r/testicularcancer

Hi all! I’m 26M and I recently had a right radical orchiectomy (like a week ago). I just got my final pathology and CT scan results back and I’m looking for some advice and experiences from guys who have been in my shoes or similar..
Here is my breakdown:

- Pathology: Mixed Germ Cell Tumor (tumor size approx 2cm), 70% Embryonal Carcinoma, 20% Yolk Sac, 5% Teratoma, 5% Choriocarcinoma, LVI is present.

- CT: Organs and lungs are clear of mets. However, they found enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes (the largest one is around 2cm). The CT scan also found some small, asymptomatic blood clots (pulmonary embolisms) in my lungs, so my doctors put me on higher doses of blood thinners.. (Fraxeparine 0,8).

- Stage: Officially Stage IIA (pT2, pN2, pM0).

Im meeting with my oncologist tomorrow to discuss the treatment plan, but as I already read here, a typical way to go is with 3 rounds of BEP chemo.

My questions for you guys:

1. What should I expect from 3x BEP? How did you handle the side effects?

2. Has anyone here dealt with blood clots / PE before starting chemo?

3. Any tips on how to prepare myself mentally and physically for the upcoming weeks?

Thanks in advance for any input. Reading the stories here has already helped me a lot to stay calm! I found out that I'm really mentally good on it, I was mostly worried of full anesthesia lol but it was quite an experience for me, post Orchi is chill, just a minor pain, gets reaaally better every day, like a miracle, feeling really well after a week. Just quite curious what awaits me in the upcoming months..

Perhaps some info for someone, who feels sus: I felt a very minor pain in my right tes for like 2-3 months. The right tes was also getting a bit harder and more sensitive to touch (it was still the same size tho). After 3 months I decided to visit urologist. Found out it was a tumor and now I'm here. It all went really quickly, which I'm grateful to the medical team.

Thank you all for such great community and hope you all doing well. Don't stop being positive!

So I had my right nut removed due a 3.4 x 2.1 x 2.2 cm hypoechoic ill-defined solid lesion within the upper region of the right testicle. My pre op blood work all came back normal and so did my ct scan. How scared should I be that this is bad. Is there any light at the end of this tunnel. My mental heath has been wrecked. I did start seeing a therapist but hopeless is prob the best way to describe how I’ve been feeling. I know it shouldn’t be that way but I tend ti jump to the worst.

I started having pain in the left testicle almost 2 months ago. I waited a week before going to my PCP. she thought it was my back and just gave me some naproxen and didn't do a physical exam of my testes but it never stopped.

Like a week or two after that appointment the pain shifted to the right and it's still a dull ache as well as back pain on my right side. honestly, I haven't checked him in years but I realized that my right one does feel very hard and it just doesn't feel right besides the dull ache. I made an appointment for a urologist but I can't even get in until another 30 days. I just noticed a lump on the right testicle that is movable, should I try to find another urologist who can see me sooner? 26m appreciate any feedback

Hello everyone!

Another update and with it more questions for our collective.

Finally spoke to Dr. Masterson at IU, and we both agreed Primary RPLND was an appropriate action, we have this scheduled for 10/02/26, with a CT scan 14 days prior and a pre op in person visit set for the 1st.

I’ve been reading that retrograde is very common with this procedure, however I do see many happen due to post chemo RPLND occurring. If anyone here has primary RPLND done, specifically nerve-sparring one, did you still experience retrograde? Or was it temporary and then normal bodily functions returned? I’ve banked already so I feel comforted in that regard. I chose IU specifically for the expertise they bring. Lastly, I’d like to make a list of things I can ask him to ease my mind prior to the surgery, any insight on what I could ask? I appreciate anyone taking the time reading this and helping out!

Also does anyone recommend anything for after the procedure is done? Anything that helped out during recovery? I keep seeing a squeeze pillow would be nice for pain management (I have pretty bad allergies and sniffle, and sneeze a lot.) anything helps!

