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Well, I found an unusual way of upgrading my aperture!


BrownClaw

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Thanks for the edit :)

Yeah, I thought 'typical' - only 2000 men in the UK get diagnosed with it every year...trust me to buck the odds ;)

Another point I forgot to make is that although the t esticles themselves are painless, if it's spread to the abdominal lymph nodes or lungs, you might get severe back pain, or shortness of breath/coughing/chest pains etc.

So, if you have any of those symptoms (which you should probably check out anyway), be a bit more vigilant in your self-examinations, just to be sure. I know it's scary, wondering if you'll find anything; but there are scarier things, believe me :D

Lance Armstrong, the cyclist, had testicular cancer but didn't know until his nose/throat was streaming with blood; it had spread to his brain, was very advanced, and he had no idea...and even then he's made a full recovery!

If caught early, it has nearly 100% cure rate; even advanced cases are better than 95%. So please guys, don't put off those checks :D

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Thanks for the frank and informative write-up Jason.

I now know a lot more about it than I did before and will be more aware of the signs, as will anyone who reads this thread :)

Your prognosis is certainly better than another really good friend of mine, who is 56, has been a smoker since he was a kid, and now has cancer in both lungs and in his lymphatic system....not good at all, although, like you, he says he feels better now that he knows the enemy so to speak.

Cheers

Rob

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Sorry to hear that Rob; the treatments have come on amazingly though in such a short space of time. Just 30 years ago things were a very different story; chemo is almost a different science now; it now has less side-effects, does not need to be so invasive, and has a higher cure rate than ever before. We might not have a cure but we certainly have a much greater arsenal :)

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You're right about the not knowing, I had a pea sized lump on my groin, but you end up being a bit scared to go to the docs in case it's not good, when i plucked up the courage to go with mine, he said he wasn't sure exactly what it was but gave it a treatment of liquid nitrogen, he basically said if that had no effect then they'd look further, the nitro worked and it went, but the fact is whenever you find anything a bit irregular your mind works overtime as you nearly always think cancer.

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Actually, just in case it helps any of the other gentlemen here, I should say that I found a lump on a t-esticle about 12 years ago. I went to my GP, who referred me for an ultrasound, and it turned out to be a totally harmless swelling (some sort of fluid build-up, if I recall correctly. No, not that fluid) which went away a few days later. Apparently this sort of thing happens all the time, so even if you ever do find a lump, there's an excellent chance it'll be something like that. *But do get it checked*

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Just picked up on this thread. Sorry to hear of your ills, but glad you're getting the care and treatment you need. Sounds like a good prognosis for you and fingers crossed it all goes well.

Like others have said, a drastic way to get a new scope/obsy though!

I also had a pea size lump down there, so went to the Drs in dread. Turns out it was just a mass of old veins which went away by itself. Your explanatory post if full of good info, clear and concise - helps to sort out what we need to look for.

I've followed Lance Armstrong's story as I'm a bit of a Tour de France fan. He made a remarkable recovery for someone who had so many problems - brains and lungs effected. Don't forget he won the Tour a record 7 times AFTER testicular cancer! (and maybe 8 this summer?!?)

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Jason,

Thank you for writing that informative piece; we need more men to step forward and say that it's OK to go to the doctors for a problem as personal as this, and I hope what you have written will inspire others to have courage in issues such as this.

A distant friend of mine was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer six years ago at the age of 34; and I am pleased to confirm like everyone else commenting on this thread that he survived and even had a daughter despite one round of ammo removed! He was glad he was able to summon up the courage to visit a doctors upon discovery of the tumour.

For yourself Jason, and Kevin...please don't give up the fight and we all wish you both a speedy recovery. Jason, I hope the operation date arrives soon - and Kevin, whose operation is this month...all the best, mate. ;)

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I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for their well-wishes! ;)

I've got my appointment with the urologist on the 18th; not sure what to expect but I pretty much assume we'll talk about the surgery and then possible follow-up treatments (if necessary). The problem is, I get paranoid about every ache and pain I get at the moment, and as I'm 40, I get quite a few ;)

After that I expect I'll be whisked into hospital for a quick op (losing one of 'the boys' only takes 30 mins apparently), and hopefully I'll be home the same day. After that comes the wait for the pathology on what the problem was; there are 'good' kinds and 'bad' kinds of tumour, and at my age it's pretty much 50/50 as to which one it could be. Fingers crossed for the good kind as the surgery alone might cure it.

If it's the 'bad' kind it's not too much worse, apart from probably a bit of chemotherapy; not a huge regime of it hopefully. You can guarantee though whilst I'm on my back, it'll be clear skies at night, and when I buy the new scope, the clouds will roll back in :p

Hope everyone is doing good! We saw Saturn through the scope the other night for the first time :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi again everyone :(

I've been pretty busy going in and out of hospital for various tests/pokes etc so I've not been able to look in as often as I'd like; I just wanted to share some good news and thank everyone for their well wishes :eek:

I had surgery to remove the offending nad last Monday, and was up and about 4 hours later when they finally let me leave hospital. I've been putting my feet up, playing games, and even managed some astrophotography with my friend too =]. My missus reckons I've made a startling recovery from the operation; there's very little discomfort now and I'm 90% back to normal.

