Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer

[Salmaan]

Hi, I had noticed a swelling in my right testicle as mentioned in the Do I Have Testicular Cancer forum, i had an ultrasound done on 13-6-2007 and it was found to be cancerous i went for a second opinion on 15-6-2007 and it was confirmed surgery scheduled for the next day. The tumour of different histological types i.e.
1) Intratubular Germ Cell Neoplasma.
2)Intermediate Teratoma consisting of 50% of tumour with 10% malignancy.
3)Choriocarcinoma.
4)Seminoma.

I have been told i dont need radiation or Chemotherapy but i need to have Blood Tumour Marker Tests done everymonth.
I was given a wrong diagnosis that it have mestatasis in my lungs as well. this was corrected by another radiologist and till now i've just been receiving different diagnosis.

I am due for another Blood test on 6th August.

I would like to thank you for a fantastic website the information available is immeasurable. Thank You.

[Margaret]

Salmann,

I am sure others will provide further information, but it does not seem correct that your would not need chemo or further treatment. Are you saying you do have spots on your lungs? Can you provide more detail so we can help?

[Salmaan]

Spots in Lungs.

Hello Margaret,

According to the doctor who operated there was some suspicion regarding the spots on the CT Scan. The second scan showed the same spots and the second radiologist said they are normal, a third one said i need chemo coz they appear cancerous, a fourth doctor said there is absoutely nothing to worry about. its kind of confusing seeing doctors in this country is like sitting on a roller coaster. some lift your spirits then another comes along and bursts the bubble. That is why we are monitoring this with Tumour Marker Tests.

Salmaan

[Already Bald]

Salmaan,
I suggest you try to get to a TC expert, at least have your slides and films sent for review. Ask the doctor that is talking chemo if a lung nodule biopsy is possible. TC typically presents in the lungs on recurrence.

Just watching the blood doesn't seem enough to me.

Best,

[Margaret]

I must agree with Joe, I think the spots on the lungs should cause some concern and need to be looked at further. Is there any way in your area to see someone, like Joe suggested, who is an expert in TC?

[Scott]

That is why we are monitoring this with Tumour Marker Tests.

Welcome back, Salmaan. What blood test results have you had to date? What were your markers before your orchiectomy? Since you're on surveillance, I assume they've returned to normal levels. Yes?

[Salmaan]

Tumour Markers

Hello, Thank you so much. The tumour markers id done here were for Beta-HCG, Alpha Fetoprotein and LDH the Beta HCG result before surgery was 2330 a week after was 49.9 and second week after surgery was 4.9 the other two tests went down but not fully. Id only done the Beta HCG test on the second week after surgery.There is no TC specialist here, i went to see the oncologist and showed him the two conflicting radiologists reports one says i have nodes of about 1.4 cm and the other report says the lungs are totally clear?????? . This Oncologist wanted to put me on 6 cycles of chemo, (He mentioned something called B.E.P). I hotfooted out of his office.The tumour marker tests are in the capital city and thats over 200 miles away. i'l be going there on the week of 6th august for the tumour marker tests. The medical facilities although improving are still far behind in the entire country there maybe on 6-7 MRI's and NO CAT SCAN facility.at the moment i have lost over 25 pounds in weight since the operation a month ago.

I will keep you all updated.

Thank you all and Please take care.

[Already Bald]

Wow, Salmaan.
And to think there are some people here in the USA that criticize our health care system...
When your oncologist spoke about 6 cycles of BEP, we refer to that as 3 cycles of BEP.
You would get the EP (Etoposide, and Cisplatin) the first week, the next Monday would be a shot of B (Bleomycin). The third week would be off to rest. This process would be repeated for a total of 3 cycles.
It is a proven protocal for the treatment of TC with enlarged nodes or lung mets, and would be appropriate if you are stage 2 or 3.
You need to get your staging confirmed, read up on it here:

http://tcrc.acor.org/staging.html

You can call the experts listed below, or have your oncologist call them, and they can recommend next steps.

Just call, they will listen and offer help- it is worth it.

http://tcrc.acor.org/experts.html

Best to you,

[Karen]

Good advice from Joe. An expert is a phone call or e-mail away. Good luck and keep us posted!

[dadmo]

Salmaan:
You should be able to stay on surveillance as long as your markers remain normal and there is no change in the size of the lung spots. As others have said an expert is just a phone call away, ask your doctor if he would give one a call. If your doctor is reasonable he will consider it an opportunity to learn.

[Botidmore]

Question for Already Bald

I noticed that you explained 1xBEP as 1 week of EP. Then one shot the following week of Bleo. Then a week off. My experience was 1 week of EP with a shot of Bleo. The next week a shot of bleo and then the third week a shot of bleo. Is this not correct?

[Already Bald]

I noticed that you explained 1xBEP as 1 week of EP. Then one shot the following week of Bleo. Then a week off. My experience was 1 week of EP with a shot of Bleo. The next week a shot of bleo and then the third week a shot of bleo. Is this not correct?

Could be, I had EP and don't really remember the exact details of BEP- I just wanted to reassure Salmaam that "6 cycles of BEP" is probably what we refer to as three.

[petep]

I had 3xBEP -

week 1: bleo + etop + cispl. monday...then EP tues-fri....

week 2: bleo monday

week 3: bleo monday

repeat process 2 more times for a total of 9 weeks.

________________


pls. do as others suggest and seek advice from a tc expert via phone or email...

just as a side - I may have missed it - where do you live?

pete

[Scott]

Everyone: it's helpful to relate our own experiences, but we should be careful about making assumptions. As survivors, we have plenty to offer, but we aren't doctors, and I suspect none of us is an expert in navigating the Kenyan health care system.

Salmaan: I would agree with asking your doctors about consulting with a testicular cancer center of expertise. I understand through your posts that imaging equipment is scarce, and I'm sure that will affect your decisions. Any news or next steps?

[Already Bald]

Scott is right, I made a mistake by being sloppy in my descritpion of BEP- and I'm sorry if I confused anyone. I was going to post this even before Scott posted it.. It a lesson for me to be more careful in what I write.

I wish you the best, Salmaan.
Please try to take advantage of an expert.