Hi,

I wasn't sure if I was going to join a group such as this, but after
reading some of the posts here I decided to. At 40 years old, I was
recently diagnosed with testicular cancer.

About 2 1/2 months ago I discovered what I thought at first was just a
minor swelling of one of my testicles, over time it grew larger. Due
to financial and insurance considerations, or lack of them, I had to
let it go longer than I had wanted to. Once I had insurance I went to
see the doctor, suffice it to say, my suspicions were confirmed, it
was cancer of the left testicle. From the start, except for the GP who
didn't think it was cancer, every doctor I've dealt with on this has
been informed, confident, and informative about the condition and
treatment.

The doctors moved quickly, Tuesday was the first visit, Wednesday I
was having and ultrasound done, which gave the confirmation, Thursday
I was in the urologist's office and Friday morning I was in surgery to
have it removed. This was the first week of September. I am now
preparing to undergo Radiotherapy, they've prescribed 3 1/2 weeks (17
days) worth.

The urologist/surgeon explained to me exactly what it was, what the
ultrasound and physical exam showed, and exactly how the surgery would
be performed, and why. He also listed the statistics of cure/survival
of this form of cancer. It was diagnosed as seminoma of the left
testical. The HCG count prior to sugery was 171, 1 week after surgery
it was 1, the CT scan after the surgery showed no further spread, but
the biopsy report showed cancer growth within the lymphatic channels,
which indicated, as per the radiologist/oncologist, that there was a
20% to 30% chance of spread or recurrance. I have opted to accept the
radiotherapy due to the information I've been presented with. The
radiologist reports that it was a T1 N0 tumor (I'm still unclear as to
what this means). According to the radiologist, with the radiation
treatments, there'll be a 1% chance of recurrance, as opposed to a 20%
to 30% chance without treatment.

One thing I've discovered from all of this, talking about it has
helped me deal with it alot better than keeping it all to myself and
bottling it up. Many people, family and friends alike have been very
supportive, some have tried to give me uplifting speaches, which
haven't helped, but others have just listened, allowed me to get my
thoughts straight, helping me more by letting me talk than offering
advice or uplifting sermons.

I must admit, this whole thing has been very frightening for me. I
haven't had surgery since I had my tonsils out when I was very young.
Moreover, radiation treatments scare the hell out of me. I've already
been through the simulation for them to align everything and get it
all setup. Again, I'm not sure why I decided to post here, perhaps
it's just to find another place to talk about this, with others that
have been through what I have, rather than people that haven't. I've
been told by family that I seem to be dealing with this very well, at
least that's what they can see, but I have my doubts.

If nothing else, thanks for listening, writing this has helped,
Steve