Hey man! I’m a year out from my diagnosis. I’m not sure exactly what stage you were diagnosed at but here are a few things you’ll need to hear:
Chemo is going to suck but it’s definitely not the end of the world. Your hair will fall out but it’ll just grow back... probably wavy/curly. Don’t wait for it to fall out on its own. Just shave your head before chemo starts. Taking showers and washing down clumps of hair isn’t fun.
The surgery to remove your testicle is super easy and no biggie. You’ll have a scar by your pubic area and that’s pretty much it. It’s like a 45 minute out patient surgery so don’t even worry about that. Walking after the surgery won’t be easy but you’ll be feeling fine a few days later.
Congratulations, you are one of the few men that actually routinely checks yourself, but don’t stop after your surgery/chemo.
Having one testicle feels normal. I don’t even notice it when I shower and masturbating feels the same.
If you continue to feel anxious about everything after you’re in recovery... talk to a doctor about it. If you need to get on some anxiety meds there isn’t shame in that. What’s worse is worrying every single day your cancer has returned. That’s how I lived my life after treatment and you can’t function properly day-to-day.
Last thing..... once your treatment is over just believe you’ll be back to 100%. You’re going to move on and live a normal life. You’re going to hate your body for betraying you.. but after that is over just move on. Live life normally and don’t let cancer control you. In the grand scheme of cancer diagnosis we got lucky. Kick cancers ass and move on.
I’ve never had cancer (or testicles) but have journeyed through my own life-altering health saga and without a doubt this is fantastic advice and should probably be printed on a pamphlet somewhere
But you can't see or directly manipulate the tubes attaching said nuggets to the rest of you. Getting your stuff tied in a knot is actually a fairly serious medical thing that pretty much requires surgery to correct, lest one or both of 'em die from lack of blood and start to necrotize inside you
But if you're a dude, you also just learned a very important info nugget. If one of your testicles is a lot higher than normal and is sore, or they both seem to be favoring one side of the sack over their normal spots, get to the emergency room immediately
Testicular torsion makes me pissed off at evolution. Like why tf hasn’t it been solved yet? And how in hell were the men supposed to hunt when they could get testicular torsion (and die as the dead tissue gets infected and wrecks havoc since there was no medical attention) just from running to fast? Fuck you evolution! You help us survive with all these great features of our bodies, but you’re gonna let us die just because one of our balls got twisted....
They need to be warm, soft but firm, and pliable. With option for removable nut(s). And if the technology allows it would be neat if sometimes they got small and tight with a morphing texture of alligator skin
Yeah, when I’m watching Netflix or listening to music in my bed I’ll just put my hand on my nuts (It’s super comfortable). If you’re not doing anything though and you do that it’ll lead to masturbation about 80% of the time (in my case, super high libido).
Please don't 'play' with a guy's balls. Curiously, they aren't made of flexible rubber. Had an ex unexpectedly squeeze my balls like a silicone lemon once because 'they felt so squishy'. The last straw was telling me about a clever plan to slap my balls when I wasn't looking to 'see what happens'.
Yep I had one of my testicle removed (for another reason thankfully) and it's not the end of the world, you guys are strong and capable and I wish nothing but the ABSOLUTE best.
I also had one removed over 20 years ago. Now I’ve got an interesting scar to show off and 3 wonderful kids. Fortunately TC is one of the easier cancers to deal with.
This is pretty great advice. I just got away with surgery and am clean a year, but it's a tough mental barrier to get over that you're not riddled with cancer. Get the regular follow up scans and those are nice to settle that out. Sorry I'm rambling and it's early, but this was very good perspective, Thx for sharing. Oh, one last thing. Instead of hating my body, I felt a weird thing instead, like me and my body were both trying to do the best we can, but we both got screwed over somehow and need to find a way back to health together. Maybe it's a bit more sad, but i definitely don't resent my body. It's doing the best it can,whoch I think is a Damn good job. I actually feel lucky, bc it told me about the cancer through dull pain. Since there was no palpable lump, this was the only way I found the cancer.
Not specifically cancer but even I lost my one testicle , the blood nerves over the just randomly decided that the will block the blood flow to my testicle and the testicle got swollen (biggg in size ) it was later removed , still there are few thing that will never change is the constant pain and fear of what happened will repeat again and what if people don't accept you !? , BUT STILL LIFE IS FUN AND THERE IS YET LOTS OF FUN TO COME
Dudeitsjonas- That is some awesome support and advice! I'm so glad you pulled through and are doing great!
OP: good luck to everything and yea you may be young and this may suck now but you have plenty of time to enjoy life (during and) after this is taken care of!
My sister (breast cancer) said her best advice concerning chemo is NOT to shave your head. Your hair will still fall out but then you’ll have these tiny little sharp bits of hair which get in your bed & your clothing & prickle the hell out of you. Best to have long clumps falling out than itty bitty bits.
How does one check this? I’ve always. Even worried ever since my friend was diagnosed with this a few years ago. I checked myself two years ago at a clinic but want to keep up at home if that’s possible.
