Scared and worried

[leetec]

Hello everybody

My name is chiman 28yrs old and I'm in the process of figuring out if I have TC, I'm pretty sure it is,because of all the info I've found online soundsso similar to my situation. I'm really scared..... My wife is taking it really hard too we just got married in aug 06.

My urologist first check my right testes and confirmed that it was enlarged, next day had an ultra sound and i actually saw a black mass on the screen. two hours later had some blood test done. so that was friday just waiting till monday to cal the doc to get the results and hear my options.


I'm in the bay area in california and can anyone reccommend me a really good TC specialist? I mean my urologist is great, but I would like a very reliable second opinion.


From what I've been reading first step is to remove the infected testes.
Then shoot me with radiation or chemo??
Doesn't chemo or radiation kill off good cells and maybe cause cancer cells to form later in the years too?

How do you tell you family that you have TC??
Is there any othere really good websites that can explain TC and the procedures a little better. maybe the risks and survival rates?


I really feel alone with this issue, My wife is very supportive but I still feel very alone and scared.


Thanks for reading and sorry for this rant
Chiman

[Scott]

Welcome, Chiman. You'll find many of the answers you're looking for in the Testicular Cancer Resource Center. Assuming that you do have testicular cancer, your treatment will definitely include orchiectomy, removal of the testicle. Usually that's the first step. Depending on the type(s) of cancerous cells found and whether it has spread, your treatment after that may involve surgery to remove abdominal lymph nodes (RPLND), radiation therapy (for pure seminoma only), or chemotherapy. If you caught it early and it hasn't spread, the orchiectomy and frequent check-ups (surveillance) may be enough.

First things first, get those blood test results and talk to your doctor. Good luck, keep us posted, and ask as many questions as you like.

[dadmo]

Chiman:
Here is a list of experts in the United States. If the doctor saw a solid mass the testicle will have to come out, it sounds awful but it's a quite simple operation and takes less then and hour. Your question on how to tell the family, in all honesty there is no good or bad way, just sit them down and tell them then when the recover from the shock explain what you have been told by you doctor and tell them the possible course of treatment. The fact that you have a plan and information will be very comforting. Don't foprget that this form of cancer is very curable if caught early and treated properly.

[ivannabanana]

Hi Chiman

Welcome to the forum.... My hubby was DX wyth TC in AUG thys year and so i know how you might be feeling just now .... BUT thys forum is brill and for me a lifesaver... the guys (and the gals to) have all had similar experiances and very good at helping wyth Q's... My hubby went thru 4xBEP and hys tumour reduced to 6 cm from being the size of a small melon and he is just being monitored for now...He was Stage III, wyth lesions in hys chest and pelvic area and the biggest of tumours being on hys lymph node in the abdomen... Please try not panic too much, easier said than done i know...Hope you get your results and thyngs are not too bad... BTW i have relatives in sunny California they in Tracey and freemont.... Bless yvonne

[leetec]

Thanks for the quick replys and support

I got the test back and there's no tc markers that means it's not in my blood stream which is really good. and the mass is 2.5 cm in my right testes.
We're schuduling a surgrey this week. The doc wants me to get another ultrasound to check for blood vessels going into the tumor and get another test for female hormones?? Should I call it a tumor or cancer? I'm still not very clear on what a tumor or cancer is.

cancer=bad tumor=not so bad

right?

After chemo and radiation can I still have kids? or do i need to sperm bank just in case it wipes me clean?

In the past couple of days I've learn to deal with the outcome and process and I'm no as scared as I was before. But still it's a real eye opener on your life. you put everything you thought was important in perspective.

Oh and One more question Should I get a couple of weeks off just to rest up before the operation? and should I look up organic foods to get my ph balance up to (fighting levels)?

[Concerned Sis]

PLEASE find a oncologist/urologist who specializes in TC. My brother has been misdiagnosed & had his tumor missed by a oncology clinic that doesn't treat many TC cases. As a result, he has driven 10 hours to consult with Dr. Lawrence Einhorn (today) in Indiana. It's a rare cancer and only a few docs know what to look for. I can't stress this enough. Don't dilly dally around with a general oncologist.

The news of your tumor markers doesn't mean you don't have cancer. It simply means that the cancer you have doesn't elevate markers in your system. Non-seminomas produce HGC (normally found in pregnant women). Pure seminomas don't produce HCG. So, you can still have cancer but probably have a pure seminoma. Of course, we hope like hell you don't have TC but if you do, this is the one you want to have. 99.5% cure rate.

Keep us posted.

[Fed]

I got the test back and there's no tc markers that means it's not in my blood stream which is really good. and the mass is 2.5 cm in my right testes.

The absence of markers means that the cancer cells are not producing proteins. Not all types of testicular cancer cells produce markers (i.e. seminomas usually don't increase markers).

Should I call it a tumor or cancer? I'm still not very clear on what a tumor or cancer is.

cancer=bad tumor=not so bad

right?

