Living With Testicular Cancer

Males who have been diagnosed with testicular cancer will undergo immediate treatment. A determination will be made regarding the spread of the disease so that the proper treatment can be utilized....

Males who have been diagnosed with testicular cancer will undergo immediate treatment. A determination will be made regarding the spread of the disease so that the proper treatment can be utilized. It is important to remove the cancer cells from the testes so surgery is usually the option chosen to do this followed by chemotherapy or radiation to remove any cells that remain after the surgery.

Cancer that has metastasized, or spread to other tissues and body parts beyond the testes and nearby lymph nodes may cause the following symptoms:

* A dull pain in the lower back or abdomen
* Fatigue
* Sweating that occurs for no particular reason
* A general feeling of malaise
* Shortness of breath
* Coughing
* Chest pain
* Headache
* Confusion or dementia

Most males who do self-examination catch the first signs of early testicular cancer, which include a change in the normal feel, consistency or shape, and size of their testes. In order to catch testicular cancer early all males should do the self-examination on a regular basis because getting to know what your testicles usually feel like, helps you to notice when there is something out of the ordinary going on. Males who are aware of their genitals are more likely to catch subtle changes that alert them to the possibility of testicular early enough to have a higher cure rate than men who ignore the possibilities.

Treatment of the cancer will involve surgical removal of the testes with the cancer, and then radiation therapy, chemotherapy or more surgery if necessary to remove all possible cancer cells from the testes and any other tissue that it has spread to. Treatment will depend on the stage of the cancer, the location of any cancer that has spread, the symptoms you have and choices that you make in your care plan.

In the early stages, testicular cancer has one of the highest cure rates of known cancer.

Your medical treatment may involve other medical professionals such as general practitioners, family medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, internists, and also urologists, technicians who do the testing (blood and x-ray), medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists.

The tests you may have during your diagnosis and treatment and follow-up exams will likely include blood tests, testicular ultrasound, imaging tests, such as chest x-ray and CT scan of the abdomen, chest and pelvis region. During follow-ups you will be having routine blood work, physical exams and possible x-rays and ultrasounds to detect any signs of the return of the cancer, so if this does happen it can be caught early. Males who have had testicular cancer in one teste are at higher risk for getting cancer again in the other teste.

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