I hope the moderators approve this. I was diagnosed yesterday with a testicle tumor, I will have surgery on Friday and have my left thing extracted. It will be one week till I know if it's a ''good'' or bad tumor and I'm really scared. Have any of you gone through this ?...and please if you've lost someone due to this please don't tell me.
Foxtrot, I understand you must be anxious as hell, and there's no getting around it. Many of these palpable lesions seen on ultrasound turn out to be benign, and even those that aren't are usually of a very, very treatable cell type (e.g., Lance A who had stage 4 metastatic disease), and only rarely (and usually in much older men) do these turn out to be resistant to treatment.
The other thing is urologists are very conservative, and they prefer taking out lesions that even look benign on US, mostly because you only need one to make hormones, and you can never be 100% certain something isn't malignant until the pathologists looks at it under the scope.
Anyway, get your rest, try to take it easy, and wait for results before getting too worked up - knowing the odds do favor you, both in terms of it being totally benign or a very treatable malignancy. Dr. Art
My kickboxing instructor lost one of his testicles to cancer in 1985 when he was 36. He went through hellacious chemo and radiation but fully recovered and has been practicing and teaching mixed martial arts ever since. Now has 5th dan in Kempo karate, 4 dan in Tae Kwon Do, 3 dan in Issinryu karate, and is quite skilled in submission grappling. About 5 years ago I watched him beat to a pulp the number two ranked Tae Kown Do tournament fighter in the country. His wife had breast cancer 4 years ago and lost a breast; she is doing great.
My cousin had testicular cancer in 1970 when he was 19 and lost one. The cancer came back in 1991 and this time he wasn't able to beat it. But up until then he was also great and worked construction.
My sister in law is recovering from a serious cancer with surgery removing a tumor 1 1/2 times the size of a grapefruit, nearly a quart of cancerous fluid, 29 biopsies, and a full hysterectomy. She's doing superbly and just had her third CAT scan since surgery (18 months ago); no sign of any problems. She and her doctors say the advances in cancer treatment has improved amazingly in the last 10 years.
I think the word cancer still scares us to death but we are beating it back in so many ways.
Great response Art. Its nice to know there are those here that can help with good, factual info. Nothing puts things in perspective so much as our health and Illness.
Foxtrot, we wish you the very best and Ill be praying for you as you wait. As Dr. Art said,try to take it easy and get some rest, knowing that the odds are indeed with you here.
I have a friend who had both removed and is doing just great? Hang in there and think positive thoughts. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. Good Luck.
What Dr. Art has to say is quite correct. I see a lot of cancer patients (though am not a urologist) so have some experience. The course they are proposing for you is very sensible. You need to find out what it is and then figure out how to proceed from there. Trying to plan a lot before you know the diagnosis can often just be very frustrating so while its reasonable to look on the website but it may just upset you because you don't know the diagnosis. I generally try to focus my patients on the immediate ie figure out what you are dealing with, hear the options and determine which is best for you. Good luck. Happy to help in any way if you have any questions drop me a note.
Thanks a lot guys for your words and support and thanks also to Audiogon for letting me express myself.
I'm trying to stay calm but every now and the ''what if's'' pop up in my mind; I've had great support from my family and friends. I'm 27 years old and have many dreams that I have to turn into reality, that gives me strenght to fight all this. Shopping today for a prosthesis was a strange experience.
in 1978 i had a liposarcoma, a rare malignant cancer that masticized the lymph node located between my right leg and torso. i was 29 years old. the one thing i knew was that i wasn't smart enough to figure out was the answer to 'why me' so i didn't spend alot of time on that question. instead, i entrusted my fate ' karma to my maker and gave thanks for and to all those that loved me and for the opportunity for me to love them. i am still here and know that all life is a gift. do the 'research' of the literature if it makes you feel better. trust the medical professionals to be competent. faith is powerful and is within your realm. i trust you will be here.
