PSA for all Testicle Havers
Please, please remember to do your monthly self exams!! Seriously, we all know we should and it’s too easy to let it go, but it could save you a lot of pain, fear, and distress.
Quick story: At first it was just some minor discomfort, but then I noticed the lump. That horrible “oh shit” moment. Later my leg started going numb, then came the pain in my sides like I was being kicked over and over. I couldn’t get in to see a doctor for over a month because, you know, American healthcare, but eventually I ended up in the ER and I was diagnosed with stage 2 synchronous bilateral testicular cancer. I had multiple masses, and it had spread to the lymph nodes in my lower back—even then, it took another month and countless hours arguing with insurance to be seen; it felt like the healthcare system would have let me die before authorizing treatment, but that’s another post. It all happened so fast and so completely out of the blue, I thought no way this could have happened to me: 26, otherwise healthy, no family history. Unfortunately, no matter how careful you try to be or how invincible you think you are, cancer is senseless. Two months later, I’ve now had one surgery, I just finished my first round of chemo, and I have more surgeries scheduled for the other side. I’m going to get through this, and testicular cancer is usually curable even in advanced stages, but I could have some pretty life changing complications and I’ll be starting T in a few months.
Honestly, I kind of doubt how effective TSEs actually are—I always stayed on top of my self exams, and even now, with two tumors in my remaining testicle, I would have absolutely no idea by my own judgement alone. In my case, it seems like I might have had a precancerous condition that was spreading undetected and entirely asymptomatic for years—potentially for my whole life—and I never could have known, but my case is a little unusual. So if you feel ANYTHING even slightly off or questionable, don’t write it off. Get it checked ASAP. Maybe ask your doctor about testicular exams during routine visits, just to be sure. Usually it’s nothing to worry about, but it could be. If it is something, you might not be able to save the nut, but you could save yourself a really difficult road to recovery.
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