So we found out today that my ss went to the Er for pain in his testicle. They did an ultrasound and found a very small mass. They also said the pain was unrelated to the mass. It was almost accidental that this was found. They called The urologist and she told his mom that it very much looks like it could be cancer. They are out of town, so we were not there at this appointment.
I know nothing about testicular cancer and how it’s diagnosed, but this feels so rushed and so sudden. They will talk to his pediatrician in the morning.
Has anyone experienced this before with a young teenager? Ss is 15. He’s very scared and so are we. I’m just glad he told someone about the pain he was in.
Update: we got the blood results back yesterday. Negative for markers of cancer. He still needs a biopsy done. But it was such a relief to get that news yesterday. We had dinner with SS yesterday and he seemed to be able n a good mood for a 15 year old!
While he’s not a teenager, my BIL had a similar experience in June. He noticed a lump, was experiencing some pain and went to the dr. He had surgery a week or so later to remove it, and then it was tested after removal.
Unfortunately, bc it came back as malignant his dr sent him for a PET scan and other similar masses were found throughout his body. He’s currently doing 3-4 rounds of chemo, but prognosis is good (really high success rate of treatment with his type of cancer).
I hope in your SS’s case it doesn’t come to cancer treatment. I can only imagine how scary that would be for a young boy and the family.
A good friend in university noticed he had some kind of an issue at age 21. One of his testicles was removed and he had a prosthetic insert put in. No other treatment than increased monitoring after that. He is now 33 and a father of 3 without any intervention, although I do believe he put a few sperm samples on ice at the time in case further interventions were necessary.
That’s really scary, I’m sorry. But, anecdotally, my understanding is testicular cancer remission rates are super high and it sounds like it was found quite early.
If that’s what it is, I hope treatment goes smoothly.
Oh no, I am so sorry. But I am so happy they did an ultrasound for unrelated pain and found the mass. I hope you have answers in the coming days / weeks, and that it's either nothing, or caught early enough that it's easily treatable.
I am sorry to hear this. My BIL at 20 was diagnosed with it. He went out of town for a wedding and went 1, 2,3... woah wth. Went to the Dr when he got home and was almost immediately taken into surgery to have it removed and one testicle. He had to do some radiation therapy over the next few years and now has been cancer free for over 10 years.
I had a friend who found out he had testicular cancer when he was 19. He bent over to tie his shoe lace and passed out, and that's how they discovered the mass. He did have a testicle removed and is healthy and the father of 2.
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Post by sparkythelawyer on Aug 22, 2019 9:03:53 GMT -5
My dearest guy friend (we were in each other's weddings) had this in his twenties. Barely into stage 2. It grows slowly and is super treatable. He had one testicle removed, one quick round of chemo and was back at it. Went on to have kids no problem.
They may wish (awkward as this may sound), to preserve some of his sperm just in case if he needs Chemo, that can sometimes have an effect on fertility.
Thanks everyone . It does seem very easy to treat. It’s going to take about 7 hours for them to get home today. My hope is that they can go to an appointment later this afternoon at the earliest.
I don't have any experience with this but I couldn't read it and not say anything. I'm so sorry you guys are dealing with this, it must be insanely stressful and scary.
I'm so sorry y'all are dealing with this. I don't have personal experience, so this is kind of an oddball suggestion maybe, but I remember the Tom Green show where he detailed his testicular cancer finding/treatment was pretty interesting. I mean, it was probably like 20 years ago and I'm not sure if it's aged well at all. But maybe something a teenage boy could relate to? Looks like it's available on YouTube--so maybe pre-watch and decide if it would be helpful to him?
I'm sorry. My H's cousin found out he has testicular cancer at 15. He had it removed and was treated and is now a happy healthy 24? year old with a 6 month old baby.
It is very treatable, especially when caught early.
Post by sandandsea on Aug 22, 2019 10:28:26 GMT -5
A really good college friend had it right after he graduated from college so maybe at 23. He had surgery to remove it and a little radiation but has been cancer free for 18 years now. It was hard and scary but now you’d never know he even had it.
Post by klingklang77 on Aug 22, 2019 10:58:21 GMT -5
A former colleague of mine had it in his 20s. It is very treatable. He got treated and they did remove one testicle. He has two children. Your SS might want to find out about if he wants to freeze sperm if he wants children in the future.
I'm so sorry y'all are dealing with this. I don't have personal experience, so this is kind of an oddball suggestion maybe, but I remember the Tom Green show where he detailed his testicular cancer finding/treatment was pretty interesting. I mean, it was probably like 20 years ago and I'm not sure if it's aged well at all. But maybe something a teenage boy could relate to? Looks like it's available on YouTube--so maybe pre-watch and decide if it would be helpful to him?
You know, I was actually thinking of this, too! I remember that show being pretty groundbreaking at the time, right down to him examining the removed testicle to see the cancer himself. Of course there was silly stuff in it, but it was really interesting to see the account of someone so young and vibrant, a total cult of personality, affected by and honestly addressing his cancer in the public eye.
Post by downtoearth on Aug 22, 2019 14:30:53 GMT -5
I am so glad he talked about his pain and that it was taken seriously and diagnosed so quickly. I don't know about young teens, but I had a friend/boss who had testicular cancer and it was scary for him at about age 50. I imagine it's shocking and really scary for your SS and all of you! I hope he gets some more diagnosis information and amazing treatment options ASAP. Hugs.
Good on your SS for telling someone. I have this conversation with the kids in my sex ed class (explicitly: you have to start checking your testicles once a month at 14 or 15. If you notice any pain or lumps or changes, get to the doctor immediately!!) and I hope they are listening.
I hope everything checks out for your guy. How scary for you all
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He had a sonogram and a visit with the urologist. The urologist decided to have surgery for a biopsy. And then of course from there we will know if it is cancer or not. If it is cancer, they would remove a testicle.
I also personally had a reproductive endocrinologist appointment today. And I brought up what SS is going through. He highly recommended cryopreservation for his sperm. Even though the urologist said everything would be fine in terms of fertility if he did lose a testicle.Given what I know now about fertility I know it is in our best interest that we probably go ahead and have Cryopreservation done. It’s been a very busy day for all of us. Surgery is set for beginning of September. SS is Feeling much better. When they went to the ER all the doctor wanted to do was do surgery and did not want to do a biopsy first. It scared the crap out of SS. So for now we continue about life as normal and wait a little bit longer to get some more results.
I'm sure this has been incredibly stressful, but it sounds like your SS is handling it very well. You should be proud. If it is cancer, I hope the surgery goes smoothly and you're able to quickly put this behind you. It sounds like a very good prognosis overall.
I need ham like water Like breath, like rain I need ham like mercy From Heaven's gate Sometimes ham salad or casserole or ham that’s free range, all natural I need ham
Have they done bloodwork? Biopsies for testicular cancer are pretty uncommon- usually the combination of ultrasound and bloodwork are pretty diagnostic.
Hoping for good news come September.
They did bloodwork today. They really can’t tell what it is. The dr said it could be a mass of blood vessels or a tumor. They can’t tell.