Testicular Cancer Awareness Week – April 1, 2027

History of Testicular Cancer Awareness Week

The earliest mentions of cancer were found in the “Edwin Smith Papyrus,” dating back to about 1600 B.C. The manuscript detailed cases of tumors or ulcers of the breast and how they were treated by cauterization, but the word ‘cancer’ was not used.

Between 460 — 370 B.C., it was Hippocrates who first referred to the disease using the term ‘carcinos’ and ‘carcinoma,’ which means ‘crab’ or ‘crayfish’ in Greek. Hippocrates used these terms because of the “finger-like spreading projections from cancer called to mind the shape of a crab.” Celsus (28 B.C. — 50 A.D.), a Roman physician, later translated carcinos into the Latin word for crab or crayfish — cancer. Reserving the word ‘carcinos’ for malignant tumors, the Greek physician Galen instead used ‘oncos’ to refer to all tumors. It was from this word that the word ‘oncology’ was derived.

As the populace generally accepted the practice of medically dissecting human bodies in the 16th and 17th centuries, various scientists began making discoveries into the causes of cancer. The Scottish surgeon John Hunter was the first to suggest that some cancers might be cured by surgery. In 1775, the British surgeon Percivall Pott identified the first cause of cancer.

In 1913, the American Cancer Society was founded in New York City by 15 physicians and businessmen. Fifty-eight years later, the United States declared war on cancer by introducing the National Cancer Act of 1971.

In 1973, a medical oncologist at Indiana University, Lawrence H. Einhorn, tested and discovered the cure for testicular cancer. This remarkable achievement was followed by the development of a nerve-sparing surgical technique by Dr. Donohue in the 1980s. The method allowed diagnosed men to maintain quality of life and, often, their reproductive capabilities.