Introduction

Introduction

Mr H was diagnosed with testicular cancer in November 2018 and this blog will be his ongoing journey written by me, his partner in crime.

So where did it start?  How did he come to receive this diagnosis?  Well, back in 2017, Mr H had noticed a swelling in his left testicle and took himself to the doctors.  Apart from a heaviness in the testicle, he had no pain and no other symptoms.  He was a healthy 43 year old and there was no reason to suspect anything sinister.  Certainly the nurse practitioner that he saw did not think anything was amiss and prescribed antibiotics for an infection.  Mr H completed his course of medication and the swelling subsided.  6 months later he noticed the swelling again and the course of treatment was repeated.  Still no cause for concern.

In October 2018 the swelling returned and this time it felt heavier.  Mr H made a third appointment and this time the GP was concerned.  He sent Mr H straight away for an ultrasound scan.  The sonographer explained that there was something on the scan that needed to be investigated and implored Mr H not to leave it, any appointments made must be attended.  At this point we knew things were starting the get serious. 

Mr H is the ultimate positive person and took the wait and see approach.  I, on the other hand, am the ultimate worrier and took the the internet to try and work out what might be wrong.  It could be an infection, a hernia, a hydrocele, a cyst, a varicose vein or more rarely, a tumour.

What followed next was various appointments at urology and several blood tests.  Mr H is not good with needles and this was the actual thing that fazed him through all of this, and continues to do so. At one of these appointments the urology doctor (I am sure that is not his official title but we will go with it) told Mr H  he had a cancerous tumour in his testicle and that it would need to be removed.  Mr H had testicular cancer.

Wow.

So the most unlikely cause of the swelling had become the reality.  Mr H breezed through the diagnosis as the urology doctor said that of all the cancers to get, testicular cancer was one of the best ones as it had a 95% chance of full recovery.

Within a week Mr H was in hospital having a radical orchiectomy - that is a complete removal of his left testicle.  The testicle and its accompanying tumour were removed through his groin and not through the scrotum, and he was left with a very neat scar approx 4cm in length.  During the week from diagnosis to operation, the tumour had grown at an alarming rate.  I will post a photo here once I edit it so it is not to X rated.

Mr H was home within 4 hours of having the op and he healed quite well.  There was still a lot of swelling where the testicle used to be, but when Mr H went to the GP to ask about it, he was assured that this was just swelling from the op and scar tissue.  Phew.

December came and Mr H had his follow up appointment with the urology doctor who explained that a 6cm tumour had been removed.  That's the size of a hen's egg folks.  Mr H had been living with this tumour for a year and it had grown to this size.  The cancer was gone thanks to the surgery but he had certainly dodged a bullet.   It was a massive relief.

What now?

The urology doctor advised that Mr H was to undergo surveillance for a year to make sure the cancer did not come back.  This meant monthly blood tests and scans at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Every month Mr H has been making the journey to hospital for his blood tests and scans and at his appointment in May 2019, the consultant explained that there continued to be no tumour markers in his blood and the scans continued to be clear.  Great news!  It was decided that after his appointment in June, Mr H would have blood tests and scans less frequently.  So on 6th June 2019 Mr H had a CT scan and his usual blood tests.  Feeling great we attended the routine appointment and continued to live life.

Two weeks later Mr H was called in to see his consultant.  Ever positive Mr H took this in his stride and said maybe the consultant just had to rearrange his appointments.  Later, he said that did think that there may be something wrong.  And there certainly was something wrong.  Dr Kazgi advised that the last scan showed an enlarged lymph node in Mr H's abdomen.  Mr H needed to start chemotherapy.  Three cycles starting within 2 weeks. Dr Kazgi explained that this happens in about 30% of patients who have had a testicle removed due to cancer, and that there was a 90% success rate for treatment.

Although this is a good statistic, this was a blow.  A set back.  A shock.  Mr H has no symptoms, is not ill, and is working full time outdoors!  How can this be happening?  On the plus side, this enlarged lymph node has only been there for 4 weeks maximum as it did not show up on the previous scan.  They have spotted this early, and luckily, before he starts having scans and blood tests less frequently. Before he starts the chemo he needs to have more blood tests, a CT scan on this chest and thorax (to check for spread) and a lung function test.  Chemo can damage the lungs so the medics need to know his baseline lung function before he starts treatment.

This blog is now to document Mr H's chemo treatment.  As the ultimate worrier I have read blog after blog of other men's chemo and treatment journeys and no two are the same.  Cancer is personal and each journey will be different but each blog, each story helps me understand a little about what my Mr H will be going though.  I just want to document things to help others do the same.

Please follow our journey and if anyone wants to contact me please feel free to email xx