Foxtrot, I can only add my belief that we all dislike the uncertainty of tomorrow in our lives. In your situation you are saddled with an abundance of that. Be rested in the thought that 'you will be here tommorow' with or without one of two testicles. Sometimes a way to minimize a concern is to shadow it with the perstective of a larger possibility. What if it was a kidney, eye, arm you get the drift. If there is cancer and they get it, be thankful. If there isn't cancer and you lose one nut to find out. Be thankful, because there was no cancer. You will have a normal life and time will reveal the lack of importance one out of two testacles really has in life. Back up, re-focus on the future and the present will soon be past. God bless and release you of all fear.
A close friend of mine had testicular cancer when he was 29, Foxtrot, and he's doing great six years later. Kicks my rear end on the bicycle, and is consistently winning his division in triathlons. Best of luck to you, and please keep us all updated. Howard
A very close friend of mine also had testicular cancer. He was maybe 22, and it was more than 10 years ago. He recovered swiftly, and has been a most viable person since. That includes being quite capable successful with the opposite sex. And, the jokes about being "off balance" leave me in tears - no, they're not really true, just funny!
Based on being around him since, I can say with confidence that I believe you WILL beat this thing.
Foxtrot- I will be praying for you. In fact I already did. Put your faith in the God who knows from the beginning to the end. May you have the peace that surpasses all understanding. May you be healed in the name of Jesus. Amen. I will continue offline. Dan
I wish you well. It's probably obvious to you by now but if it's not then I offer this small bit of advice which mirrors what Fatparrot wrote: It's a waste of precious energy to worry about the unknown. Fear and worry, while understandable, are counterproductive if this thing ends up being malignant.
Chances are it will be a benign. If this is the case then rejoice and give thanks for your good fortune. If not, then busy yourself with researching the "best of the best" doctors in your area. From personal experience, the best doctors are those that will spend however much time with you it takes to make you fully informed. The best doctors acknowledge that they do not know everything and are not threatened by including another, more knowledgeable doctor, in your care. Get educated about the treatment options. There will probably be several and ultimately you are the boss. Fortify your body with foods that maintain overall good health beginning today! Get proper amounts of rest and exercise.
In either case I urge you to recognize the pearls dropped in your lap during such times and give thanks. If there are but a couple of words in this thread that have helped you in some small way please thank the Lord. With or without malignancy you will be richly rewarded by doing this.
In everything you do, with every person, fill your heart with love. And, please keep this group informed as to your outcome with the biopsy. No matter what, realize there is an enormous amount of love in this community just waiting to lift you up.
Foxtrot, In 1980 I went to my doctor who sent me to a urologist. Dr Naga said that the testicle would have to come off and that he was 90% sure it was a cancerous tumor. He said he could operate on Friday, it was then late Monday. I hesitated but said "Let's do it" and the operation went forward. A few days after the operation I was told it was Seminoma, one of the "better" types, that would be treated with radiation. Needless to say, that was 25 years ago and I have never looked back. A positive outlook and good support of my friends was very important to me. My doctors were wonderful as I am sure yours are as well. I have suffered no ill effects from the experience and look forward to each day as being "special". I sincerely wish you well and hold to the knowledge that much has been done to treat our cancer over the past 20-30 years. My prayers are with you as you move forward. God Bless! Jim
Foxtrot, Like everyone I wish you the best possible outcome and a speedy recovery. And not to sound trite, but music is a great restorer of the spirit, so keep the tunes flowing.
I can't really add too much to what has already been posted. I think the medical advice and the stories of "It happened to me/him/her and I/he/she is still here" are right on and very valuable.
The one thing I will add is that I commend you for posting this and seeking input and talking about it. Fellas aren't real good at that generally, and we tend to down right suck at it when it invloves anything related to our notion of manhood. Whatever the trajectory of this is, you are over the first hurdle by realizing you will do better by leaning on some people to get through it. Too often folks say "God doesn't give you anything that you can't handle." That's bull. God gives us things that we can't handle all of the time. But God also gives us friends, spouses, parents, children, relatives, and audiophiles to help us handle them.
Post back. Let us know what's going on, so we can walk with you through the struggle and celebrate the victories with you.
