HZence
03-01-06, 10:55 PM
Hello all,
I'd like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read my story. I hope I can provide support for some of you as well in turn.
My story begins at conception. From birth, I had an undescended testicle - common, to the best of my knowledge. I'm not sure whether this is more recent discovery, but apparently men with a history of undescended testicle are twice as likely to develop cancer (over 2% as opposed to the around 1%). Doctors did not inform my parents of this. In health class at school, breast cancer is always touched upon, but testicular cancer is never discussed. Thus, when I discovered around the middle of my junior year that I had a lump, I didn't know whether or not it was normal. Thus, I let it go until the middle of my senior year when I got my health history form for college. I saw "Testicular Lump" as an option and realized it was a problem.
Thus, just a few months after 18, I was officially diagnosed, though I'd developed the condition at 17. The doctor recommended a radical orchiectomy, which I naturally consented to. About a month later I'd discover via catscan that the cancer had indeed spread; thankfully, only to my lymph nodes and no further. My summer before college was split between getting up at 5 AM for work one week and going for chemotherapy the next.
I'm leaving out a lot of the finer details, but the chemo did work its magic and I'm now six months cancer-free. I do, however, have a few concerns:
My urologist informed me that decrease in sex-drive wouldn't be an issue; that's why our bodies are symmetrical. We lost one limb, we've got another. Thus, the other testicle would take care of it. I'm finding this to not be the case. All of my friends are the horniest guys you'll ever meet, saying things like "I want to **** her so bad," etc. Well, besides the fact that I'm just not like that (lol), I actually don't even feel that way. Natrually I can still tell when a girls attractive, but it's never something that interrupts my train of thought too terribly or that I can't peel my eyes away from - like it used to. Was I misinformed?
Sex also isn't really too enjoyable for me. Instinct drives me toward it, obviously, but no matter how attractive she may be, I honestly just don't ever get too into it.
Another issue is sterility. According to my oncologist, he's never had a patient become sterile after chemotherapy. I've had no issues with erectile disfunction, but my semen is highly unusual. Not thick, thin. Not white, but clear - watery. Runny. Almost like there's nothing there but fluid. I must admit this is highly disheartening; I love children and want to have a few of my own. But now I'm faced with the possibility that this may not happen.
If anyone could clear up a few of these issues for me, be it through research or anecdotal evidence, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
I'd like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read my story. I hope I can provide support for some of you as well in turn.
My story begins at conception. From birth, I had an undescended testicle - common, to the best of my knowledge. I'm not sure whether this is more recent discovery, but apparently men with a history of undescended testicle are twice as likely to develop cancer (over 2% as opposed to the around 1%). Doctors did not inform my parents of this. In health class at school, breast cancer is always touched upon, but testicular cancer is never discussed. Thus, when I discovered around the middle of my junior year that I had a lump, I didn't know whether or not it was normal. Thus, I let it go until the middle of my senior year when I got my health history form for college. I saw "Testicular Lump" as an option and realized it was a problem.
Thus, just a few months after 18, I was officially diagnosed, though I'd developed the condition at 17. The doctor recommended a radical orchiectomy, which I naturally consented to. About a month later I'd discover via catscan that the cancer had indeed spread; thankfully, only to my lymph nodes and no further. My summer before college was split between getting up at 5 AM for work one week and going for chemotherapy the next.
I'm leaving out a lot of the finer details, but the chemo did work its magic and I'm now six months cancer-free. I do, however, have a few concerns:
My urologist informed me that decrease in sex-drive wouldn't be an issue; that's why our bodies are symmetrical. We lost one limb, we've got another. Thus, the other testicle would take care of it. I'm finding this to not be the case. All of my friends are the horniest guys you'll ever meet, saying things like "I want to **** her so bad," etc. Well, besides the fact that I'm just not like that (lol), I actually don't even feel that way. Natrually I can still tell when a girls attractive, but it's never something that interrupts my train of thought too terribly or that I can't peel my eyes away from - like it used to. Was I misinformed?
Sex also isn't really too enjoyable for me. Instinct drives me toward it, obviously, but no matter how attractive she may be, I honestly just don't ever get too into it.
Another issue is sterility. According to my oncologist, he's never had a patient become sterile after chemotherapy. I've had no issues with erectile disfunction, but my semen is highly unusual. Not thick, thin. Not white, but clear - watery. Runny. Almost like there's nothing there but fluid. I must admit this is highly disheartening; I love children and want to have a few of my own. But now I'm faced with the possibility that this may not happen.
If anyone could clear up a few of these issues for me, be it through research or anecdotal evidence, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.