Thanks to all from a new caregiver-member

[Karen]

I have been searching these threads since December 8, 2005, when my husband went to the urologist for pain in his left testicle and was told he most likely had TC. After a left I/O and 15 zaps of radiation for stage I seminoma we are optomistic that the battle has been won and we can move ahead with a clear perspective on what really matters in life. I want to thank everyone who posts their experiences and their encouragement to this site. It helped us a lot in knowing we weren't alone. The strength and humor exhibited by so many of you guys, and those who love them, is inspirational. I hope that with the gazillion hours (only a slight exageration) I have spent researching seminoma I can offer support to others.

Best wishes to all,
Karen

[Mom]

Welcome to the forum, Karen. It is great that your husband is on the mend. He has been lucky to have you by his side. Where was he treated? Please join in to share your experience. Dianne

[Karen]

Thanks Dianne! He had out-patient surgery. The tumor was ~2cm and microscopic staining showed no evidence of lymphovascular invasion. He had elevated bHCG that returned to normal after the I/O. Once we received the final pathology report (perhaps the longest 2 weeks of my life) we sent the slides, labs and CATs to Sloan for a consultation with Dr Sheinfeld. Sloan confirmed the diagnosis and we (he) went back to our local hospital for the radiation. He opted for radiation (25Gy total) rather than surveillance, which was an option, to be more aggressive in his treatment. Finished radiation in mid February after a lot of nausea and some vomiting...strangely more pronounced after riding in a car when I was driving! Nausea was adequately controlled by Compazine and chugging Pepto. He is feeling fine now. We have a young daughter and with the short surgery and moderate side effects from the radiation we were spared having to sit down and tell her much of what was going on. I will try to give back to this site what I have received by providing whatever support and strength I can.

Best to all,
Karen

[huckchef]

great news! please continue to be an advocate of this disease. it will help many others down the road! keep us posted on your surveillance and my thoughts and prayers are always with you! best of luck, brian!

[Chris'Mom]

Welcome Karen....Mary Ellen

[mk6439]

My husband is having I/O at Overlook this week -- who is your husband's urologist?

[matthias]

Some times when I see all these threads with wifes/gfs posting about their men's predicatements, I have to wonder: Who really has the balls?

[dadmo]

mk6439:
I know the I/O sounds bad but it's a very simple operation. Don't stress to much about this one. It's just like having a hernia operation. What tests have they run on your husband?

[Karen]

My husband is having I/O this week -- who is your husband's urologist?

Dr. Volpe. It was an outpatient (5pm on a Friday) and he was home in bed by 10pm with a bag of frozen peas to keep the swelling down. To share another tip...he found wearing a jock helped stuff from moving around when he walked. My tip...learned the hard way from an ovarian teratoma and C-Section, is that if he's going to cough of laugh make sure he uses his hand to apply pressure to the incision area to prevent that lovely hot-knife-piercing -your-body-feeling. He never had surgery before and had absolutely no problems with the surgery or the recover. He did milk the "don't lift more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks" part a bit though!

Good luck and don't worry about the I/O. It took us one week to get the preliminary pathology and an additional week to get the results of the stained slides to better determine lymphovascular invasion.

[Karen]

Some times when I see all these threads with wifes/gfs posting about their men's predicatements, I have to wonder: Who really has the balls?

In some cases, no one !!! We love you guys and everyone knows women discuss all this stuff more than men do.

[mk6439]

Thanks Karen!

[mk6439]

Dadmo, they did an ultrasound and bloodwork. The bloodwork came back normal, which I'm hoping is a good sign.

[dadmo]

With no elevation in markers it may mean he had seminoma, which is very curable.

[mk6439]

That's what I'm hoping for -- well, I'm really hoping it's not cancer at all, but I realize the odds are against us on that. Thanks for your reply!

[Rune]

Welcome to the forums, Karen and mk6439. Karen, Good to hear your husband is done with his treatments! Glad you'll stick around to help others!

I wish you and your husband the best in the coming time, mk6439. Please keep us updated!