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[jim 20 y surviv]

Hi I'm Jim and just found this site. I do wish I had these resorses when I was diognosed back in 1987.
Its been very hard for me to accept what has happened to me.
I had my left testicle removed and lymphnodes removed with 2 different surgeries.
The second one left me unable to have children.
I was given very little information on what was happening and what to expect, I was told the night before surgery that I would only have a 10% chance of having children.
Its been a tough fight but i now have a loving wife and a wonderful step daughter.
But there are problems with not feeling like a "real man" sometimes.
My heart goes out to all who have this and I am proof it can be beat.
Thanks Jim

[dadmo]

Welcome Jim and congratulations on your 20 year survivorship. I know retrograde is a problem for guys that have had an RPLND but have you been to a fertility specialist? Retrograde no longer has to mean that you can't have children.

[Karen]

Welcome, Jim, and congrats on 20 yrs of survivorship! Hang around here and you'll find many guys that can share their thoughts and help with the emotional and physical toll TC has had on you.

[jim 20 y surviv]

Yes me and my current wife have just been to a firtility Dr. Its a no go

[dadmo]

If it's a retrograde problem they do have ways of extracting the sperm.

[Aegean]

Hey Jim,

Just wanted to pipe in and welcom you to the forum. As others have said, stick around as sharing experiences, knowledge and the ocassional shoulder to cope, deal and beat this beast are our best tools.

We usually say that we are sorry that you had to find this site but a 20 year survivor gives us all a boost. If you don't mind, can you list your original pathology and a bit of info about your TC?

Again, Welcome to the site,

Zsolt

[fuse929]

There are a few other actively-posting members who were diagnosed in the late 80's, early 90's, so I'm sure there will be some around to weight in. Congrats on staying healthy this long, and welcome!

[Jay68442]

Hi Jim and welcome.
Congrats on being cancer free for 20 years. I wish you many more.
It's great to see other long term survivors. I was diagnosed in 1988, left I/O and RPLND.

LiveStrong
Jason

[MRMRSU]

Hi and welcome, Jim. It's always so incredible to read about guys who had to battle this monster decades ago and to know about their survival. Be well and we hope you continue to post here.

[Smartie]

Jim - Sincere thanks for your post. It's so helpful to guys who are starting their journey to hear about a twenty year (plus) survivor like yourself.

Your comments about how hard it has been to accept what has happened strike a chord with me, as they will with others here.

Glad to have you with us. Welcome!

[richy77]

Welcome Jim - your posts gives hope to all of us.

[jim 20 y surviv]

What is retrograde

[Smartie]

Jim - here's the definition of retrograde ejaculation, from the TCRC website:

Retrograde ejaculation - A male fertility problem that allows the sperm to travel into the bladder instead of out the opening on the penis during ejaculation. Retrograde ejaculation may be caused by the severing of the sympathetic nerves during RPLND surgery. The presence of semen in the bladder is harmless; it mixes into the urine and leaves the body with normal urination.

[jim 20 y surviv]

Thanks for the info Smartie.
I was tested for that and there was nothing there.It really hit me hard when i found that out.
I was a basket case all weekend and me and the family were going on vacation.
Also any one can pm me if you don't feel comfortable seeing your post on here.
thanks

[dadmo]

Jim:
If you're producing any viable sperm it can be extracted from the urine or directly from the testicle. I understand there are also some medications that have a short term effect of producing a normal ejaculation.

[jim 20 y surviv]

No I am not producing any viable sperm.
But I did go through some testing and was lucky our insurance picked up the bill.
There are times I feel very inadaquit though.
Are there any other guys out there that feel the same?