Before the operation I had blood tumour markers taken; these are a guide to whether cancer is present. One marker was elevated; my AFP was at 41.7 when it should be normally between 0-7. This wasn't a huge level (some people push 10,000+ with testicular cancer), but still higher than normal.

Well, I had the surgery, and a week later I've recieved the pathology on the tumour - and the great news is they don't think it spread; there was no evidence under the microscope of it either getting into the blood vessels or leaving the primary site; they believe they got it all.

Secondly, I had my +7 days marker test yesterday; the half life of AFP is 7 days, so if the tumour had completely been removed, they'd expect a score of 20 ish (half of 41.7). I came in at 11, well ahead of schedule. I just need to lose 4 more points in a week and I'll be within normal limits :eek:

I have a CT scan on Monday to check for spread, but the specialist says this is routine only and she doesn't expect anything to light up. If I'm clear, I'll go onto surveillence (monthly checks) and can begin at last to consider myself 'cancer free' :D

As I now have the official diagnosis of the tumour, I can also go ahead with my critical illness claim; £46k tax-free lump sum (no pun intended). I'd never ask for TC, but the payout, if it comes through, will make recovery all the sweeter....and there's a good chance my wife and I can still take the Caribbean Cruise in April that we booked a week before I suspected something was wrong.

So, not out of the woods just yet, but I can at least see the lights of the village :mad::)

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Great news but you've got it completely wrong! NEVER EVER EVER allow the missus to think you've made a startling recovery, after this period of time you should still be limping about, groaning occasionally and intermittently grabbing your nads!

Some people just never learn!

I can see you should have been coached by a few of us before this happened, all is not lost however, now go upstairs to the bathroom, stand in front of the mirror and practice this a couple of times.

"I'm feeling a bit rough love, perhaps i can manage some time with my scope and it might take my mind off it, could you please make me a cup of coffee"

Forgot to mention, if the new scope isn't ordered yet, work on the sympathy thing, get the order sorted and when it's all confirmed DO NOT jump up and down and run round the house shouting YIPPEEE!!

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what a brilliant post. obviously well off topic but given it's cloudy every night at the moment what the heck!?

I lost both my parents to cancer (Dad at 51 and Mum last year at 64) and it's something we all face at some time in one form or another either personally or via being affected by someone else.

One thing's for sure, a good sense of humour, the love of your family and a very positive attitude are essential no matter what the outcome.

Thankfully the swift turnaround of all concerned (and well done to you for have the bottle to go to the docs - many would have put their head in the sand) hopefully means you have an excellent chance of living a completely full, happy and star filled life!

There are a few lessons here like go to the docs, check yourself out (top information from you - I didn't know about the symptoms you describe either) and also ensure you have decent cover to protect your loved ones in a worst case. Even in a best worst case like your own it has benefits and may be essential for other things which take you out of work for a while.

Great post and I hope you make a full and speedy recovery (and enjoy the scope and obsy!:)) .

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I am really pleased to hear that things are going so well now and would like to thank you for bringing this subject to the fore in such a sympathetic manner. I hope that your future continues to brighten and that the cruise and observatory get paid for from your insurance. As you say, you wouldn't want TC but if you have had it and you get some financial recompense as well as the complete recovery that we all know you will get then enjoy it.

A moving story with a timely warning for the 'boys' amongst us.

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Great news Jason. Shame you had to go through all that in the first place though!

On a lighter note, what equipment are you taking on your cruise? Would be a shame to be under warmer, lower latitudes and not make full use of them. There I go spending yet more of your money.

Cheers

Ian

P.s. I think Mrs BearClaw deserves a big group hug, she sounds like a real star (Ooops!)

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Great news Jason. Shame you had to go through all that in the first place though!

On a lighter note, what equipment are you taking on your cruise? Would be a shame to be under warmer, lower latitudes and not make full use of them. There I go spending yet more of your money.

Cheers

Ian

P.s. I think Mrs BearClaw deserves a big group hug, she sounds like a real star (Ooops!)

I know it's a travesty but I'm not taking anything with me! The chances are extremely good that come nightfall I'll be in one of the onboard pubs or clubs :headbang: Plus it's unlikely I'll get my payout before the cruise too so my options are limited.

I was looking at the Celestron PRO 14" HD on a GOTO mount once everything is sorted. Any opinions on this?

PS. Got my first 'All Clear' yesterday from the CAT scan and bloods =]

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Hi Brownclaw,

glad you got your first all clear.

Is it rude to ask for the budget? and is that to include the building of the obsy?

are you planning on imaging or observing?

if you were observing you could get a monster dob?

if imaging, more discussion required :headbang:

Paul

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