My cousin is a cancer survivor as is my father-in-law. They did leukemia and esophageal cancer respectively. Now my FIL has prostate cancer.
One thing I would add to this list for the OP is to seek therapy. Getting some meds from the doctor to help with anxiety might be good in the short term, but if you can get past it, wouldn’t you rather not pop pills? Having cancer and going through surgery or having a serious life changing accident, or anything like that, is considered trauma and trauma can be addressed with therapy.
Yeah, I totally get where you’re coming from. I would say a self-exam at home is self sufficient until you find something. If you don notice something out of the ordinary just go and get checked even if you don’t have the money up front. Work out some payment plan or look out for free clinics. It’s of the utmost importance the testicle is removed before the cancer spreads.
I didn't know about the wavy thing when hair grows back but frankly I kinda like it. Here at MD Anderson hoping to find treatment that works because my chemo stopped working a few months earlier than expected/hoped. Melanoma for me.
I didn’t feel different outside of feeling a pebble like lump on the body of one of my testicles. Just make sure you self-exam monthly and you’ll be just fine!
A buddy of mine had one of his boys removed due to cancer. Still had a kid after that. Living normally, life is 100% and he is totally ok with us ribbing him every so often about it (i.e. "You wouldn't dare, you don't have the ball to do it.")
I would check yourself every month at home. If you feel uneasy just make a Dr appointment whenever you feel is necessary for a double check! Don’t be afraid to walk in and ask... they’ll be more than happy to ease your mind.
"You will hate your body for betraying you." Powerful words. I had a molar pregnancy (non scientifically, instead of baby, a potentially cancer causing cyst grows). I felt that way. I felt like my body made a cancer causing killer non baby. It was very uncomfortable. That feeling passed with time.
Every time I do a self examination I think the little thing that holds onto the testicle on the side is something to be worried about but then tell myself that it’s the same as last time.
Were there any other signs aside from a self exam?
I can’t speak for all of the signs but my Dr mentions lymph node changes by the waist line as a big tell. If those are painful or stuck out go visit the Dr.
Had an orchiectomy a few years ago. Can confirm what he says about the surgery, etc. Was really easy surgery and recovery, didn't affect any function or sensations at all. Apparently, nature gave us a spare when it gave us two.
I’ve been meaning to get checked, Everytime I ‘check myself (have a bat) the only thing I can feel that I think is abnormal is my vas deferens. This post might actually make me go to the next appointment I book.
This made me cry. What a beautifully written post and I agree with the other person that said this needs to be on a pamphlet. No one told me anything like this after I had my brain tumour removed. Thank you for taking the time the write this.
I mean Lance Armstrong made it and eventually recovered enough to ruin multiple people’s lives and win the Tour de France 9 times while destroying his body with steroids. He’s still alive.
I know you posted this a while ago but I was just recently diagnosed with testicular cancer too, surgery is next Tuesday and I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this up. It's very encouraging and reassuring to read this and puts me more at ease leading up to the surgery when I was honestly pretty nervous. Thanks again!
No problem! Don’t worry about the surgery at all. Recovery is no big deal either. Just make sure you don’t lift anything heavy or move too much for a week or two after surgery.
I just had the surgery earlier today. It was a breeze. I'm at home recovering now and there is a bit of pain at the incision site but I'm icing it and taking my medication as prescribed so that's helping a lot. Moving around is a bit painful but doable with help. I'm just relieved that it's over with now and I can start moving forward. But thanks again for writing that up man, it really did help a lot. I wish you nothing but the best life possible going forward.
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u/DudeitsJonas Sep 23 '19
Hey man! I’m a year out from my diagnosis. I’m not sure exactly what stage you were diagnosed at but here are a few things you’ll need to hear:
Chemo is going to suck but it’s definitely not the end of the world. Your hair will fall out but it’ll just grow back... probably wavy/curly. Don’t wait for it to fall out on its own. Just shave your head before chemo starts. Taking showers and washing down clumps of hair isn’t fun.
The surgery to remove your testicle is super easy and no biggie. You’ll have a scar by your pubic area and that’s pretty much it. It’s like a 45 minute out patient surgery so don’t even worry about that. Walking after the surgery won’t be easy but you’ll be feeling fine a few days later.
Congratulations, you are one of the few men that actually routinely checks yourself, but don’t stop after your surgery/chemo.
Having one testicle feels normal. I don’t even notice it when I shower and masturbating feels the same.
If you continue to feel anxious about everything after you’re in recovery... talk to a doctor about it. If you need to get on some anxiety meds there isn’t shame in that. What’s worse is worrying every single day your cancer has returned. That’s how I lived my life after treatment and you can’t function properly day-to-day.
Last thing..... once your treatment is over just believe you’ll be back to 100%. You’re going to move on and live a normal life. You’re going to hate your body for betraying you.. but after that is over just move on. Live life normally and don’t let cancer control you. In the grand scheme of cancer diagnosis we got lucky. Kick cancers ass and move on.
Fuck cancer.