So, do I have testicular cancer or what? (clearly TMI)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Noticed something that looked a little odd while doing my business today. Looked at some self-exam sites and didn’t come up with anything solid as I’m not totally clear on what I’m looking for. Is the lump “supposed” to be part of my scrotum, or one of my testicles? How “deep” is it supposed to be? What I have seems sort of leathery and unfeeling, and is, depending on various… conditions, mildly purplish or reddish, though that may have to do with my poking at it. Under certain other “conditions” I can see that it seems to be over a major vein, which makes me wonder if it’s just an odd tear and clot or something.

Having experienced a fair number of benign oddities cropping up on my body in my short life, and not relishing the prospect of getting my gonads fondled over something that turns out to be nothing, I was thinking of waiting a few days before getting it checked out. However, I know that the absolute best thing to do is get an early diagnosis, and don’t know what timeline I might be looking at if I’m “positive” or whatever the word is for cancer. Naturally I’d like to save myself some embarrassment and money if it’s nothing, but am I taking a big risk by giving it a couple days? Thanks for any advice, even if I don’t like what I hear.

2

Fortunately, testicular cancer is so rare, that there’s debate as to whether it’s even worth doing as part of a normal exam. The bad news is that if cancer is suspected, they have to remove the testicle to confirm the diagnosis.

What Are the Symptoms of Testicular Cancer?

The earliest warning signs of testicular cancer usually include:

A change in size or shape of a testicle.
Swelling or thickening of a testicle.
A firm, smooth, initially painless, slow-growing lump in a testicle.
A feeling of testicular heaviness.
I wish you the best of luck.

3

My husband found a lump on one of his testicles. We took him to the doctor, who felt it to determine if it was a growth, and then sent him for a sonogram, after which, they drew some fluid from the bump to determine if it was cancerous. It turned out to be a cyst.

Get it checked out, even if you do think that it’s “nothing.” While we were in there, the doctor told us about a young man who had waited until the lump was the size of a golf ball before getting it checked out. He was terrified that it was cancer, and, I guess, just hoping that if he ignored it, it would go away.

Lumps are nothing to mess around with. You really need to get it checked out. Odds are, nothing will be wrong, but even if it IS cancer, testicular cancer is the “best” cancer that you can have. It responds very well to medication, and the survival rates are very high. However, like with any cancer, it’s best to start treatment as soon as possible.

For your health and peace of mind, see a doctor ASAP.

4

Hie thee to a doctor. Now.

Last year I had a complete physical, and the doctor found a lump on one of my testicles. Freaked me right the hell out. The next step was ultrasound. In my case, it turned out to be a cyst. I still have to mind it for changes, but it is a giant relief knowing I don’t have cancer.

I don’t know where you are, or if you have health care insurance, but knowing that it is, or is not cancer is a huge weight off your shoulders.

Stop reading and go.

5

I second going to a doctor now. My ex’s ex is going through testicular cancer right now. He found a lump several years ago but his doctor told him he was “too old” to get TC (most people are diagnosed in their 20s and he was in his 40s). Now he’s had a testicle removed and will be undergoing radiation and/or chemo.

The good news is that it’s no longer necessary, according to some sites I looked at after hearing about the ex’s ex, to remove the testicle to confirm the diagnosis. Talk with your doctor about alternatives including inguinal biopsy.

6

Things are complicated a bit by the fact that I am abroad and didn’t plan to return for a while. Top-notch medical care is available here, but I’m sure my family would want me home.

Can anyone tell me anything about the typical timeline? Since I thought of a reason I might have such an abnormality, I’m still holding out hope that I can afford a few days of just paying attention.

Also, if anyone knows anything about the effects of a missing testical I’d like to hear them. I read that fertility and impotence are not generally problems, but would it make me significantly less testosterony? I’d rather not be too much less macho than I am. Also- and this is going to sound petty all things considered- can they stick something in there so you can at least look semi-normal?

7

My brother-in-law had one removed due to cancer a few years ago. Got his wife pregnant a few months later, so it didn’t seem to interfere with anything on that front.

He also continues to be just as hairy and deep voiced as before, so as far as I know, it didn’t cause a noticable drop in testosterone levels.

Lastly, I have never seen it, but am told they didn’t stick anything in to replace the missing one–but the scrotum is still there and just looks, uh, less full than the other side. Not too weird, according to his wife. But then, she’s his wife…even if it looks freakish and alien, she has to say that. :slight_smile:
All that said, go to a doctor right away. Don’t wait until you’re at home. There was a good chance they wouldn’t have had to remove my b-i-l’s if he hadn’t waited so long to go.

8

A “differential diagnosis” to cancer is epididymitis, which is pretty much harmless but annoying. Another term for it is “Monks’ Disease” which may give you a clue as to its cause.

What’s happening is sperm production isn’t being used, and things more or less back up, causing irritation. (At least this is how it was explained to me after I’d been through a sonogram and the most thorough “feeling up” I’d ever had.)

For me, at least, the cure was to get off at least once a day for a week to clear out the pipes, so to speak.

9

No need to alarm them just yet. Just go to the doctor’s, and don’t tell your family. If it turns out to be just a cyst, you’ll have worried them unnecessarily.

That’s what Hubby and I decided when he went to be tested. I’m sure that his family (and mine) would have been as worried as I was. I didn’t want to put them through that when we weren’t sure if there was any need for concern in the first place.

You’ll probably need two visits: one for your physician to determine if it truly is a growth, and a second for the ultrasound and the drawing of a sample of the fluid. (My husband said the last part was unpleasant, but not as bad as you might think.)

