* Mine was discovered super super early, on a scan related for something else
* This was actually so early that it didn’t make sense to operate. The main treatment for testicular cancer is orchiectomy, i.e. total removal of testicle
* If you find a lump, it is by definition much bigger than mine was, and the above doesn’t apply. But if you find a marginal, tiny spot on an incidental ultrasound, ask a doctor about what sizes are risky and consider a second opinion.
* I had something called a frozen section sample. They take the testicle out of the body, but leave it attached. They quickly biopsy part of it. If cancer, remove. If not cancer, put back in. I had this, it was cancer, but I’m nonetheless glad I did. My lesion was so small even then that it plausibly wasn’t cancer
* I had a seminoma. They grow slow, and are benign. It took three years to have a notable changes. If yours is growing faster than that, the odds are much higher it is cancer and a worse kind. Most benign masses are stable and tiny.
* Bank sperm before the operation! You may find fertility significantly impaired. My FSH went through the roof after the operation and my sperm count is like 0.01% of normal. Probably still viable with IVF, but almost zero. I likely had viable sperm before based on the normal fsh
Please don’t be pigheaded about this with your doctor. I did have cancer after all. But I plausibly didn’t, and my urologist recommended waiting + a frozen section sample. This is common in big centers for incidental detection, less common in hospitals that don’t see too many orchiectomies.
* Mine was discovered super super early, on a scan related for something else
* This was actually so early that it didn’t make sense to operate. The main treatment for testicular cancer is orchiectomy, i.e. total removal of testicle
* If you find a lump, it is by definition much bigger than mine was, and the above doesn’t apply. But if you find a marginal, tiny spot on an incidental ultrasound, ask a doctor about what sizes are risky and consider a second opinion.
* I had something called a frozen section sample. They take the testicle out of the body, but leave it attached. They quickly biopsy part of it. If cancer, remove. If not cancer, put back in. I had this, it was cancer, but I’m nonetheless glad I did. My lesion was so small even then that it plausibly wasn’t cancer
* I had a seminoma. They grow slow, and are benign. It took three years to have a notable changes. If yours is growing faster than that, the odds are much higher it is cancer and a worse kind. Most benign masses are stable and tiny.
* Bank sperm before the operation! You may find fertility significantly impaired. My FSH went through the roof after the operation and my sperm count is like 0.01% of normal. Probably still viable with IVF, but almost zero. I likely had viable sperm before based on the normal fsh
Please don’t be pigheaded about this with your doctor. I did have cancer after all. But I plausibly didn’t, and my urologist recommended waiting + a frozen section sample. This is common in big centers for incidental detection, less common in hospitals that don’t see too many orchiectomies.