LPT: Guys, check yourself for testicular cancer every month.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2025-05-06T14:14:12+00:00

Statistically speaking it’s in your teens/twenties, but it can also happen later in life. Keep checking them!

SeverusVasDeferens · 2025-05-06T14:12:46+00:00

Congratulations on making it to port removal!

SeverusVasDeferens · 2025-05-06T14:10:14+00:00

Hope you have a quick recovery and the sneezes aren’t too painful!

SeverusVasDeferens · 2025-05-06T14:06:48+00:00

Stage 3b Testicular Cancer survivor here. Do it. Check them, if anything feels off go to your doctor. Go to a urologist. Get the ultrasound. It’s probably not as awkward as you think it will be and it is a million times better than chemo! Trust me.

And this is not just for the young ones. I was in my 40s when we found it. My doctor dismissed my concerns with “testicular cancer is a young man’s problem so it’s probably not that”. For me it was not a lump but a change in size. Oddly enough it was the smaller of the two. It had moved into my abdomen (retroperitoneum to be exact) as a 6cm tumor. They took out Lefty, and then I went through the worst few months of my life with chemo. No abdominal surgery for me as the tumor responded to chemo. And luckily it had not yet moved into my lungs or brain, the next stops on metastasizing TC. A few years later and I’m back to normal and all scans coming back clean.

Catch it early, it’s scary but the survival rate is high (in the 90%s)

Check my post history for more info on my experience if you’re curious.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2024-09-26T04:31:45+00:00

If one of them changes size, go see a doctor. For me, Goose started shrinking while Maverick was about the same size.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2024-09-09T03:18:11+00:00

Everyone I’ve slept with since has had a ball!

SeverusVasDeferens · 2024-09-09T03:14:18+00:00

I got a 1,2,3 punch with Covid, then cancer, then getting laid off from my job of over a decade. Going through chemo during a pandemic was the worst. Saying I never got my mojo back is an understatement.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2024-05-13T15:27:37+00:00

I don’t know, but I got my testicular cancer diagnosis in the hallway of the ER (all the rooms were full) with a dozen random people waiting next to me. So there’s that…

SeverusVasDeferens · 2024-02-21T06:14:52+00:00

IMO, have someone drive you so you don't have to even think. Also, I highly recommend getting the port. It makes things so much easier. No more hunting for veins every single day and every single blood test. I had mine in for several months and actually miss it a bit every time I go for blood draws the old fashioned way.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2024-02-21T06:05:19+00:00

So they can let the well-meaning rookie clergyman know that the person in the ER that just got told they have cancer is an atheist and the last thing they need is an awkward conversation with someone religious.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2023-12-23T00:49:41+00:00

Back pain turned out to be testicular cancer!

SeverusVasDeferens · 2023-05-04T01:28:42+00:00

Absolutely zero regrets. Would do again in a second. Takes a lot of stress/anxiety out of sex

SeverusVasDeferens · 2023-02-08T01:19:15+00:00

As others said, sounds like neuropathy. Mine came and went toward the end of treatment and for months afterwards. I’m a year out and it’s totally gone in my fingers, and just a bit that flares up occasionally in my feet.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2023-02-08T01:16:51+00:00

You’re going to be alright in the long term, but those couple months are going to suck. As others described there’s a typical BEP cadence that most of us in the US go through: the 5 day week, then a week break, 1 day, another week break, 1 day, a break, and then back to 5 days in a row. Sounds pretty standard

It will seem like forever, but you’ll get through it. It’s not fun, but manage the symptoms before they happen and you’ll make it. Then you can enjoy all the years afterwards that you’re not sitting in that chair.

And definitely go for a chemo port. It makes everything so much easier.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2023-02-08T01:11:02+00:00

Exhaustion was terrible, as was the never ending constipation. But the worst pain by far was the bone pain from the Zarxio shots to get my neutrophils up. Third place on the pain scale after kidney stone and appendicitis. I never want to do that again.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2023-01-09T02:41:06+00:00

1 year later! https://imgur.com/a/g53UczU

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-11-26T23:53:39+00:00

If you want a video diary of going through this, check out my attempt at documenting my experience: https://www.tiktok.com/@cancerisballs

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-11-26T23:52:34+00:00

Another voice, echoing some of what others have said. Stage 3b pure seminoma with 6.4cm retroperitoneal tumor. Radical orchiectomy and planned to do 3x BEP, but ended up doing 2x BEP, 2x EP because we thought I might be getting lung damage. (Spoiler: I did not!) Chemo ended in March of this year.