A few days are not going to make a radical difference in what sort of care you might need, but please don’t put off going to the doctor any more than can be helped.

10

There are numerous causes of lumps/masses in the scrotum, many of which are benign. This article is tailored for MDs, but gives a good explanation of the differential diagnoses docs consider in such a situation, and what they do to evaluate the patient.

The great majority of the time, waiting “a few days” is not going to make any difference (one glaring exception is testicular torsion, which doesn’t sound like what you have, and which requires immediate attention). Since you don’t know how long this has been there and since (thankfully) we cannot do your physical exam in this forum, you should schedule an appointment with a family doc/internist as soon as conveniently possible.

Lance Armstrong still rides a pretty mean bike, although one can debate the significance of that in terms of male potency. IANAU (I am not a urologist), but I think it’s likely that following orchiectomy, the remaining testicle would increase testosterone production as part of the body’s feedback mechanism to maintain homeostasis.

11

MrSnoopy had epididymitis about a year ago. IANAD but chances are that’s what you’ve got. He had the whole purple/reddish lump thing going on too.

Go to the ER, get an ultrasound. Pray you get a cute ultrasound tech. And then enjoy the good news you’ll probably get.

Seriously, tho. Go to a doctor. IIRC testicular cancer has a very high survival rate if you catch it early.

12

FWIW Lance Armstrong got diagnoised one day and they did the surgery the next.
One of my students had a testicle removed due to cancer and they offered to put in a “replacement” so that he would look, umm, balanced.
If the worst comes true and they do have to do a removal then tell them that you want a “replacement” made from solid brass. That way if the question comes up you can reply that yes you do have brass balls, why do they ask? ::: ducks and runs:::

Seriously, get to a doctor.

13

Get to a doctor, a specialist, as soon as you can.

I speak from experience on this: if I’d gone to an orthopedic specialist as soon as I noticed a lump on the back of my knee, I wouldn’t have had to go through the experience of waiting to find out whether the cancer (which the lump turned out to be after being told for 8 moths by a GP that it was a harmless cyst) had already spread to my lungs or not (it hadn’t, as I found out this Monday).

14

Looking back at my last post, I’m sorry if I sounded alarmist.

Basically, get checked soon. If it’s nothing, it’s nothing. You can relax.

If it’s something, you’ll be thanking yourself for having caught it early.

15

They’ll know if there is a tumor before they remove it. Whether it is malignant is another question. So they may pop that baby out and take a look-see to see if there is a tumor, but with modern imaging yer odds ain’t so hot at that point.

It’s not like it matters, anyway. Trust me on this one. A single testicle ain’t worth shit. Go to the doctor.

16

If I’m not mistaken didn’t Lance damn near die because by the time they caught his it’d spread to his brain and other organs?

Seems like I read something about that today.

He’s the bicycle guy, right?

17

I have related this before, but it bears repeating:

At 10:30 AM on July 14, 1999, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. My doctor said my left testicle had to be removed immediately; at 6:30 PM that same day, I went under the knife.

It all happened so quickly, I had little time to consider the magnitude of what was happening to me. I felt numb, and basically did what I was told. Thanks to wonderful caring support of my friends, I made it through the surgery with flying colors. I was pretty sore for about ten days, but was back at work in two weeks.

I was lucky; my tumor was a variety known as a pure seminoma, one of the most curable forms. I had discovered it early; it was a small, hard lump about the size of a pea on the bottom of my left testicle. It had not breached the testicular membrane, and there was no evidence that it had metastasized outside of the testicle.

Because of this, my doctor opted not to use radiation therapy. Among TC surgery patients, 80% never develop any other tumors, even without radiation. If tumor activity is detected later, TC responds well to radiation therapy, so most doctors do not use radiation unless there is reason to believe that the tumor has already metastasized.

I have regular cancer screenings every six months now, and there has never been any sign of new tumor activity. As my doctor said, “If I had to have cancer, this is the one I would choose”, because it is so treatable. However, if you ignore it, pretend it is something else or just try to wish it away, IT IS A KILLER. Once it metastasizes, it spreads very quickly, invading the abdominal lymph system, the lungs, liver and brain. If you or a loved one notices a hard lump on the testicle, get thee to a physician, stat!!!

Oh yeah, everything still works fine; the Little Terrorist is as active as ever, and Mrs. Fear has no complaints. When I see news stories about cancer survivors, I find myself trying to imagine what it would be like, then I realize that, hey, I am a cancer survivor too! I was very lucky, and I would like to thank Dr. Clarke and everybody at Providence Medical Center.

18

I’m really conflicted here. Maybe I’m just trying to wish it away, but looking at the coloration that resulted from taking a shower I really think this is a blood thing and that an exam is just going to be an embarrassment. On the other hand, if it is a tumor the outcome above would be ideal as I am really not looking forward to the idea of chemo and how it would affect my plans. It would be nice if I didn’t have to get sent home as that would leave me out maybe $5-7,000 without even talking about medical fees.

I’ve been trying to find pictures of tumors to compare with, but understandably, it’s kind of hard to find pics of anything other than those that’ve been removed. Can anyone point me to anything?

19

Definately check with your doctor. I had some of the symptoms that you are discribing, and it turned out to be a cyst on my (sp) epididmis. It’s basically the tube that leads to your teste. You need to get this checked out, I waited, and as a result it got bad enough that they removed one of the twins. (ouch!!!) Not a fun procedure. Just go to a uroligist and get it checked.

20

[nag]

Space Vampire, have you gone to the doctor yet?

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