GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO)- A local family has beaten their biggest fear after their son beat cancer, and the family is asking for your awareness so you don't face the same ordeal.

Believe it or not, testicular cancer has a higher death rate than breast cancer, between the ages of 15 to 40.

Also, it's the most common type of cancer for young men.

After her son survived testicular cancer, Kim Jones couldn't have pictured it turning out for the worse.
Jones says, "I can't imagine being on the other end of it and a mom losing her child."

Kim Jones was a wife, mortgage broker, and mom. She was living a pretty normal life, until her son Jordan was diagnosed with cancer.

Jones says, "He lost some weight so I thought it was his thyroid. I didn't ever think it was cancer."

It all started one night at dinner, Jones noticed a lump on Jordan's neck, and after that, the 16 year-old says it spread quickly.

Jordan says the cancer took over his neck, lungs, abdomen, and wrapped around his aorta, kidneys and right testicle.

Ten months of treatments, six rounds of chemotherapy and seven surgeries later, Jordan had a total of five pounds of tumors removed from his body.

Jordan is now cancer free, but his family is still trying to deal with the shock of what's happened.

Jones says, "It was really hard to think anything like this was happening. You hear cancer all the time, but you never think this would happen to you or your child."

Jordan's family wants to teach people about the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer.
His mom has started an organization called the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation.

They say if this cancer is treated early, it's a lot easier to treat and you have more of a chance of surviving.

The warning signs & symptoms of testicular cancer
■A lump of any size on the testicle
■Enlargement of the testicle
■Pain or discomfort in the scrotum or testicle
■A dull ache or sense of pressure in the lower abdomen or back
■A feeling of heaviness or fullness in the scrotum
■Enlargement or tenderness of the breasts due to elevated hormone levels

In most cases early stages of testicular cancer present themselves in a completely painless manner

Advanced signs & symptoms of testicular cancer
■Significant weight loss (due to the growth of tumors in the abdomen)
■Back pain
■Chest pain, coughing, or difficulty breathing
■Coughing up blood (due to tumors in the lungs)
■Enlargement of the lymph node in the abdomen and/or neck