Newly diagnosed.

As a carer of my 29 year old son (diagnosed 2 years ago with non-seminoma and now dealing with a suspected new "thing" in the remaining testicle) I can only give you the following advice:

Make sure, you take ownership and control over all information relating to your your diagnosis, treatment(s) and follow-up years afterwards. Whether you do this yourself or have someone you trust (mum, dad, partner, friend, carer...) is not relevant.

Sometimes it might help if there is someone. Simply because you - as the patient - will be overwhelmed and perhaps not digest all the information. I think this is a normal reaction and possibly a mechanism to protect yourself.

Without knowing your background: The walnut removal itself is not a big issue. One can live with one testicle without problems. Some lucky patients (depends on cancer type, stage etc.) only need this surgery and just require monitoring/surveillance afterwards. Others may need more treatment later (chemo or radio, and/or other surgery). But cross this bridge when - or if - you come to it.

You won't know your path until the "walnut removal" has taken place and pathology results are available. Before, your doctor can only make educated guesses (based on clinical information, possibly some markers etc.) what you are dealing with.

Do try and relax and try to stay positive. The surgery normally isn't a big one. My son went for a spinal (instead of general) anaesthetic... because he didn't want to stay in the hospital overnight. Perhaps not everybody's first choice... but that (in most cases) this option is offered I would see as a signal that this can be relatively straightforward.

Hope that helps a bit.

Hi,

I hope you are well and trying to stay positive. From my experience, having one testicle removed will not make much if any difference at all. The operation itself is quick and you will be home the same day, barring any complications. Recovery is quick and you will be back to normal in no time. It all depends on what stage the cancer is and what type. Caught early enough, you might not need any further treatment, which I hope is the case for you. Just make sure you go to all your follow up appointments as they will keep an eye on you to make sure it does not return. Rest assured, that testicular cancer is one of the easiest to cure as long as it has not spread. I had my first testicle removed 6 years ago, luckily it was stage 1 seminoma and had no further treatment, just surveillance. Try not to worry too much and even if it has spread you will be ok. Ask your doctor as many questions as you want, don’t hold back, there is no shame and as I said, one down wont make any difference. I wish you all the best and stay strong.