About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staff
Testicular self-exams may help you find a scrotal mass early, allowing you to get prompt medical care. If you perform this exam regularly, you'll understand what "normal" feels like and be better prepared to detect any abnormality. To do a testicular self-exam, follow these steps:
- Examine your testicles once a month, especially if you've already had testicular cancer or you have a family history of testicular cancer.
- Perform the exam after a warm bath or shower. The heat from the water relaxes your scrotum, making it easier for you to check for anything unusual.
- Stand in front of a mirror. Look for any swelling on the skin of the scrotum.
- Cup your scrotum with one hand to see if it feels different from normal.
- Examine one testicle at a time using both hands. Place the index and middle fingers under the testicle while placing your thumbs on the top.
- Gently roll the testicle between the thumbs and fingers. Feel for lumps and bumps. The testicles are usually smooth, oval shaped and somewhat firm. It's normal for one testicle to be slightly larger than the other.
- Feel along the soft, comma-shaped structure that runs above and behind the testicle (epididymis) to check for any swelling.
If you find a lump or other abnormality, call your doctor as soon as possible.
- Montgomery JS, et al. The diagnosis and management of scrotal masses. Medical Clinics of North America. 2011;95:235.
- Wampler SM, et al. Common scrotal and testicular problems. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2010;37:613.
- Tiemstra JD, et al. Evaluation of scrotal masses. American Family Physician. 2008;78:1165.
- Trojian TH, et al. Epididymitis and orchitis: An overview. American Family Physician. 2009;79:583.
- Hagerty JA, et al. Pediatric scrotal masses. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 2009;10:50.
- Testicular self-exam. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicularcancer/moreinformation/doihavetesticularcancer/do-i-have-testicular-cancer-self-exam. Accessed May 10, 2011.
Find Mayo Clinic on