Testicular cancer

Good Morning Poi 

I have just noticed your post has gone unanswered. I can't give you a full answer as I have a different cancer, however by me replying your post will be "bumped" to the top of the forum and seen by other Community members and I hope you receive some replies.

I notice you are a member of the Carers only forum and may well receive some support from that forum. I don't know if you have a "Maggie's" centre near you. this is a cancer support charity where you can just drop in for support for the family - link here https://www.maggies.org/our-centres/

There is also our support line on 0808 808 00 00 (8am to 8pm 7 days a week) I am sure they will be able to offer some extra support.

I do hope this helps, if I can do anything else for you please let me know.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi Poi, 

Sorry to hear about your partner, it's a really tough time not knowing.

I went through the same where I had the orchiectomy without a diagnosis. This is definitely the best thing to do. I found out my diagnosis about 2 weeks after the operation, the waiting was hard but things are moving in the right direction now.

Has he been given the option to do some sperm freezing? I'm not sure on your situation (whether you want children in the future) but I was told they're obliged to give you the option on the NHS. It's unlikely for fertility to be affected by the removal of just one testicle, however the sperm banking offers peace of mind.

Your partner may be a bit tender for a few days, time for him to relax on the sofa guilt free for a couple of weeks!

It's a difficult time not knowing the diagnosis but he's in the best hands now, let me know if you have any more questions.

Good luck!

Hi, 

thank you for your reply. I’m sorry you are going through this too. I’m glad you are moving in the right direction. 

we have been advised the results will take a few weeks. I hope it is only the two weeks or less. It is a long time to wait. 

We do have one baby on the way, but we would like to have the option of more children in the future. There has been a brief discussion about sperm banking but it will only be offered if he needs to go on to having chemotherapy. He hasn’t been offered to do this before his operation on Wednesday. They suggest the remaining testicle will function for both. We are worried that they decide to remove both whilst operating if they find problems once in theatre. 

Do you know anymore about this please? Or think this is something he should/can be doing before his op? 

Thank you, I will definitely be doing my best to take care of him. He seems to have a positive mind frame in the sense of loosing a testicle in terms of helping his health. But he is struggling with processing this and is unsure if telling friends is something he wants to do. I think this is because of the area of operation. I understand this is sensitive, but I feel he needs his friends to be able to support him. I don’t want him to go through this alone, keeping his emotions and thoughts inside. 

thank you 

Thank you so much for this. I will look into a Maggie’s centre, I’m unsure if there is one local to me.

i also send you my best wishes. 

Congratulations on your pregnancy, that's great news! 

Sperm banking was suggested to me before the operation, different health boards work in different ways but as I understood it, you should have the opportunity to do it before the operation if you want to. I would give your consultant's office a call and say you want to do it.

I think it's highly unlikely they would do anything with the other testicle during the op as your partner wouldn't have given consent, it's also unlikely that both testicles have issues at the same time. However, if you mention that to the consultant, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to explain further. They obviously understand the implications of taking both testicles out so I'm sure they wouldn't take the other out without making your partner aware.

It's up to your partner whether or not he wants to tell people, however I feel that it really helped me. I told a close circle of friends and family and I found it crazy how many of my friends told me that they never check themselves, so it could potentially help your partner's friends as well as himself. I found comfort in making light of the situation, so I had a bit of a laugh about it with my mates but in truth it is a really difficult time which will hopefully soon just be another chapter that we can move on from!