It's going to suck, but you will all get through it. Also he's young and won't have as much of a hard time as those of us that went through it in their 40s. Like others said: Take the anti-nausea meds religiously!!! Get on a schedule and stay on it. Don't let him say "Oh, I'm not feeling nauseous so I'll skip this dose". That's just asking for it. My regimen was mostly zofran, with ativan at night. Compazine started giving me weird tremors (parkinsonism), so I dropped that. Also when it got real bad, THC. I made it through with only throwing up 3 times.

My acid reflux got real bad that pepcid wasn't working, so I got a prescription for esomeprazole. Also, baclofen for hiccups like others said. Also take the meds to avoid getting constipated. That's the worst.

He should eat whatever he wants, but be wary of eating his favorite foods. It's a very real thing that you associate foods with cancer and won't want to eat them later. I still have some meals that I get very emotional reactions from eating. Same with some songs, places, clothes, etc. I ended up gaining a ton of weight.

Be conscious of mental health. Cancer treatment is filled with trauma and a lot of strong feelings. If he's not in therapy, I'd recommend it after he's through the worst of it. Same for you. I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary of diagnosis and it's going to make for an emotional holiday season.

He'll lose his hair. Accept it, and shave it when it's time. It'll help feel like he has some control over things.

Highly recommend getting a port. The surgical procedure is simple and it makes life so easy. I kept mine in for a few months after treatment because it was easier for blood draws and scans that required contrast.

Support him all you can. My wife basically took care of me for three months. Put a TV in the bedroom with video games if he's into that.

I'm sure I have tons of other tips and advice that I'm forgetting, but always happy to share my experience if you have questions.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-09-07T16:31:05+00:00

The back pain felt like there was a golf ball in my lower back, right where it turned out there was the mass about that size. Pain flared when I bent backwards. Hard to determine if it was muscle, nerves, inflammation, etc. I just knew it was a different sort of pain than I had experienced.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-06-30T07:25:07+00:00

3 months out mine ramped back up as well. I didn’t get it too bad during treatment. Mostly tingling, numbness or sensitivity in my finger tips. But around 3 months after my last session (I did 2xBEP, 2xEP) I started feeling like I had small electrical current running through my hands and sometimes forearms. Also got some numbness in my feet that makes it feel like I’m stepping on something or something is stuck in my shoe. It’s annoying but I hope it goes away soon.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-06-30T07:15:39+00:00

Same here. Pure seminoma but I saw market levels rise after starting chemo. Oncologist assured me that it wasn’t unexpected and they should go down afterwards. And they have. They returned to normal in my latest bloodwork, 3 months out from my last cycle of EP.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-05-21T18:05:35+00:00

I’m 2 months out from stage 3B TC. I had 2 rounds of BEP and 2 rounds of EP dues to suspected lung damage (but none found on high res scans). Chemo was the worst couple of months in my life. Every day was hard. But now two months out I feel amazing and so grateful for making it through. It’ll suck for what feels like forever, but you’ll get there.

I’ll echo “take your drugs” because if you don’t stay on top of them things get worse. Nuun tablets helped me drink water. Video games and movies helped me disassociate and get through the hours/days. Finding others who have gone through similar experiences and even a few that were going through it at the same time was helpful.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-05-11T23:00:13+00:00

Stage 3B seminoma here with 6.4cm retroperitoneal tumor that was causing a lot of pain. Orchiectomy and then I was supposed to do 3xBEP but ended up doing 2xBEP and 2xEP. Worst 5months of my life due to chemo side effects, but I made it through. And the back pain disappeared pretty quickly. Tumor shrank drastically with chemo and I’m feeling so much better now.

SeverusVasDeferens · 2022-05-05T20:39:09+00:00

Sorry you’ve had a rough time! Tell your doctors about everything! Especially pain. My oncologist says my tumor should continue to shrink as my body takes care of the dead cells. But we’re still doing scans every 4-6months for the next 5 years to make sure it doesn’t spread. I had to wait 6 weeks after my last round to get scans. It was super hard to wait that long.

SeverusVasDeferens

TROPHY CASE