OT - health scare

[Cusefan95]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Good luck to you.

 

[orange79]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

Glad to hear it sounds like good news.

Get your checkups folks! No one is invincible. An ounce of prevention...

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

Good luck to you, and thanks for the warning.

 

[MSOrange]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

Glad it appears to have been caught early. My brother had testicular cancer in 2008 and had surgery. He had one chemo session but his was caught early also and hasn't had any problems since.

 

[orangefog]

Yikes, good luck. What exactly would be different? How large are the masses and what shape? Is it the kind of thing where each guy should "Know his nuts", because they are all different?

 

[suttree]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

Best of luck going forward, man--and thanks for taking the time to offer this PSA. Very glad you caught it early.

 

[MSOrange]

Yikes, good luck. What exactly would be different? How large are the masses and what shape? Is it the kind of thing where each guy should "Know his nuts", because they are all different?

FWIW, it's a very strange/awkward conversation to have with your brother, but basically he told me in his case, it was really obvious there was a growth.

 

[Jeremy L.]

Good luck to you my friend. Keep us updated.

 

[orangefog]

FWIW, it's a very strange/awkward conversation to have with your brother, but basically he told me in his case, it was really obvious there was a growth.

Yeah, I can see how it would be awkward, but for something as important as this, it doesn't seem to be talked about enough. We can be told to check, but if we don't know what to check for, it is almost pointless. Did your brother find it himself, or did he find it obvious after it was found by the doctor? Was it obvious because it was further along? And, I am sorry, I don't mean to sound insensitive.

 

[MSOrange]

Yeah, I can see how it would be awkward, but for something as important as this, it doesn't seem to be talked about enough. We can be told to check, but if we don't know what to check for, it is almost pointless. Did your brother find it himself, or did he find it obvious after it was found by the doctor? Was it obvious because it was further along? And, I am sorry, I don't mean to sound insensitive.

Yes it is very important and I came across as rather immature in hindsight. But he did catch it himself and set up the doctor appointment himself for confirmation. It was caught early and his was a slow growing form, as I remember, but it needed to be taken care of. I'll have to clarify with him, but from what I remember him saying at the time, it was a very apparent swelling.

 

[orangefog]

Yes it is very important and I came across as rather immature in hindsight. But he did catch it himself and set up the doctor appointment himself for confirmation. It was caught early but his was an aggressive form. I'll have to clarify with him, but from what I remember him saying at the time, it was a very apparent swelling.

Good info, I appreciate it. And to your brother and the original poster, best of luck.

 

[Cusefan95]

Yeah, I can see how it would be awkward, but for something as important as this, it doesn't seem to be talked about enough. We can be told to check, but if we don't know what to check for, it is almost pointless. Did your brother find it himself, or did he find it obvious after it was found by the doctor? Was it obvious because it was further along? And, I am sorry, I don't mean to sound insensitive.

In my case, after the doctor found it and was explaining it to me, I felt it...but doing it on my own I probably wouldn't have noticed it. I suspect most guys are in the same boat - if there's something patently obvious they would recognize it, but don't really know what they're looking for and could miss a problem. If you're not 100% sure, ask your doctor for a demo and tips.

 

[donniesyracuse]

I touch myself constantly, just for this reason.

 

[bballbeadle]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

Cusefan, what a wonderful "coincidence" that you decided to have a vasectomy and then caught this! Please give us a follow up on the path results. You have done a great service to the board. Best of luck to you.

 

[TheGov3304]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

Best of luck and speedy recovery

 

[Toga]

Your nuts

 

[MCC]

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago to schedule a vasectomy; in the course of the appointment he checked and found two (likely cancerous) masses on my left testicle. The last few weeks have been hectic with numerous doctor appointments sprinkled in between holiday obligations - yesterday I had surgery to remove it and it's being sent for bioposy. I'm feeling pretty good right now regardless since it looks like we caught it early if this is cancer...I got really lucky.

Honestly I knew this was something men should check themselves for regularly, but I've never been good about checking...I'm not sure if I would have realized I'd found something even if I was checking. There's no way I would have found this if I hadn't gone to set up a vasectomy. So mostly as a PSA - check your beans regularly and have your doctor show you how if you're not sure.

Best of luck going forward. If the path results indicate this is a 'garden variety' seminoma, your prognosis will be excellent. The orcheictomy (surgery) will likely be followed by one or two rounds of high dose cis- or carboplatin. The cure rate here approaches 100%. Side effects from the chemo are generally minimal if you're otherwise healthy. Ideally, see an oncologist who specializes in genitourinary cancers - hopefully a reasonably reputable center isn't too far from you.

 

[OburgOrange]

My wife is a nurse, so I leave the nut touching to a professional.

Best of luck , glad it was caught and taken care of.

 

[NYCSUGrad]

Very glad you caught this early and that it's a relatively easy procedure, unlike if we women have ovarian or cervical cancer.

Touching the cervix regularly I guess is possible, though it's more mutable than testes, but good luck reaching the ovaries without a knife!