any one ever had this experience

ozziecfc
ozziecfc Member Posts: 7
in Testicular Cancer #1
hi i'm ozzie, i was wondering if anyone ever had the same experience as far as having a tumor after removing the the testicle. I have a tumor that was about 10 cm and it shrunk 90% of it after chemo treatments,they did a ct scan and they think it did the trick. my oncologist thinks its just scar tissue, so there sending me in to do a pet scan. but my question is if its still active and if they are advising surgery is that a good idea. because i've heard that once they removed a lymph node it damages you in some way, whether its body function or nerve damage. anyone have advice?

Comments

  • Davepet
    Davepet Member Posts: 92
    #2
    Removing some lymph nodes will not cause you any problems. The surgery can, in some cases, damage some nerves that control ejaculation. This causes "retrograde ejaculation" which means your semen ends up in your bladder instead of coming out.

    They now have developed "nerve sparing" surgery so this is far less common than it was 30 years ago. It's worthwhile to seek out a doctor that does many of these operations.

    But don't put the cart in front of the horse, your PET scan will let the doc see if there is cancer-like activity in your nodes. You may not need surgery at all.

    Dave
  • Ronnie2751
    Ronnie2751 Member Posts: 16
    #3
    Another tumor
    Hi Ozzie,

    Was roaming the site as i am going for a throat biopsy next week and needed more info.
    I had TC over twenty yers ago. Had the op and five rounds of BEP which was awful, but definately cured the cancer. About six months after my treatments i started getting severe pain in my lower side. A ct scan showed a new growth which over the next year got larger and larger till an operation was the only solution as my doctors felt that i could not take more chemo or even radiation as i was too weak.
    Bottom line is that the growth was something called teratoma and is very common. The surgeon found microscopic cancer cells but decided not to give me more chemo as it would do more harm than good. The doctor removed seven lymph nodes and twenty years on i am just fine.
    Yes if i was you it would be natural to worry, but as i understand it now, tumors after cancer are quite common.
    When i first saw my urologist he said i had good cancer, and i thought the guy was an idiot. In retrospect he was right as TC is one of those diseases that responds to chemo in an amazing way. Survival rates are over 90%, so do not worry.
    Lastly, check out Lance Armstrong's site. He wrote a great book and was an inspiration to us all.
    Take good care
    Ronnie

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