I/O in 4 days

[rightside]

Hi gang, new member joining the group here, nice to see everyone sharing their experiences, it's very reassuring to know that there is a support group like this....

06/2012 - detected lump
07/20/2012 - GP visit and US confirm lump of about 2.7cm
07/26/2012 - Urologist visit (MSKCC/NYC), CT scan, bloodwork
07/30/2012 - I/O right side (planned)

This is all I know so far, a bit scary now with I/O just four days away, CT, bloodwork and pathology (obviously) not available yet. I have so many questions. Can any of you guide me?

1. Should I get a prosthetic testicle or not? I heard it's silicon, any horror stories 10,20,30 years out? To do or not to do? But wouldn't it look better with one? Can it move up and down like a normal one?

2. My personal and professional life require that I travel on airplanes a lot... when would it be ok to fly again? How about intercontinental/overseas flights?

3. Any thoughts on sperm banking? Should I do it before or after the I/O? Does it matter?

4. What are the chances that this is beyond stage 1? What are the symptoms of stage 2?

Thanks so much for everything... all the best.

[NotxMe]

Hi just joined myself. My gf asked me to go to the sperm bank as well. I'm thinking it should be done before I/o. I too have a lot of questions. Im sure we'll find our answers soon. Stay strong

[nciungan]

Hi gang, new member joining the group here, nice to see everyone sharing their experiences, it's very reassuring to know that there is a support group like this....

06/2012 - detected lump
07/20/2012 - GP visit and US confirm lump of about 2.7cm
07/26/2012 - Urologist visit (MSKCC/NYC), CT scan, bloodwork
07/30/2012 - I/O right side (planned)

This is all I know so far, a bit scary now with I/O just four days away, CT, bloodwork and pathology (obviously) not available yet. I have so many questions. Can any of you guide me?

1. Should I get a prosthetic testicle or not? I heard it's silicon, any horror stories 10,20,30 years out? To do or not to do? But wouldn't it look better with one? Can it move up and down like a normal one?

2. My personal and professional life require that I travel on airplanes a lot... when would it be ok to fly again? How about intercontinental/overseas flights?

3. Any thoughts on sperm banking? Should I do it before or after the I/O? Does it matter?

4. What are the chances that this is beyond stage 1? What are the symptoms of stage 2?

Thanks so much for everything... all the best.

You're in good hands with MSKCC. The I/O is not too bad, you'll be just fine. In regards to your questions:

1- It's a personal choice. I'm 26 years old so I got it. Makes me feel normal. It was large at first but swelling goes down and 4 months later it feels pretty normal. No problems for me yet.

2- I flew a week after my I/O. I wasn't 100% but I was on a plane. I've been on a few since then and it's all good.

3- I did mine after the I/O. You might not need to bank sperm if you're already cured after they remove the tumor! Your other guy picks up the slack. You could start looking into it though. If you do find out you need treatment you'll want to have a plan in place.

4- I don't know exact statistics. Sometimes there are no symptoms. It's gonna come down to the blood work POST operation.

Take a deep breath and just focus on the surgery first. The waiting game is tough but just get that bad boy out. You'll feel a lot better mentally once it's gone. Let us know how things go.

[Davepet]

1. Should I get a prosthetic testicle or not? I heard it's silicon, any horror stories 10,20,30 years out? To do or not to do? But wouldn't it look better with one? Can it move up and down like a normal one?.

Your choice, I never got any, but seems to help some guys.

2. My personal and professional life require that I travel on airplanes a lot... when would it be ok to fly again? How about intercontinental/overseas flights?.

No reason not to if your doc says OK. Seat belts can be a bit uncomfortable, might want some padding.

3. Any thoughts on sperm banking? Should I do it before or after the I/O? Does it matter?.

Safe to wait for more info. Some guys actually have more sperm post I/O (the bad guy sometimes drags things down). While I have *not* seen anything to confirm this, my mind says I would not take a chance on sperm from a diseased testicle. Probably just me....

