Lower back pain during surveillance - what should I be looking for?

[lautreamont]

Thanks Dave! Got the BetaHcg today and also normal.
All I am missing is AFP. Now my question is: AFP was normal before and after I/O, I was diagnosed with pure seminoma which does not raise AFP. So why measuring it? Is it just to check that the pure seminoma diagnosis was correct? Do they sometime miss a tiny non seminoma bit?

Pretty sure some tests take longer than others. Hcg, in particular always seems to lag a few days at my lab. They may have pushed them through on an urgent basis the first time, so the docs had a better idea what they were dealing with, I wouldn't be reading anything into it, you'll just drive yourself crazy.

Dave

[Davepet]

Better to be thorough than to miss something IMO. Seems like they always check AFP & hcg the only one that seems optional is LDH, since it isn't technically a tumor marker.

[lautreamont]

Makes sense. AFP came back normal as well. Besides CT Scan, and AFP. LDH, betaHCg. will they test anything else or am I in the clear for the next 3 months? I think they only did a CBC the first time before I/O.

Better to be thorough than to miss something IMO. Seems like they always check AFP & hcg the only one that seems optional is LDH, since it isn't technically a tumor marker.

[Davepet]

They normally will do markers before the I/O, but there are times it doesn't happen. The markers & CT scan is normally all they check, every so often they do a complete blood panel on me, but that might be due to other issues that are not TC related.

Dave

[lautreamont]

Thanks Dave! Btw I noticed you had a unique experience (34 years between right and left I/O ?!? That's unusual). Is there somewhere a recap of your story? Was it the same type both times? (If you don't mind sharing)

Pretty sure some tests take longer than others. Hcg, in particular always seems to lag a few days at my lab. They may have pushed them through on an urgent basis the first time, so the docs had a better idea what they were dealing with, I wouldn't be reading anything into it, you'll just drive yourself crazy.

Dave

[Davepet]

I've posted my "story" on here several times, but nowhere I can point to. Basically, I had TC at age 20, back when it was a death sentence if not caught early, mine was. If you pay attention to the ages of folks on this forum, you will find less than a handful that had their first at 20 & are now in their 60's.

I was stupid with TC2, I didn't have good insurance or income, & let it slide, even though I knew better. It had got to stage 2 when I finally got to a doc, so I got to do 3xBEP.

That's pretty much it. I do not recall ever being told what type it was the first time, only that it was one of the "better" types, so probably seminoma, TC2 was mixed, but I wasn't given percentages. Keep in mind that TC1 increases your odds of TC2,& they are always considered to be two separate cancers as apposed to a "spread" from one to the other. As much as I hate to say it, I believe we will see many more TC2 cases as the years go by, simply because more of us are surviving TC1 long enough to get TC2. It took me 35 years, after all Don't be paranoid, but do your monthly checks, everyone.

Dave

[lautreamont]

Well then maybe it's a good thing I got TC1 at age 42. I may die from old age before TC2... Otherwise met with Doc. All good for first Surveillance. Next one in August then the interval jumps to 6 month. He told me the 3 and 6 months (first 2 in surveillance) are most critical then odds lower quickly.

Pretty sure some tests take longer than others. Hcg, in particular always seems to lag a few days at my lab. They may have pushed them through on an urgent basis the first time, so the docs had a better idea what they were dealing with, I wouldn't be reading anything into it, you'll just drive yourself crazy.

Dave

[Davepet]

Well then maybe it's a good thing I got TC1 at age 42. I may die from old age before TC2...

Well don't resad too much into my case, I am highly unusual in having 35 years between TC 1 & 2. While getting TC twice is quite rare, we do have an good number of guys on this board who have dealt with it, so everyone needs to keep up with monthly exams, just to be safe.

Dave