Has anyone on here had an experience with testicular cancer? I know this isn't the most exciting topic, but sharing experiences like this could help someone else out down the road.
A few of the questions to anyone open to answering:
How did you get diagnosed?
Aside from feeling the actual lump, did your body feel any differently, or did you notice something was off?
What treatments did you go through?
Were you ever embarrassed about it?...Either too embarrassed to seek a medical professional in the beginning, or embarrassed to talk about it with friends or family afterwards?
Since only very few people here have actually had testicular cancer I'll try to give an account of my own experience when I got it.
First I'll try to answer the OP's questions:
How did you get diagnosed?
First i felt a hardened bump on my right testicle one evening in November 2019. I was 22 at the time and like most men I first thought I'd way and see if it disappears on it's own again. But i still asked Dr. Google what it might be...
When it was still there after about two weeks and I started to freak out quite a bit I made an appointment with a urologist at the hospital. After several tests (blood and urine sample, ultrasound and CT-scan) they confirmed that it was cancer and I had my operation only two days later. I was really glad it went that quickly.
Aside from feeling the actual lump, did your body feel any differently, or did you notice something was off?
10 days after feeling the lump for the first time I started having pains in the lower back and the night before i rang the hospital it got so bad that I couldn't sleep at all and I had to throw up a few times. In hindsight I have to say that my mind probably played tricks on me because I had read about the symptoms of TC...
What treatments did you go through?
I had a radical orchiectomy of the right testicle (they remove the whole testicle plus the spermatic cord through a cut in the groin). Even though the cancer was malignant (like most TC) it was could at an early stage so I didn't have to get additional treatments. But I have to go for checks every 3 months for the first two years after surgery and twice a year for another three years after that. These checks consist of a blood test, a check with the doctor and alternating ultrasounds and mri-scans.
Were you ever embarrassed about it?...Either too embarrassed to seek a medical professional in the beginning, or embarrassed to talk about it with friends or family afterwards?
Not really. But I'm more of a intellectual than a physical type. Obviously one is embarrassed to seek medical help at first especially when it concerns the genitals but that wasn't a big deal really. And talking the people I chose to tell wasn't too difficult either. I think some of them found it rather irritating that I usually joked about it though. ^^
On the other hand my parents had quite the issue dealing with it... For one they weren't too supportive after the surgery and they didn't want me to tell anybody even though I did't mind. At the same time they put pressure on me to father children asap which really hurt me because I hadn't come out at that point.
Some other stuff that might be interesting / FAQs:
Can you still get an erection?
Yes, i can. Everything works the same as before.
Can you still cum? / Are you still fertile?
Yes to both. Since i still have one testicle I can still produce sperm although a slightly lower amount. This doesn't influence the amount of cum much though since it mainly consists of liquids from other glands like the prostate.
Did you get a prothesis?
I was asked if wanted to get a silicone prothesis after the surgery. After consultation with my surgeon I decided against it because there is no practical use for it and there is the risk of infection that could damage the remaining healthy testicle. So it was more important to keep that one safe because I don't want to take hormone supplies.
And the surgeon told me it was possible to get one later on if i ever wanted one. That being said I would have gotten protheses if both testicle would have had to be removed.
How do you feel about nudity?
Obiviously it looks different now but most people don't focus on the balls that much in my experience so sometimes they don't even realise. And I had always showered naked after swimming at the pool before and i still do. I fact I think I have gotten more comfortable with nudity because I give less of a fuck.
If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask me. I'm happy to help and spread awareness.
