Cancer Markers?

[confusedwife]

I am really confused. DH has been told that he has TC as per ultrasound. He has had a CT scan and chest x-ray. They are all clear. Now his blood results have come back. His AFP is 4 and his HCG is <2. Does that mean he does not have TC?????

Thanks in advance for any response...

[dadmo]

confusedwife:
If the ultra sound showed a solid mass in the testicle your husband may have tc. Normal markers are a good thing but it does not mean he doesn't have cancer. They will need to remove the testicle and examine it to see what the mass is.

[confusedwife]

Thanks so much for your reply. I have been looking around the main site and gathered a lot more info. His u/s diagnosed a seminoma, so with the reading I have done, it pretty much means he has it hey. We are waiting on an appointment with a specialist hopefuly on Friday. From what I have read it looks like radiation is pretty routine after the surgery? I tell you, this has been a rough week and a pretty steep learing curve. Its nearly midnight here and I just cant sleep...

[Kman99]

His u/s diagnosed a seminoma

If the ultrasound shows a solid mass inside the testicle, then cancer is presumed because most tumors in the testicles are cancerous. But, an ultrasound, by itself, is not used to diagnose a malignant vs. a benign tumor. The only sure way to know whether cancer is present is for a pathologist to examine a sample of tissue under a microscope. To obtain the tissue, the affected testicle is removed through the groin. This operation is called inguinal orchiectomy.

I know all of this is a lot to take in, so don't hesitate to ask questions. We're here to help. My advice at this point...

1) try as best as possible to see a TC expert - espec since it is rare in relation to other cancers.
2) keep reading and education yourself
3) ask lots of questions

All the best.

[wannalive]

marker level

Hello

I had clear marker level as well and pure seminoma
(you need microscopic check and some tests to confirm seminoma)

however my TC scan was not OK

yes please go to a specialist
my doc here recommend radiation but specialist said chemo is better if size bigger than 3cm or if it is close to organs.
So i'm waiting for specialist to check my CT for final decision
because here they say it is bigger than 3cm

I cannot sleep as well since the surgery as well
so I start using a sleeping pill

at least I get 6hrs sleep a day

I noticed improvement of my troubles if I sleep enough
try to avoid further complications and keep your faith in happy ending

the trouble is the more you wait the more you feel bad, it is better to have diagnose as much aspossible and focus on your treatment
rather than thinking about possibilities


I still try for that

Take care
Bekir

[IowaBrian]

I also had low markers and had non seminoma I think they were 7 and 2 now both are under 1 where they should be At this time all everyone need to worry about is getting strong after surgery and at your follow up visit with the URO they will give you the path results (get a paper copy of that) and what the next plan is. He will tell you if other surgery is needed and most likely set you up with a Cancer Doc so they can talk to you about treatment options if they are needed.
Good Luck
Brian

[clyde_on]

I am in the same boat

Both markers tested are less then 2 I have 5 masses.
It seems as if everyone says get it removed and then tested.
I am wondering if anyone in here has tried to have the masses dissolved by means of nutrition therapy/ gerson method?

[Fish]

Clyde On:

TC will NOT go away with nutrition or any other alternative therapy. It needs to be surgically removed and then treated with surveillance, radiation, or chemo depending on the circumstances. Proper nutrition might help PREVENT cancer and will help your body heal following surgery/chemo/radiation, however, nutrition will not cure existing cancer.

[confusedwife]

Well we now have an apptmt with a surgical specialist tomorrow morning. Getting the kids organised to school has been fun I have printed off a heap of info from this site to take with me to the appointment. Hopefuly he will be in for surgery within the week and we can go from there.

DH was just rolling along not overly concerned about researching anything. I am pretty sure he was thinking that he would just get it lopped off and things would go back to normal. I let him know that he will likely be needing radiation and that he would need to be in the office for a few weeks (he is a courier). He was quite surprised at that. At least now he has been able to prewarn his boss and arange for that if need be.

Telling the kids was interesting. DD 10, DS 6 and DS 18mths sat down for dinner and we talked about daddy needing to have one of his testicles removed because it was not working properly and could make daddy sick. After a light chat, I asked DD if she had any questions. She thought about it for a second and then said, "So does that mean daddy will be a gelding?" ROFL, that eased the situation considerably.

So right now I am coping, we will see how I go tomorrow....

Thanks

[IowaBrian]

You might not need any treatment after the surgery If it is stage 1 non sem and the path report states that it was just in the testicle then surgery might just cure him. You can still do the treatment but the doc's will give you more information after the path report is back at the first follow up after surgery. Make sure to get a copy of the report. Report back after surgery we are here to help.
Good Luck to all
Brian

[confusedwife]

Thanks Brian.
I am spending waaaay too much time researching this atm. But what can you do when you cant sleep? Just one more question, how long will it take aprox. for the pathology reports to come back after surgery? A couple of days? Or is it more like a couple of weeks? And how long would he expect to have off work after the surgery?

[Fish]

My results took less than a week. Probably depends to some extent on how busy the path lab is. I took 1 week off after surgery. I had to wear sweat pants because I couldn't stand the pressure of other pants on the incision. But recovery time is variable.

Best wishes for a smooth operation.

[dadmo]

You should have the path report in a matter of days not weeks. The return to work depends on how physical your DH's work is. He won't be allowed to lift anything over a few pounds for a couple of weeks. My son was in college for his IO, it was done on friday and he was back at school on monday.

[Kman99]

I am spending waaaay too much time researching this atm

It may feel that way, but you are doing a great thing by educating yourself about what is going on with your DH.

how long will it take aprox. for the pathology reports to come back after surgery

There isn't a fixed answer for this, but generally less than a week is normal. If you don't get feedback, don't hesitate to followup with your docs or even the pathologist. And definitely get copies of the report.

And how long would he expect to have off work after the surgery

I was back to work quickly. Surgery on a Sat morning, back to work on Tues. The 1 day off was primarily due to being sick from the anesthesia. Returning to work as a desk jockey with just 1 day off was possible - unfortunately . I did golf less than a week after my I/O. Just make sure your DH listens to his body and to not push things if he feels pain/discomfort.

[confusedwife]

Again thank you all for the info. We had the specialist appt this morning and he is booked in for surgery in the morning. I have started the mamoth logistics task of organising shipping the kids around when we have to leave here at 5am to get to the hospital I tell you, my baby wont be happy for not having mummy tomorrow! So DH has gone back to work today and has organised to have until wednesday off.

The Dr did feel some enlarged lymph nodes that werent there last week so he said he will remove them at the same time. I asked him heaps of questions and I think we are pretty clear about the procedure atm.

So thats where we are. I am so glad I found this site. Thank you for all the support and answers.

Cheers Sheryn