4. What are the chances that this is beyond stage 1? What are the symptoms of stage 2?.

No way to know at this point, just not enough info. You need the bloods & CT to help figure that out. Keep us posted & we will help you dechipher things as the info lets us.

Dave

[Paul54]

Hi, and sorry to welcome your upcoming membership. The initiation fee is steep. You aren't alone.

1. I didn't get one. I retired from nude modelling a while ago. (I'm kidding.) My old-timer urologist advised against it. Get one if you think you will have that "missing something" feeling. Appearance-wise, my wife The Love Goddess says she can't tell the difference from more that 3 ft away. I'm told that those things are not among women's favorite parts of our anatomy anyway.

2. Urologist said to avoid air travel for 4-6 weeks. The biggest risk is having to lift heavy luggage before your incision has healed, which could cause a hernia. Changes in cabin pressure are not a problem. Otherwise, the chief issue of aircraft or car travel, and even sitting upright in belted pants, is that the incision scar is just below the belt-line and subject to irritation. That caused me more discomfort than the actual surgical incision.

3. Your to-be-ejected testical might still be producing some sperm, so that gives pre-I/O banking the edge. Otherwise, it matters more that you make a deposit before any chemo, radiation or additional surgery. Which hopefully you won't need.

4. As others have said, it's far too early to predict spread. Most Stage II's are generally not symptomatic.

Good luck with all this. Get copies of all scan and test records. Post results here so we can help you understand your new language. Fire away with questions.
Paul

[rightside]

hi guys, thanks for the advice! have just made an appointment with sperm bank, will go for it pre-I/O, I guess I just feel "better safe than sorry"

on flying, why would the urologist suggest no air travel for 4-6 weeks? if it's only due to heavy lifting, perhaps I could just go without luggage? I'm worried more about blood clots or other potential internal injuries while in the air....

am leaning toward getting a fake one, I guess I would feel empty without one, but I'm concerned about long-term effects. I don't want to have to undergo further procedures down the road if there are any problems like rejection, leakage or infection.

how long does the irritation or discomfort last on the incision scar? and how big is the scar/incision itself? can you walk home or do you need a wheelchair?

silly question... do they put you out for the procedure??!!

[rightside]

more questions....

how long does it take for the pathology reports to come back after the I/O? I'm so anxious to know what is happening inside my body, and what this will mean in terms of long-term prognosis.

since being diagnosed, I feel that my testicle and lower abdomen are in very slight pain.... am I imaging things or is this normal?

and the golden question... did I do something wrong to get this? what causes TC? should I change some behavior in the future to prevent this from happening to the other guy?!

can't wait to get this out, waiting game is horrible.

[Davepet]

on flying, why would the urologist suggest no air travel for 4-6 weeks? if it's only due to heavy lifting, perhaps I could just go without luggage? I'm worried more about blood clots or other potential internal injuries while in the air....

I have no idea on that one, my doc said nothing about restrictions at all.

am leaning toward getting a fake one, I guess I would feel empty without one, but I'm concerned about long-term effects. I don't want to have to undergo further procedures down the road if there are any problems like rejection, leakage or infection.

I don't think most folks have long term problems, some seem to have issues in the beginning with placement, etc.

h

ow long does the irritation or discomfort last on the incision scar? and how big is the scar/incision itself? can you walk home or do you need a wheelchair?

I recall a few weeks of irritation, I lived in sweat pants for the most part. Jeans were uncomfortable, but not impossibly so.

silly question... do they put you out for the procedure??!!

I was out, I suspect that is the norm.

Dave

[Davepet]

how long does it take for the pathology reports to come back after the I/O? I'm so anxious to know what is happening inside my body, and what this will mean in terms of long-term prognosis.

Depends on the lab, could be a few days, or a few weeks. My doc did a frozen section during the i/O & knew it was TC before he removed my second testicle, but that is not the norm.

since being diagnosed, I feel that my testicle and lower abdomen are in very slight pain.... am I imaging things or is this normal?