Hi, so around end of May I had painful testicle overnight with increase in sensitivity. Eventually after a week or 2 the pain and sensitivity subsided to tolerance of 0. However through the course of the following weeks my right testicle proceeded to increase in size compared ro my left with no pain. At first it was not noticeable but the density was off compared to my left. One felt firm and the other felt like liver i guess I could say (normal). I was in school and doing clinicals so I pushed it off since it wasn't painful.

I finished my clinicals and finally decided to schedule a visit after 1 to 2 months with this issue. So far have gotten an Ultrasound. bhcg, ldh, and AFP labs done. Ultrasound showed "heterogenous mass @ 6cm". Bhcg was normal, afp was normal, and ldh was at 1500 (exceedingly high). I followed up with a redraw post antibiotics and nsaids treatment of 2 weeks for ldh. Ldh dropped to 600 (normal reference range is about 100 to 300). Anyways I did a CT chest and abd w contrast. and they said they couldn't rule out metastasis as one of my lymph nodes "Aortacaval retroperitoneal lymph node" was 0.8cm. Which falls under oncology protocol. So couldn't rule out metastatic and am being referred to and will follow up with oncology and possibly a PET scan.

Since finishing the antibiotics my right testicle what used to be 6cm on ultrasound and based off of physical appearances has greatly reduced in size. Similar in size to my left testicle now. Its still slightly firm but I think its still taking a while to reduce back to regular density. Is it possible It was just a really bad case of inflammation from a prolonged untreated infection. my Urologist suspected a bad case of orchitis but still wanted to get all the scans done. Obviously which lymph node is slightly enlarged it doesnt tend to lean towards orchitis.

Orchiectomy is on the table but obviously, id rather keep it. I am doing a follow up now next week with my Urologist for another physical follow up.

My blood work and pre surgery ct were both clear. I just hope it’s early and nothing got out. Definitely two of the most stressful weeks from getting my ultrasound to getting surgery. Beating myself up that I noticed something months ago but equated it to an injury cause I hit that nut and it was painful for months last year. Hopefully my road to the finish line is short. Glad it’s out of me now tho.

Hello everyone. After waiting a whole week for my ultrasound results, I've just received them today. My doctor gave me the all clear! No lumps were concerning! I feel incredibly lucky, and I hope anyone currently experiencing a cancer scare is as lucky as I am. Fella's, don't be afraid to get that lump checked out. Odds are, it's nothing to worry about. And on the rare chance it is cancer, you have this entire community behind your back!

Hey guys, i posted a while back on a different account about swelling for a year and lower back pain for 8 months! Got a call from my GP today and missed it ( he left a voicemail ) he said that nothing to worry about, he’s happy with it! Gonna call him tomorrow to discuss it properly.

This is a reminder to BOOK THAT APPOINTMENT. I have been living with this anxiety and uncertainty for a full year, now it’s gone and I don’t even know what to do lol. Thanks guys and I wish u all the best 🙏🙏 you will all get through whatever you’re going through

Getting ready to finish round 3 chemo. Post operation. (36 years old) But wondering what life is like a year later. Do the hot sweets stop?do you get your strength back as in will I ever be able to bench press 3 plates ever again? Does your libido come back? Do you get all of your inches back? Are you able to drink? How long until you were able to travel. Was anyone able to come out of cancer healthier than they came in?

Have noticed a pea-sized hard mass/pearl in my left testicle for about a month now. No pain, moves around a bit, no increase in testicle size. Met with my doctor a few days ago and he confirmed what I was describing, but submitted an ultrasound request as routine and I'm not able to get an ultrasound for 2.5 more weeks.

On top of that, I'm in a weird temporary spot of my insurance where I'm not gonna have coverage next month for a few weeks so I'd either have to delay the ultrasound further or pay $400 out of pocket. Would it be an overreaction just to go to the ER tonight and just cough up the $150 copay and get this figured out sooner?