My cousin was diagnosed with testicular cancer a few years ago. It turned out to be malignant, but he went through all the usual therapies and came out of it fine. My best advice is to stay positive. I know--easier said than done. But there have been studies done that say mood can directly influence one's recovery from cancer. You may have one less nut, but it can be A LOT worse. I lost both parents, two aunts, two uncles, and one friend to cancer before I turned 30. Lean on your friends and relatives for support, pray for the best, and you'll be fine. And once you recover, fire up your system, and rejoice in how much more music you have to look forward to!
Thanks again guys, it really means a lot to me every single one of your comments, they indeed help to give me all the strenght I need right now. I'm trying to figure now how should I name my new silicone buddy that will replace the bad one...
D Day is tomorrow Friday at 1500 (that's Santiago, Chile time * UTC +4)
As far as a name I've always been a fan of that ancient Greek tragedian, Testicles. Sorry, I've been saving that one up for years, and humor is great medicine.
Foxtrot: I've crossed the tunnel you're entering. In my case it was bad happened 13 yrs ago (was 34 and married) with no kids at the time, had to endure two exploratory interventions after.....BUT my hair came back better than before the chemo, now top part of the head have gone thinner but that's another story. Have now three boys and doing fine. You look internally for strength and make the solid decision that you'll make it to through it!! It's not going to be easy but remember fight fight fight and the first fight to win is with yourself be your best allied. Real close friends arise to the task and in my case my wife's and family attitude was an invaluable help. All the best!!!!!
Hey Foxtrot, if your looking to name the new one and haven't named the other one how about a team name like "Silly and Serious"? I personnally haven't named mine yet, Pepe' might feel slighted. Humor is good and by the time you read this I hope you are on the other side of this. God Bless
Odds are greatly in your favor. I think it's at least a 95% success rate. That's one of the most successful problems to treat. My brother went through that a few years ago. He's fine.
Back from the hospital now, everything came out allright. Now I just have to wait till the 26th when the analisis of the tumor will be ready, I'm praying fot it to be the least bad of all and I'm sure it will be that way. I'm determined to fight this whatever it takes.
As far as I know, they can do a ''quick'' biopsy, but the final word is given by the ''slow'' one so we went that way. They did perform 3 CAT Scans abdomen, chest and pelvis and the chest one showed three small nodules in the lungs, between 7 and 2 mm. The doctor said to wait for the nut biopsy and then wait three months to see if the lung thing have changed. It seems that usually testicle tumors spread to the linfatic nodules and/or stomach (I've really abstained from resarching too much on the net for now)...anyway, we'll see. I'm confident about all this crap...I'm in the hands of God, my doctor and my family and friends.
the small nodules inthe lungs are non-specific, statistically more likely related to prior infection than metastatic disease, especially if there were no enlarged lymph nodes near your kidneys (which is where testicular malignancies generally affect first).
Anyway, I am hopeful you got this thing beat already, 'cause even if the test turns out to be malignant, there's no real evidence of metastatic disease (though they would follow those tiny nodules just to make sure....
Foxtrot, glad your on the other side of this. You seem more relaxed as you should be. We'll be looking on the 26th for the outcome. Meanwhile, God's peace.
Today was the day. the biopsy showed that the tumor was a mix between a seminoma and embrionary carcinoma, the area, artheries and veins around it where clean from cancerous cells which is good. But I still have three small spots in my lungs for which I have to wait two months before another round of CAT's, if they have grown it's bad, if they are smaller or gone very very good, because there a chance (hope it's big) that it could have been an inflamation due to any other cause. He will anyway extract some parts of my lynfatic system in the stomach area just for precaution and those parts are useless anyway.
I too will have a good thought for you, try not to let it eat you up during the wait..I know it is easier siad than done.....lets all hope it is nothing to worry about.
Hang tough! Remember, most people over the age of 20 have tiny pulmonary nodules related to prior infection, so it's very reasonable to hope the CT findings are exactly that, especially since there were no *enlarged* para-aortic lymph nodes. If they are smaller or even stable in size and number, it's very very good news.
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