A few questions :).

[19guy]

Hello . First off I'd like to quickly note that I think you are all doing a very nice thing by hosting a forum like this, I'm sure that just as rare as TC actually is, the worry about it is pretty inversely proportioned and its great to have somewhere like this to read/ask questions.

Anyhow, here are my questions, I'll try to include all the relevant information.

I'm a 19 year old male, with no history of medical problems or injuries around the groin region. In fact I'm not aware that I've ever had a major medical problem.

About a year or so ago I saw a documentary on cable about cancers and it discussed testicular cancer among others, it mentioned the self-exam and so I've been doing that ever since after showers.

* During my first proper self-exam I noticed my right testicle is larger than the left and tends to hang lower in the scrotum, its not an alarmingly large difference, though there is certainly no mistaking it. This has been constant as long as I can remember, and during roughly a year of regular self-exams I have noticed no real changes to either one. After reading that it is normal for one testicle to be larger/hang lower I relaxed, but I find the whole TC thing very worrying despite the high cure rate, so I thought I would mention it regardless.

* I do notice that on my larger testicle, I find it easier to locate the epididymis, is this normal seeing for it to be easier to find on the larger testicle? The epididymis of the right testicle feels more prominent than the one of the left, but does not feel fundamentally different - it feels like the same thing, just slightly larger proportions. Other than the epididymis on each testicle, I can't find anything lumpy or bumpy, though I can occassionally feel veins, but when I look at my scrotum, they are visible as being part of that and not on the testicles themselves.

* Is it normal for the testicles to feel slightly different after ejaculation? Like they are slightly softer, and a tad smaller (though if I look in the mirror, they are not visibly different in size).

* I have experienced the occasional dull ache in the testicular area, though these are extremely infrequent and have only occured in situations when it seems relates to posture (sitting awkwardly in a chair, once in a long car ride, or having to stand in an uncomfortable posture for extended periods?). I can count on one hand the number of times such incidences have occured in my entire memory. They are very spread out and the discomfort dissappears shortly after I stopped the activity (whether it be changing my seating posture, walking around, etc). Would this be worrying, or can your testicles simply just have an ache in the same way any other part of your body might have an ache?

So, would you consider my situation to be particularly worrying? When I look at things objectively I don't think it sounds like there is anything wrong with me, but at this stage of my life the thought of something like cancer is a particularly upsetting one.

Those are all the questions I have, thankyou very much for your time and again for simply having this forum .

[dadmo]

19guy:
Everthing you described sounds normal. Keep up the self-exams, as a precaution, but in my opinion you have nothing to worry about.

[Fish]

I agree, I don't think anything you described is abnormal. You should be congratulated for doing the self-exams. Too many guys either don't know that it's important or don't think its necessary. So keep checking -- once a month for life!

[19guy]

Thanks for the replies guys. I haven't noticed any changes though I do have a few other questions that I forgot to ask the last time.

1) Some of the things I read online stated the epididymis can be felt at the top/back of the testicle, while others have said you can feel it at the top/back and underneath/back of the testicle. I find it much easier to find on my right (larger) one, because the tube feels more pronounced. I can locate what I believe to be the epididymis in both those places, top and bottom, feeling like a small tube, firm but not hard, kind of wiggly. It tends to give me a bit of an ache if I poke it around too much, is that normal? I figure I wouldn't like being poked around too much if I were it.

2) I've heard that TC progresses quickly, exactly how fast is that - a matter of weeks? What are the symptoms of advanced TC anyway, I've always wondered, if you don't know that you have it until very late, what would be the big symptoms that woke you up to it?

[Fish]

This site:

http://tcrc.acor.org/

has a lot of very good info on TC.

Early symptoms are usually only a lump on the testicle, this is why self exams are so important. I've had TC twice and both times I found the lump myself and was treated before there was any evidence of spread. Sometimes there is some pain or heaviness in the testicle, or pain in the lower abdomen. Later stage (after the cancer spreads) symptoms can be back pain, chronic cough, being tired, and other non-specific symptoms.

I'm not sure how long it takes for the cancer to spread out of the testicle, but a smaller tumor is correlated with a lower risk of having metastatic disease at diagnosis. The different cell types of TC also have different growth rates, seminoma usually spreads more slowly than other types.

BTW, I'm sure your epididymis did not like being poked and prodded . That sounds fairly normal to me.

[19guy]

Thanks again.

I've come down with a bit of a cold/flu this week so I'm heading to the doctor's tomorrow for that, I figure I may as well have them check this as well just to be sure.

[19guy]

Well, I've had my doctors visit and brought up that in the last few days I'd had a faint pain at the top/back of my right testicle, like the epididymis was overly sensitive and that it felt prominent at the top/back and underneath/back. They examined my testicles and considered everything to appear and feel normal, I was given a course of antibiotics that seem to have cleared those faint pains right up so I'm quite pleased with how it all went. I'll be sure to keep up the monthly self exams (there isn't much else to do in the shower anyway) and if I do notice anything I'm pretty confident I'll find it a lot easier to make the first step of talking to a doctor. Oddly enough I thought the awkward part was mentioning it in the first place, having them examine my testicles wasn't as awkward or embarassing as I had assumed it could be, it was overall a pretty easy experience .

So my mind sits a lot easier now, and I'd just like to say to any other young guys who are a bit shy about taking a testicle related worry in to a doctor, just go ahead and do it, it's a really painless experience and there's no sense in sitting around and having all the possibilities on your mind every other day.

[Fish]

Very glad to hear everything went well.