Don't forget chaps... check down below occasionally

You've made me consider private medical... I can get it subsidised by my employer but I need to pay part...

Aside from that, glad you got it all sorted, and glad it happened after the kids.

Finally... this thread is perfectly fine without pics.
 
Glad to hear its going well. I am just off to the Radiotherapy department now for my other halfs 6th session. Like you said the places and staff are amazing :) Hard when you see some very ill people in there though :(
 
Wow, I sincerely hope it all passes and you can eventually get on with the rest of your life trouble free OP. A great story to tell and will certainly make others think twice about it if they find something.

You should approach a newspaper or something for awareness.


As for the time off, take the time off (possibly with your wife if she is able to), recuperate and then carry on as normal as you can.


just read the post date in the OP, FAIL on my behalf!
 
Thanks for being so open and honest - it sounds like an awful ordeal. Hopefully this thread will encourage others to have a good grope on a regular basis!!

I know exactly what you mean about the 'rado keeping you sane - I've got a metallic blackberry vr myself - yours looks a stunner :cool:
 
Thanks for the comments. It's not so bad really. Many others have far worse problems. This is completely treatable.

Quink said:
I know exactly what you mean about the 'rado keeping you sane - I've got a metallic blackberry vr myself - yours looks a stunner :cool:
Click to expand...

It's not quite as good close up :)

Are you on the corrado forum?
 
It's the anniversary of this thread so a quick update...

I continue to have 3 monthly meetings with my consultant and regular xrays, blood tests and MRI scans (I volunteered to take part in a trial of MRI scans instead of CT's so don't have those). Having had radiotherapy to my remaining testicle my testosterone level has dropped off quite considerably and I'm now going to have discussions with my doctor on the best course of repacement treatment (probably gel, patches or injections).

I'll be honest and say my level of drive and energy has dropped off to some degree and I'm hoping that this will help. I feel very tired all the time. My job is quite demanding, often starting at 7am and continuing for 13+ hours without a break and feeling tired isn't helping. Feeling tired doesn't describe it, it's more than that, a total feeling of being drained all the time. But this appears to be a testosterone thing and therefore likely to be treatable.

Still got the 'rado though :)

EDIT: P.S. God bless every doctor, consultant and nurse and any other staff at the Royal Marsden including cleaners and cafe staff and anyone, absolutely anyone else working there..... Every single one of you. You have my thanks. The compassion you show to everyone is never forgotten by any of us.
 
Last edited:
It's difficult to know what to say to this and feel that it's the right thing, congratulations for your beating it and my sympathy for having had to endure it and for needing to supplement your testosterone as its legacy.

I'm always dismissive of suggestions to go to the doctors, not even registered, I just hope I'll have the courage not to ignore something should there be a genuine need. I'm sure your story will help me move my arse should that need arise.

I'm thirty-three now and I haven't heard many things to make me welcome hitting forty-something before, even though doing so is quite obviously is no guarantee. All the best for the future, to you and to all who haven't been as lucky as I have thus far in my life. :)
 
How long would it take from finding one to operation if you don't have medical insuranc ?

Interesting read. Good that you have the attitude you portray in this thread, I'm sure it helps.
 
Last edited:
Personally think you need to talk to your boss so you can take it easy for a while, you need to really. Need your body to rest and recover!

Glad things are getting sorted and hope you're given the all clear soon!
 
Elixir said:
Shows how important it is to get these things checked out asap.

Take the time off and relax for a couple of weeks, even if you don't need it, your wife might. :)

EDIT: Also I am never sure how obvious it would be, there's plumbing down there that causes bumps anyway...
Click to expand...


True! I felt a hard lump at the back of one of mine that wasn't that hard before. Almost like a plastic BB for a gun really. That + it was sore cycling home that night made me be like :eek:

Turned out o be my Epididymis, no idea why it decided to get hard for some reason.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epididymis
 
Time for another quick update as I'm hoping anyone else who may go through this in the future will find it useful.

As mentioned before my energy level had been dropping off considerably with my testosterone level and I had a general lack of drive. I found I wasn't really concerned about much. I had also started putting on a considerable amount of weight. These are classic symptoms of low testosterone which is obviously the primary male hormone. The weight gain is partly due to lethargy and partly because the male body finds it hard to make muscle without the hormone. So however hard I worked down the gym I couldn't lose any weight and any surplus calories just turned to fat. Long term risks are depression, weak bones and other problems associated with weight gain.

