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Hello all,
My 17 year old son Jason was just diagnosed
His surgery is tomorrow. The guilt is almost overwhelming for me. This all started in May with a breast lump on him. We took him to our family doctor who prescribed antibiotics. No blood test. I thought it was hormonal and hoped we could know for sure. A month later, his right testicle had a small lump. I could not get an appointment that week, so chose Urgent Care because they can do labwork there. The doctor once again said infection, gave him an antibiotic shot and put him on 14 days of antibiotics. Still no blood test, even though I asked!Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. My son had not mentioned it but did complain of stomache and chest pain. He runs and does push-ups, so I told him to ice it and of course he had muscle pain. Then for school shopping, we ended up in an arguement where he said "Im in constant pain and my lump has grown 4x the size as before". I was furious at him for using his health against me, as his mother. He said I make a big deal out of going to the doctor for "no reason" and thats why he didn't tell me. I obviously made an appointment for him. Our doctor examined him and with HUGE shocked eyes and an uncomfortable smile, he said we need this to be ultrasounded right now. He called around and got us an appointment. He called us 20 minutes later while we were driving home. He told my husband that he needed to talk to someone who wasn't driving. Then he told me "there is no easy way to do this".."it's a 7 cm solid mass". The next day, he had his catscans and bloodwork. LHD, HCG, AFP are all elevated. The urologist told us the CT showed 2 small masses on the opposite side in the lymph nodes, which he says is weird because the pathway for spread should be on the same side as the tumor. He called the other masses, unknown because they are not a full 2cm. He also said the breast lump and swollen-ness was hormonal caused by the testicle.
Okay...so...I am obviously concerned about these "unknown" masses. Has anyone ever not followed the pattern of spreading? Should I not be concerned? To me this all sounds like the more aggressive cancer. We will know next week which type it is, then he says we wait 4 weeks for another bloodtest. Four weeks is so long! Most people say how lucky he is because he is strong, young, and its testicle cancer. Yes I know that is lucky, but I really feel the 2 doctors he first saw could have tested his blood. How hard is it to just make sure. We have now waited almost 6 months because of this. Is this considered "catching it early"?
Thanks for letting me vent. He just started his senior year of high school...and why did it happen to the child I have the hardest time with? I have 5 kids and the other 4 don't push the same buttons with me. Now I feel even more guilty. Anyone else feel this?
My 17 year old son Jason was just diagnosed
His surgery is tomorrow. The guilt is almost overwhelming for me. This all started in May with a breast lump on him. We took him to our family doctor who prescribed antibiotics. No blood test. I thought it was hormonal and hoped we could know for sure. A month later, his right testicle had a small lump. I could not get an appointment that week, so chose Urgent Care because they can do labwork there. The doctor once again said infection, gave him an antibiotic shot and put him on 14 days of antibiotics. Still no blood test, even though I asked!Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. My son had not mentioned it but did complain of stomache and chest pain. He runs and does push-ups, so I told him to ice it and of course he had muscle pain. Then for school shopping, we ended up in an arguement where he said "Im in constant pain and my lump has grown 4x the size as before". I was furious at him for using his health against me, as his mother. He said I make a big deal out of going to the doctor for "no reason" and thats why he didn't tell me. I obviously made an appointment for him. Our doctor examined him and with HUGE shocked eyes and an uncomfortable smile, he said we need this to be ultrasounded right now. He called around and got us an appointment. He called us 20 minutes later while we were driving home. He told my husband that he needed to talk to someone who wasn't driving. Then he told me "there is no easy way to do this".."it's a 7 cm solid mass". The next day, he had his catscans and bloodwork. LHD, HCG, AFP are all elevated. The urologist told us the CT showed 2 small masses on the opposite side in the lymph nodes, which he says is weird because the pathway for spread should be on the same side as the tumor. He called the other masses, unknown because they are not a full 2cm. He also said the breast lump and swollen-ness was hormonal caused by the testicle.Okay...so...I am obviously concerned about these "unknown" masses. Has anyone ever not followed the pattern of spreading? Should I not be concerned? To me this all sounds like the more aggressive cancer. We will know next week which type it is, then he says we wait 4 weeks for another bloodtest. Four weeks is so long! Most people say how lucky he is because he is strong, young, and its testicle cancer. Yes I know that is lucky, but I really feel the 2 doctors he first saw could have tested his blood. How hard is it to just make sure. We have now waited almost 6 months because of this. Is this considered "catching it early"?
Thanks for letting me vent. He just started his senior year of high school...and why did it happen to the child I have the hardest time with? I have 5 kids and the other 4 don't push the same buttons with me. Now I feel even more guilty. Anyone else feel this?
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