PORT ARTHUR — Irene Anne Ramirez looked out across an auditorium filled with about 100 Memorial High School male seniors and told them that at least two in the crowd could develop testicular cancer.

Last year Ramirez presented the testicular cancer awareness program to a school elsewhere in southeast Texas and later found out one of those students was diagnosed with the cancer.

Ramirez is nurse manager for the Charles and Sidney “Chief” Dauphin Cancer Screening and Prevention Center.

Testicular cancer survivor Mike Neil used a light hearted approach to the delicate subject but stressed the seriousness of the subject as he told his own story.

While showering one night Neil found a lump in one of his testicles. He wanted to dismiss the issue but did not. A visit to a urologist and blood work showed there was 95 percent chance the lump was cancerous.

Later, both he and his wife cried over the diagnosis, he said.

“My wife, about the cancer, and me about losing a testicle,” he added. “I was thinking there’s 5 percent that it is not cancerous. I was worried about taking one of my boys.”

Monthly self exams help men to better know their body and find any changes such as pain or lumps.

“It’s like if you rub your upper arm and one day you rub it and there’s a bump,” he said.

With early detection, testicular cancer is a curable disease.

Possible signs of testicular cancer include: dull ache in the groin, sudden accumulation of fluid/blood in the scrotum (painless or uncomfortable), feeling of heaviness in the testicle, enlargement of the testicle, lower back pain and swelling or tenderness in other pats of the body such as the groin, breast or neck.

And the cancer risk for males with a history of undescended testicles is higher than other individuals.

Many people are familiar with the courageous story of one of the world’s best cyclist, Lance Armstrong. At the age of 25 he learned he had testicular cancer. This is the most common cancer in men ages 15 to 35. Armstrong’s cancer spread to his abdomen, lungs and brain. He underwent two surgeries, one to remove the cancerous testicle and another to remove two cancerous lesions on his brain.

After chemotherapy treatment Armstrong is now healthy, cancer free and helps bring cancer awareness to others.

Ramirez stressed that not all lumps mean testicular cancer. This is something a physician must detect.

Misconceptions were dismissed during the event; previous injury or trauma to the groin does not cause testicular cancer nor can a man get the cancer from sexual intercourse.

One student asked if “everything else works” after a testicle is removed because of cancer. The answer is yes, Neil said.