Canucks' Joshua reveals testicular cancer diagnosis

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Dakota Joshua won’t be at the Vancouver Canucks training camp this week in Penticton and with good reason: He’s dealing with testicular cancer.

The bruising forward revealed his diagnosis in a statement released Tuesday through the team’s social media channels.

He found a lump on one of his testicles this summer, he said, and after examination by doctors, they found it was a cancerous tumour.

“This news was obviously scary to hear, but thankfully, doctors were able to successfully remove the tumour,” he said in his statement.

“The last several weeks have been extremely challenging and I’ve been fortunate to have the support of my family, friends, teammates, and doctors.”

Joshua said he hoped to return to action as soon as possible, but revealed no timeline.

“Although it was very difficult to face the reality of this specific type of cancer, getting checked by a doctor quickly was the best approach and I encourage men to get checked regularly for testicular cancer.”

According to B.C. Cancer, testicular cancer is not common among the population as a whole, but it is the most common kind of cancer found in young men. About 75 per cent of testicular cancer cases are the type known as seminoma, which is slow-growing and most common in men aged 25 to 45. Nearly 100 per cent of cases are curable.

It’s not known which kind of cancer Joshua is dealing with, seminoma or a mixed-germ cell tumour.

The most common symptom of testicular cancer is a testicle that has become enlarged. Other signs are a painless lump, a dull ache in your groin, abdomen or back, a heavy feeling in your scrotum, a build-up of fluid or swelling in your scrotum, shortness of breath or in rare cases enlargement of a man’s breast, which occurs due to a hormonal imbalance.

Check in with a doctor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.

When Postmedia spoke with Dakota Joshua last month at Troy Stecher’s pro camp at Minoru Arena, Joshua was very upbeat and looking forward to the upcoming season.

He’d spent some of the summer back home in Michigan, working hard to be ready for the season.

“I still feel like that I have more left in my game. Last year was great for the confidence,” he said at the time. “Heading into this year, I’m maybe not looking for my ‘pudding’ as much to start the year, but being ready, rolling in there with the ability to to do what I can.”

pjohnston@postmedia.com