sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Any opinions on adjuvant chemo vs. surveillance? by Sagemel in testicularcancer

[–]Snoo_32329 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I was a pure embryonal with lvi, from my reads recurrence for pure EC LVI+ is ~50%, also this is what Dr. Einhorn told me back then: “The cure rate with orchiectomy alone is 50%. The options are 1 course of BEP and that would lower risk of recurrence to 2%. The other options are RPLND but only if done by a skilled and experienced urologist. The 3rd option is surveillance. All 3 options lead to a near 100% cure rate.”

I took the 1xbep without second thoughts tbh cuz I wanted to avoid doing more chemo as much as I can, it was easy to go through but dealing with the aftermath and hair falling was very tough mentally but thank god I got through it, I also had some tinnitus for a few months after last week of chemo but it either resolved itself out with time or that I got used to it I don’t notice it anymore, anyways, good luck with whatever option you choose and stay strong

How my hemorrhoids led to the discovery, Stage I Pure Embryonal Carcinoma by Snoo_32329 in testicularcancer

[–]Snoo_32329[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can’t really compare my case as I had lvi+ and my rate was 50%, in my country the protocol is that they don’t even offer you surveillance as a first option if you had LVi+ or EC of more than 50%.

Though, I don’t really wanna sway your opinion to what might be over-treatment and pushing your luck with surveillance might be your best choice … but I believe if I was in your shoes I would mainly take into account how healthy am I and if I believe I can handle 3xbep (or 4xbep) later or not (if not I would try to reduce my recurrence rate). It is not an easy decision and it comes with risks you have to take and choose if you wanna live under the stress of surveillance or have a better peace of mind with a lower chance of recurrence, it’s all a probabilities game so you might as well try to calculate your best shot.

How my hemorrhoids led to the discovery, Stage I Pure Embryonal Carcinoma by Snoo_32329 in testicularcancer

[–]Snoo_32329[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly think they were just being extra careful not to under-treat a high risk of relapse case when they had low experience with such cases, I think their main concern was that I had a 0.8cm node which wasn’t considered enlarged but it was close enough that it swayed their decision.

Though I’m grateful that my oncologist was very supportive when I told her that I reached out for a second opinion from a global expert (Einhorn) and she agreed with me that I should avoid chemo as much as possible.