In June 2008, I began having severe pain in my right testicle. I had
recently started some extensive landscaping projects at home and
thought maybe I had just "pulled" something. After about a month of
this I had decided to make an appointment with the doctor. Before I
could do that, I was awakened early one morning with severe pain in
my groin-the worst pain I had ever felt. After seeing the doctor in
the ER, I was diagnosed with kidney stones, given pain meds and sent
home. The condition worsened over the next few days. My right
testicle swelled to 3 times its normal size-and talk about hurt, the
pain was unbearable. I could not even put on my underwear, if
something touched it, I could not stand the pain.

My doctor sent me to see an urologist who felt that I had testicular
cancer. The word cancer scared me to death! I was sent immediately
for a pelvic ultrasound which confirmed the diagnosis. Three days
later I was scheduled for an orchidectomy of the right testicle. I
was scared to death, I have no support system, no one I could share
my feelings with.

The doctor offered to insert an implant, which I declined. I felt
that any foriegn object in there might cause problems leading to me
losing the other testicle. I had the right testicle removed in the
afternoon and was home by 7 that night. There was some pain involved
but nothing like I had experienced in the days, weeks, months prior
to surgery. My biggest surprise was the incision. I have a "bikini-
line" incision but I was not prepared for the size of it or the
method of closing the incision. The incision is about 6 inches long
and was glued together to close it! About a week after surgery, at
the corner of the incision, the glue had peeled off and the incision
opened slightly. I went in to see the doctor and was glued back
together!

Other than that, I have not had any problems. Aesthetically, it
looks like I still had "a pair". The only way I can tell the
difference is by feel.

I was lucky in that fact that I was diagnosed early and the cancer
had not spread. After removing the testicle, I am cancer free. I
will have to go yearly for scans and be monitored but other than
that, things are back to normal.

If you are having chronic pain in the groin area, I encourage you to
quickly get it checked out. I know it sounds like a big deal, but
really its not. I feel better now than I have in a year.

I apologize for such a long post. Like I said, I have no support
system, no one I could talk to so here's my outlet. If I can help
anyone get through this, it would make me feel better. Thanks for
listening.

Mike