A tumor is a type of bodily mass. A cancer cell is one that has defects in its DNA. These defects may cause the cell to divide endlessly. The accumulation of these cells eventually leads to the formation of a cancerous mass (or tumor) that has the potential to spread elsewhere in the body.

In the past couple of days I've learn to deal with the outcome and process and I'm no as scared as I was before. But still it's a real eye opener on your life. you put everything you thought was important in perspective.

Just as long as you are diligent and keep being vigilant, you will have no problem in beating this.

Oh and One more question Should I get a couple of weeks off just to rest up before the operation?

I worked till a day before the I/O. Other than the standard "don't eat or drink anything 12 hours before surgery", you need no other prep. The operation is extremely simple and routine. You will need to rest AFTER the operation. You will be able to walk soon after the operation, but you should take it easy for a few days. Also, you will not be allowed to lift anything heavy for 4-6 weeks.

Hopefully this helps clear things out a bit. Best of luck,

[Sans rt1]

No markers is a good sign, but does not really mean much as many with TC have no markers. As far as resting up before the surgery, no. You want to get it out as soon as possible. At this point you don't know if it is a slow growing or an aggressive form. As my urologist told me when I was diagnosed - we don't like to let the sun go down on a mass in a testicle. Although, they did for me because I was taking low dose aspirin and it was the Friday before a Holiday weekend - but I had my surgery on the following Moday.

You can hold onto the hope that the mass is not TC, but they usually are (the ultrasound tech would know if it looks like a tumor rather than a cyst). The surgery is not bad, and I worked the day of my surgery. Just plan a week off of work afterwards to rest and heal - then no heavy lifting for a month or so afterwards. It took 4 days after my surgery to get the pathology report. Once you have that you will know what kind of TC it is. Have they done a cat scan to see if your lymph nodes are clear? You will need to have one of these to see if there is any visible evidence of spreading. Once all of this is in hand, you and your doctors can decide the right treatment course - and if it means you should bank sperm, etc.

TC is very curable - and the surgery alone may provide you a cure - meaning you could go on surveillence and not have to have chemo or RT. Good luck with the surgery and let us know how the pathology and other tests turn out.

[ivannabanana]

Tumour Markers no good then???

Hi im bit confused...Again :-) .... In several previous posts to thys thread you all say no tumour markers in the blood dont necessarly mean no cancer BUT our consultant is now monitoring my husband who still has severl residue left inside hym from hys tumours.. he has to get hys blood checked every month and ct scan every third month... he has seminoma stage lll finished hys 4x BEP in NOV ...... If the blood checking dont show live cancer why is our consultant doing it? and he not only doing for my hubby he doing it for other TC patients in surveliance... Now our health system do not normally fund money for procedures that are not needed because our health system is stretched to its limits....im a bit worried now that if the cancer should come back they wont know till its spread quite far and it has gone too far.... Please help me understand.... thanks Yvonne

[Scott]

Even though absence of markers won't guarantee absence of cancer, it's worth testing for tumor markers. Further, seminoma does sometimes cause elevated hCG, and "pure seminoma" pathology reports sometimes miss non-seminoma elements.

[leetec]

Second Ultra sound

So i took my second ultra sound and the doc hasn't called yet. And I was given another blood test for female hormones???

So no makers is good but it doesn't mean I'm home free right?

My urologist is pretty he already scheduled a surgery date on 1/19/07.
He seems to think it might be cancer, and told me that I should be prepared for the worst.

I've had the orchiectomy twice and each time scheduled it for Friday am then returning for work half day on Wednesday (desk job) and full time there after.


Your had two orchiectomies?

[leetec]

Right testicle is history

Just had operation yesterday and they removed the right testes.
Operation was quick, I was under general. and I limped out of the hospital after a couple of hours.
Now comes the painful part trying to get out of bed and walking to the bathroom. But at least they gave me some vicadin to numb the pain. How long did you guys take to fully recover and get back to work? I just started school on the 17th and I don't really want to miss anymore days. Kinda going through a career change.. O and they will know what the tumor is on monday.. So Yes I'm very stressed out too..

[Scott]

Good job getting through that. I had surgery on a Thursday and was back at work the next Tuesday, though still sore.

[Fed]

Great to see that the surgery is done. You'll be sore for a little bit, but the good thing is that every day it gets better. Just don't do any heavy lifting for the next 4-6 weeks. Today is week 6 since my I/O, and I can say with confidence that I am in pre-I/O condition minus a nut with cancer (my kid is loving it because I can now lift her up again ). I started going back to the lab within a week after the surgery, walking kinda funny, though.

And yes... waiting for the path report sucks; nonetheless, getting rid of the primary tumor is the first big step. The path report is crucial in determining your treatment, and it's great you'll be getting it in a couple of days. Make sure you get a copy of it when you see your doc for your post-op visit. Get some rest!

[Trisha]

My husband had the surgery on a Friday and was back to work 10 days later and a bit sore. Try to rest as much as you can and use the pain killers - no need to be in pain especially just after the surgery. It gets better day by day. The path report is important but the blood markers being normal is an excellent sign. Our thoughts are with you!