So a few weeks ago I saw a specialist in testosterone replacement and a couple of days before Christmas I started taking it. I was given a choice of daily patches, daily gel or monthly injections which need to be administered by a nurse. I opted for daily gel although I can change this if I prefer. So now each morning I rub some gel onto my stomach or thighs. I started feeling better the same day and now my energy and drive have returned to normal. It really is quite surprising just how much of a difference a normal level of testosterone makes. For the first time in months I feel normal. I feel like I want to work hard, get down the gym, make progress in life and have fun. I feel like "me" again. But I will have to take it for life.

I'm still having regular checkups with blood tests and xrays and my next MRI scan will be around May (I'm on a trial with MRI scans rather than CT scans). I'll report back then but so far everything is normal.

Now to try to lose that weight...

EDIT: One advantage of being on testosterone treatment is that I now get all prescriptions for free, for life.
 
Last edited:
Great to hear you're feeling better now you're on the gel. You'll have to take it for life yes, but, after a while it will just be part of the routine like getting up in the morning and cleaning your teeth. Nothing to worry about. :)
 
I thought a quick update on this was in order. I think that peoples experiences can be useful when others have to go through the same thing. If this thread can help someone in the future then it has been worth writing. Well it is all good news so far and I have been given as close to "all clear" as I will have for a few years.

Just before Christmas I had my final MRI scan along with the usual blood tests and xrays (I was taking part in a trial of MRI scans instead of the usual CT scans). It was, as expected, clear. At the start of all this in October 2011 I had expected to be given the "all clear" after three years but I don't think it quite works like that. I was previously on a three monthly xray and blood test cycle with annual MRI's. But this has now been reduced to a six monthly xray and blood test, with no more MRI's. I think what happens now is that the test frequency gradually gets longer and longer over time. I'm actually glad I'm still being monitored because although I have absolute confidence that I am totally free of cancer now, I like the reassurance of being checked in case I have something else in the future. People sometimes ask me if I ever get worried and my reply is that I know I am (almost certainly) free of cancer but no-one else in the room knows whether they are.

I still haven't told my children what happened although I will tell them before my son reaches puberty (this is when he becomes statistically at a higher risk due to family history).

At all times I have tried to approach this with confidence and aside from the shock at the start I have seen no reason to worry about something I can't change. The only time I did get a little concerned was when I had a kidney stone last year. No stone was showing on the ultrasound and the hospital were overly interested in my testicular cancer history, treatment and when I was next being seen by my consultant. It was the only time I let the thought of it returning briefly enter my mind.

So this will probably be the last update to this little log of my treatment as I am now entering a "business as usual" period of testing. I am grateful to my family and friends for the support they have given me and eternally grateful to the doctors, nurses and consultants who have, at every step, treated me with the utmost compassion and care.

Perhaps the last gift that my father gave me, as I held his hand when he died from lung cancer in 2012, was the experience to take this disease seriously and insist on being seen by a doctor the same day I found a lump. People who have had a similar experience often say that it has changed them. I can't really say that but it has given me a different perspective on life and I find it very hard to get worried about little things anymore. However one of the side effects of low testosterone is exactly that so perhaps that is the reason rather than some grand change in perspective. I do miss getting genuinely excited about things, which I now find hard to do. But is that because of my testosterone, or is it simply me getting older and wiser? I don't know the answer to that. But I do feel different and I do miss having a genuine passion in things I do. But most people affected by this disease shouldn't worry too much about that becasue they are likely to be affected on one side only (I was affected on both, hence low testosterone).

Another side effect of low testosterone is putting on weight. That happened to me and I decided to get fit again in May last year. I'm now in as good a shape as I was when much younger and fit into trousers I never thought I would be able to again. But it does take hard work... again was that weight gain just due to age or the impact of low testeosterone? Probably a little of both.

So once again chaps... check yourself down there regularly and get seen by a doctor if you find a change. The same goes to you girls on the forum; check for lumps up there. And if you find something get seen immediately but be aware that it is indeed a disease that is treatable and very beatable. I was diagnosed with it at 43 years old. This is unusual and it is actually a young mans disease. So just because you are young don't put off checking; you need to check because you are young.

I wish you all the best...
 
Last edited:
Just read the whole thread and it sounds like a nasty experience! Glad to hear everythings all and well and you're getting back to normal.

I did laugh at the part of the 'shuffle around' down there. I had a similair experience of finding a lump down there when i was 11 (noticed it in the bath - not doing anything strange at that age). After not knowing what to do I told my mam who then rushed me to hospital. After 2 doctors 'shuffled about' and examined me the referred me to another near by hospital for emergency surgery. It turned out just to be a large lump of fat which nearly cost me a testicle.

All the best for the future!
 
Hades, quite a read.

Kudos to you for sharing. And extra props for volunteering for trials!

If it's not too much of a personal question, have you had a prosthesis?

If I ever had to go through what you had (God forbid), I think I'd need a replacement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom