Confused - Advise please

[Englishgal]

My boyfriend had his left testicle removed on Thursday, his blood tests are all within normal levels. His sugeon has confirmed that it is cancer and has requested a CT scan. We are still awating the pathology report. Why would they be doing a CT scan if the blood results were normal. My boyfriend never asks the consultant any questions and it drives me mad, I want to know all the details!

[nzsteve]

Hi,

The blood tests being normal is a good sign. Hopefully this means they have caught the cancer before it has spread. The markers being normal isnt a 100% guarentee though - mine dropped to normal after the I/O, but I relapsed after a couple of months. The CT is standard procedure to see if there is any sign of tumours elsewhere.

If the cancer has spread its first port of call is normally the lymph nodes in the abdomin. After that it would normally head for the lungs, and in advanced cases into the brain. But don't get too scared right now - most of us don't get to that stage, and TC is very very curable

Ask any questions you have - theres loads of people on here that have gone through this. Check out the info on this site, and over at http://tcrc.acor.org. Theres loads of usefull stuff there. And tell your boyfriend to get used to the scans. Even if this one is clear they will want to keep a pretty close watch on him for a few years.

Good Luck,

Steve

[Englishgal]

Thanx

Hopefully the CT scan will be soon but apparently there is a backlog at the moment.

His blood tests results were normal before his op but he hasn't had any more blood tests since. He only had the lump for 4 weeks before the surgery.
Am playing a guessing game at the moment and having access to the internet has mixed blessings, it's good to get info but some things I read are making me panic!!

[dadmo]

Englishgal:
I understand how frightning this whole thing is but try not to panic. There is a very good chance that he is cured by having the primary tumor removed. The scans and pathologhy report will give the doctors a plan of attack to best address the problem.

[Scott]

Even the treatments that sound the most frightening are bearable when they promise a cure. Hang in there.

[Englishgal]

Cheers

Thanks for the support, am trying to be there for my other half. He is taking it all in his stride and isn't worried about anything.

[stevenh77]

Thanks for the support, am trying to be there for my other half. He is taking it all in his stride and isn't worried about anything.

It's good that you're trying to be there for him.. honestly, if my fiance wasn't there for me right now I'd be going insane trying to deal with all of this on my own.

I'd be willing to bet he's a lot more worried than he lets on. I know I have a good chance of a cure and I'm trying to think positive and take it all in stride (for my own sake and the people around me), but I'm pretty scared.

[Ras Joe]

Normal markers are a good thing. An even better thing is that you are there for your boyfriend. I hope all works out for you two. And FYI the CT scan is regular protocal in cases of TC-- don't let it worry you, it will be of great help if there is anything else going because of the detailed pictures it gives the doctors to look at.