Scared and worried

[Fed]

Hey dude,
I believe you are saying that the cord margin was free of tumor. That would mean that there were no traces of tumor at the place where the surgeon cut the spermatic cord (which is what attaches your testes to your body).
Teratomas are bizarre tumors in that they can differentiate into tissues that shouldn't be there (neurons and cartilage, in your case).
It's great that your wife is accompanying you to the doc's office. You should definitely get a copy of the pathology report, if anything, for your records. All the details of the biopsy should be outlined there. An important item you should look for is whether there is evidence of lymphovascular invasion, which is a potential indicator of spread. Of course, the CT scan and chest X-ray will offer more conclusive evidence to that effect.

As far as the post-I/O recovery, it sounds like you are right on track. Just don't overdo it by lugging too many books around. The pain becomes manageable, and it sounds like you are on the mend. Take it easy, and keep any questions coming. Best,

[leetec]

Biopsy results show teratoma

Hi everyone
Thanks for all the care and kind words. So far I received a call from my doc, He said my spermatic cord is free of anything? not sure what that meant

He said I had a teratoma in the testicle and there wasn't any malinents?

It did have microsopic neuron and catilage cells in there.

I'm going in for the report and with my wife so we can understand fully what it was. It sounded like he wasn't clear or clear on saying I'm cancer free. That was what I was waiting to heard but it didn't come. He did say I need a CT or x-ray to see if my lungs and abdomin are cancer free.

So here's my question He said the tumor was a teratoma, but didn't say what cells or what percent of it is what?

What questions should I ask or would I find the answers in the pathologist's report?

So far the recovery is great I limbed back to school today was kinda hard with those books. But I'm planning on getting a temp handicap plate for a month or so. But there still is alittle pain once in a while,So far I can handle the pain. Last time I took a vicodin was yesterday.
Oh and its taking time getting use to not having two testes. Sometimes I feel a kinda phantom testicle pain, anyone else have this? Maybe it's in my head. I don't know.
But overall I'm doing Great

[huckchef]

Have you heard anything since your surgery? I hope things are going well for you!
Brian

[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!

[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!

[Scott]

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

[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..

[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?

[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.

[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

[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.

[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,

[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.

[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)?

[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