I'm curious to hear from men who are 1+ year out from an orchiectomy (with or without chemo, although please mention if you had chemo or not since this might have an impact, too) and feel physically completely back to normal without TRT.

I’m not just talking about testosterone being within the “normal” range on paper, because I’m not convinced that tells the whole story. Someone who had much higher levels before, then dropped significantly, or whose estradiol is relatively high compared to his T, may still be impacted by some hormonal changes.

So I’m more interested in the subjective experience: men who are 1+ year post-orchi (and/or chemo) who recovered and feel physically back to pre-surgery levels.

Ever since I lost my right ball 2 years ago my sex drive has become progressively lower over time and I'm sometimes having issues with libido during sex which is becoming more of a problem as the time goes. Anyone experienced this, is it because of lack of testosterone? How can I quick fix my condition? I'm 31yo.

Got operated. Went well. Next week I'm starting 1x BEP. Cancer should be done with that.

Wife is just about to give a birth and I have under 2 year old son. Wish me luck. Worst fucking time to start chemo. I might miss my son's birth.

Also bit selfish rant but I'm scared to death that I will lose ability to play guitar and perform. I have upcoming gig at december with one of biggest metal bands of my country and I'm scared my fingers get fucked.

Just train of thought. Any tips?

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well!

I’m coming here to ask for help, your opinion or experiences. I have a big day ahead of me as I’ll under go surgery tomorrow to have both of my testicles removed at ErasmusMC in Rotterdam due to testicular cancer. I want to say I’m fully prepared but I’d be lying.

But as for the question I have, my urologist & surgeon talked about inserting a silicone ball prosthesis to replace the look and feel of the removed testicle, to those who have this or have had experience with it is it something you’d recommend or advice against?

I read as much into it as I could, from infection risk to the bodily rejection of a foreign object. Any further insights are much appreciated to make a good decision tomorrow morning, as I’ve gotten some mixed opinions about such prosthesis from my doctors.

Thank you all very much for your time!

Do any of you guys still get scared when you feel even slightly like you did before your diagnosis? For me I progressively got more tired as the weeks went on before my diagnosis. Now anytime I feel like I’m slightly more tired than I should be I worry that it’s back

Maybe 1 times or 2 times a week i feel a little off. Not close to throw up but i feel nauseous and i burp/fart. Is this normal after 2 month finishing my treatment?

Hey everyone,

I had a RIGHT radical orchiectomy about 4 weeks ago. My histo results came back as below, preop tumour markers were normal/not elevated and CT CAP was clean.

MICROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION
The tumour is comprised of sheets and cords of cells with large ovoid to irregular nuclei and prominent
nucleoli, accompanied by an infiltrate of lymphocytes. Focal areas of scarring are present, and there is
cystic change, as noted macroscopically. Tumour infiltrates into but not through the tunica albuginea.
Lymphovascular invasion is demonstrated. The background testicular parenchyma shows germ cell neoplasia in
situ and atrophic change. The tumour is clear of the margin. Please see the structured report for additional
details.
CONCLUSION
margins. pT2.
Right testicle: 53 mm pure seminoma, confined to testis, with lymphovascular invasion and clear of resection
TESTICULAR CANCER STRUCTURED REPORT
Histological type (WHO 2004) - Pure seminoma
Scarring or other features indicative of tumour regression - focal scarring
Syncytiotrophoblastic giant cells - absent
**Maximum tumour size -**53mm
Extent of tumour - limited to testis
Rete testis stromal invasion - present
Invasion of local structures - absent
Lymphovascular invasion - present
Surgical margin status
Spermatic cord margin - clear
Other margins - clear
Intratubular germ cell neoplasia - present
Co-existing testicular abnormalities - atrophy

My questions are is this histo result bad? What could the future entail? If only for surveillance is/would it be beneficial to get prophylactic chemo - should I suggest with my medical team?

I’m just freaking out with the whole situation because it moved so quickly and my specialist appointments have been so far in between each other.

I appreciate your help everyone!