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I am new here and I have gotten alot of good information on this site. My son, who turned 21 in October/05, was diagnosed with tc on 8/26/05. He had just completed his first 5 days of school at Colorado State U. For two years he went to OSU in Stillwater and had just transfered to CSU. He had felt a lump in his testicle and had some discomfort in July and had gone to a urologist to have it checked out. His internist, who Patrick had gone to originally, had gone ahead and ordered an ultrasound so the urologist would have that when he went, since the time was getting close for him to leave for school. That ultrasound turned out to be his saving grace! The urologist was really glad to have the ultrasound and said that if it weren't for the ultrasound he would have just gone ahead and given him an antibiotic for an infection and been done with it. He did not have a concern with the lump or discomfort that Patrick felt. That was a hydrocele, but the ultrasound showed something inside the testicle that gave him reason for concern. He said he did not want him to loose a testicle if it were just an infection, so gave him a 3 week course of antibiotic and told him to have the ultrasound re-done and be seen at that time. Of course by then, classes would already have started so we made his appointments up in Ft. Collins, CO. The doctor up in Colorado said that he was sure that it was cancer - not the lump that Patrick felt, nor anything that the doctor could feel. The area of concern was inside the testicle and not palpable. He scheduled his orchiectomy for the following monday - this was friday - and sent him off for chest x-ray and blood work. We quickly got things in order and flew up to Colorado from Katy, TX on Sunday. First thing monday morning, he had his orchiectomy and the pathology - after the testicle was re-disected 3 times - came back with 100% embryonic carcinoma - 6 cm. in size - vert tiny. The doctor gave him the choice of surveillance, 2 rounds of chemo, or an RPLND. Surveillance was scarey for Patrick and decieded it would be one of the other two, but since we live in the Houston area, we withdrew him from school and brought him home to go to MD Anderson Cancer Center. After staging - Blood work, ct scans, chest x-rays, he was very early stage one and decided to go with the RPLND. His RPLND surgery was 10/21/05. No cancer in the lymph nodes!He had 8 miserable days in the hospital, 2 blood transfusions, about 3 weeks of back pain, some intestinal issues, and post op moodiness, but after that, his recovery has been great and his ct scan and blood work were great in January. The doctor wants to have the ct scan and blood work redone in May due to a residual hematoma, but other than that he is just fine. He started classes up at CSU in mid January and has been skiing twice, and is feeling good. He gets tired easier than before, but is managing that and is working out and is eating healthier than he has since he was in grade school!
It certainly has been a roller coaster, but we are thankful for all of the hands that have touched our lives through all of this. I have not taken the time to register on this site. I have just been a reader, but maybe our experience can help someone else. Beth
I am new here and I have gotten alot of good information on this site. My son, who turned 21 in October/05, was diagnosed with tc on 8/26/05. He had just completed his first 5 days of school at Colorado State U. For two years he went to OSU in Stillwater and had just transfered to CSU. He had felt a lump in his testicle and had some discomfort in July and had gone to a urologist to have it checked out. His internist, who Patrick had gone to originally, had gone ahead and ordered an ultrasound so the urologist would have that when he went, since the time was getting close for him to leave for school. That ultrasound turned out to be his saving grace! The urologist was really glad to have the ultrasound and said that if it weren't for the ultrasound he would have just gone ahead and given him an antibiotic for an infection and been done with it. He did not have a concern with the lump or discomfort that Patrick felt. That was a hydrocele, but the ultrasound showed something inside the testicle that gave him reason for concern. He said he did not want him to loose a testicle if it were just an infection, so gave him a 3 week course of antibiotic and told him to have the ultrasound re-done and be seen at that time. Of course by then, classes would already have started so we made his appointments up in Ft. Collins, CO. The doctor up in Colorado said that he was sure that it was cancer - not the lump that Patrick felt, nor anything that the doctor could feel. The area of concern was inside the testicle and not palpable. He scheduled his orchiectomy for the following monday - this was friday - and sent him off for chest x-ray and blood work. We quickly got things in order and flew up to Colorado from Katy, TX on Sunday. First thing monday morning, he had his orchiectomy and the pathology - after the testicle was re-disected 3 times - came back with 100% embryonic carcinoma - 6 cm. in size - vert tiny. The doctor gave him the choice of surveillance, 2 rounds of chemo, or an RPLND. Surveillance was scarey for Patrick and decieded it would be one of the other two, but since we live in the Houston area, we withdrew him from school and brought him home to go to MD Anderson Cancer Center. After staging - Blood work, ct scans, chest x-rays, he was very early stage one and decided to go with the RPLND. His RPLND surgery was 10/21/05. No cancer in the lymph nodes!He had 8 miserable days in the hospital, 2 blood transfusions, about 3 weeks of back pain, some intestinal issues, and post op moodiness, but after that, his recovery has been great and his ct scan and blood work were great in January. The doctor wants to have the ct scan and blood work redone in May due to a residual hematoma, but other than that he is just fine. He started classes up at CSU in mid January and has been skiing twice, and is feeling good. He gets tired easier than before, but is managing that and is working out and is eating healthier than he has since he was in grade school!
It certainly has been a roller coaster, but we are thankful for all of the hands that have touched our lives through all of this. I have not taken the time to register on this site. I have just been a reader, but maybe our experience can help someone else. Beth
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