7.15am - at the local hospital for my operation. As I was on the emergency list, I may have a wait for a gap, and I was told there was a chance I might not get it done if something more urgent comes in!
Long story short, at about 11.00am I was in hospital gown and ready to go to the anesthetist. Next thing I knew I was out the other end, feeling very drowsy and very uncomfortable, and a 'man down'.
Within a few hours I had eaten and drunk something and was getting dressed to leave. This operation is a bit like a caesarean section in as much as they make an incision just above your pelvic bone, and do the whole operation from there...no cutting of the scrotum as I would have expected! I think the reason being that they want to remove all the tubes as well as the testicle - so makes sense to take it at the point where they need to cut it.
I had no stitches to remove, they had used the dissolvable stitches combined with the plasters that are used instead of stitches sometimes (can't remember what they're called).
There is no driving for a good few weeks (they said "until you can make an emergency stop without pain"). So need someone to take you home, also the effects of the general anaesthetic take a day or two to completely wear off (or they did for me at least).
The cut is only 2-3 inches long and mine is very tidy (much more tidy than my wife's caesarean scar - much to her annoyance!).
The first mistake I made was going straight to the sofa rather than the bed. Sofas are more difficult to get up from, and down into, this caused me pain which I paid for the next day. Having learned from that I spent the next day and a half in bed, watching TV on my iPhone (my top tip if you don't have a TV in your room? Get an app called TV Catchup, and all the on demand apps...BBC Iplayer, ITV player, 4OD etc.). Helps retain your sanity.
What next? I had an appointment for a CT scan on 30 December, so had two weeks, and Christmas, to go through before that.
During this period, in addition to watching lots of TV and films, I spent a lot of time ploughing through the Cancer Research UK site, to get all the facts, then the MacMillan site, mainly in the TC group and the discussion forums (which I will post something in later) - to hear about the personal experiences of those with similar problems.
The good thing about TC is that the prognosis is excellent, so every time I read about stats and other peoples' experiences it usually made me feel better.
I was in a slightly different situation to most in as much as my waiting period between operations, tests and eventual diagnosis, was over Christmas and New Year. This has pros and cons.
Main negative was that we had to cancel our trip to Devon. There was no way my wife could deal with all the packing and unpacking on her own, and she wasn't really confident driving for hours on her own (I would usually do the driving, or we would share it). So with heavy heart, and after a lot of discussion, we cancelled.
The good thing is that there were lots of activities to take my mind off of the impending diagnosis, I found beer (as a temporary measure) became my best friend - a couple of pints would take the edge off of the bad days.
I can safely say that the period before diagnosis were by far the darkest days - I found that the negative days were difficult to overcome, and that if I was in a bad day, I was in a bad day. But I found it was cyclical, I might have two days where I was OK, and then one where I would feel terrified. My mind would cycle between the practical - positive prognosis for nearly all people, excellent stats etc., to the emotional - what if they find something else on the CT scan? what if TC has spread? What if the TC is secondary, and the main source of the cancer came from elsewhere? What is the type of cancer I have is rare and not as treatable as others?
All I can recommend during this period is to get out when possible (recovery from operation permitting, of course), meet friends and talk about something else. I went to the pub, and later on for short walks. Anything to get me away from negative thoughts.
I found a really good guide on the ORCHID website, its long, but a really easy read and should provide all the info you need on TC. I have attached the file to this blog.
In terms of recovery times, I went for my first (more than 1 mile) walk on Christmas day, which was 9 days after my operation. I think I had been up and about and walking gingerly before then, but this was my first outdoor, off-road, walk of any note. Up to that point I had been ferried around in cars etc.
Next stop, CT scan and diagnosis