Lots of guys get odd pains most are unrelated to TC, but mention them to your doc.

and the golden question... did I do something wrong to get this? what causes TC? should I change some behavior in the future to prevent this from happening to the other guy?!

Nope, current thinking is a predisposition to TC occurs in the womb. There is nothing anyone has discovered yet that you coan do differently to avoid TC.

can't wait to get this out, waiting game is horrible.

Waiting is often the worst part, afraid you need to get used to it.

Dave

[rightside]

Hi guys,
had my I/O yesterday, thought I'd give you an update:

06/2012 - detected lump
07/20/2012 - GP visit and US confirm lump of about 2.7cm
07/26/2012 - Urologist visit (MSKCC/NYC), CT scan, bloodwork
07/30/2012 - I/O right side
08/09/2012 - follow-up to discuss pathology, CT scan, bloodwork (planned)

I just download test results pre-I/O (07/26/2012), and the tumor markers read as follows:

alphafetoprotein (AFP): 1.3 ng/ml (0-6.1 normal)
Assay info: IEMA,Tosoh AIA.Results cannot be used interchangeably with any other method.

Beta-HCG: <2.0 Elevated serum beta hCG concentrations have been reported in patients diagnosed with choriocarcinoma, hydatidiform mole, testicular tumors, prostatic cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. Assay info: IEMA,Tosoh AIA.Results cannot be used interchangeably with any other method.

Not clear what this means, am I completely normal? But if so, what was that lump in my right testicle that was removed yesterday?!!

Guess I'll find out more when I see Dr. S. on 08/09/2012.

On the I/O, not too bad. I'm 37 and this was my first surgery ever. I had the typical jitters (what if I never wake up?! what if something goes wrong?! what if I don't fall asleep?!), but everything went smoothly. Surgery scheduled for 3pm but didn't actually happen until 5pm. Dr. called my wife at 5:54pm, I was awake in recovery room by 6:30pm, left to go home around 11pm. Walked from taxi into elevator and up to my apartment. Worst part of it for me was getting the IV needle in my hand, OUCH! and apparently I moved my left hand during the piercing so the nurse had to repeat on my right hand!!

When I woke up, there was some pain in scrotal area but this was alleviated with pain meds. Slept ok last night, helped to put a pillow between my legs and sleep on the side. Today just resting around the house, mainly on the lazy-boy, typing and reading away. Sweat pants are very helpful, as are ice packs on the incision to keep swelling down. Have already walked outside a bit, up and down the elevator in NYC, at this rate should be back to work by Monday.

I had a prosthesis put in, so far so good, no issue there.

Will update you when I have more details on bloodwork and CT scan, in the meantime I welcome your comments and advice.

Thanks guys, all the best.

[Davepet]

Glad you got through it with minimal discomfort

Not clear what this means, am I completely normal? But if so, what was that lump in my right testicle that was removed yesterday?!!

Not all tumors produce elevated markers, yours apparently did not.This is neither good nor bad, although it does mean that blood markers will probably not be useful at detecting a recurrence, if one were to happen during surveillance.

Dave

[Jimmerz]

Welcome, and sorry that you are here also. Glad all went well and hopefully some of your anxiety is coming back into normal range now. The waiting does suck, but this forum is great and there are a lot of knowledgeable people in here to help.

I saw that you listed your AFP and Hcg but I did not see any LD numbers? I think the only numbers that were elevated with me was my LD?

Good luck with everything and keep us updated as you progress. You will probably meet back with your Urologist then I would guess an appointment with an Oncologist will be next.

Hopefully they got it all and you will just be doing surveillance!

[rightside]

you mean LDH? the number is 147 Units/L (normal range 12-246)
does that mean anything?

[Davepet]

you mean LDH? the number is 147 Units/L (normal range 12-246)
does that mean anything?

Just that it's within normal range.

LDH isn't really a good marker anyway in that lots of other things can elevate it besides cancer. Some docs don't even test for it during surveillance.

Dave

[rightside]

I've posted an update in the post-I/O forum... would appreciate anyone's advice!

http://www.tc-cancer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18009