he has seen patients in his clinic in their early 20s. And while a cancer diagnosis in general can create a plethora of emotions for patients, for young men the response can be quite severe.

Join Chris Curry and Dr. Klaassen for a conversation about testicular cancer, the role parents play in talking about the disease with their child, and why mental health resources are important for men diagnosed with testicular cancer.