Survival for testicular cancer is very high. Nearly all men survive their disease.
This page gives detailed information about survival for the different stages of testicular cancer.
People ask us for this information but not everyone diagnosed with cancer wants to read it. If you are not sure whether you want to know at the moment, you can always come back to it later.
The statistics here are intended as a general guide and can't tell you what is likely to happen in your individual case.
Survival rates can give you an idea of what percentage of people with the same type and stage of cancer are still alive a certain amount of time (usually 5 years) after they were diagnosed. They can’t tell you how long you will live, but they may help give you a better understanding of how likely it is that your treatment will be successful.
Keep in mind that survival rates are estimates and are often based on previous outcomes of large numbers of people who had a specific cancer, but they can’t predict what will happen in any particular person’s case. These statistics can be confusing and may lead you to have more questions. Talk with your doctor about how these numbers may apply to you, as he or she is familiar with your situation.
There are no UK-wide statistics available for testicular cancer survival.
Survival statistics are available for the different stages of testicular cancer in one area of England. These figures are for men diagnosed between 2002 and 2006. They don't provide information about the type of testicular cancer or tumour marker level.
The figures below are for 4 stages of testicular cancer. Your doctor may use a different system that only has 3 stages.
Almost all men survive their cancer for five years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 1 means the cancer is only in the testes.
Almost 95 out of 100 men (almost 95%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 2 means the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
More than 80 out of 100 men (more than 80%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 3 means the cancer has spread to lymph nodes further away from the testicles: for example, in the armpit or neck.
Around 80 out of 100 men (around 80%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 4 is now classed as a stage 3C cancer. It means the cancer has spread to other organs in the body, such as the lungs. This is called metastatic cancer.
5-year relative survival rate:
A relative survival rate compares people with the same type and stage of cancer to those in the overall population. For example, if the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific stage of testicular cancer is 90%, it means that people who have that cancer are, on average, about 90% as likely as people who don’t have that cancer to live for at least 5 years after being diagnosed.
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