Two weeks ago, I lost my right testicle to a malignant tumor. One lymph node is still showing abnormalities. By the end of February, it will be decided whether I need to undergo chemotherapy. I have hope of beating cancer.

After 3xbep Guys what is this and also I also have brown spots in the genital area on my feet, arms and back. Is this normal?

I went to the shower this morning and as I normally would I wash all over then I move down to my balls and notice one is solid so I was just wondering if I should get it checked out or if anyone has an idea what it is

I know i should get it checked out but i literally don’t have anytime until like march so im just wondering if you guys know what this might be or if i should book it to the doctor. One of my testicles sits sideways (not diagnosed but i’m 99% sure it’s bell clappers) so i’m not sure whether it’s the top or bottom. But on the back of the sideways one which like i said could be the top or bottom it has a “ridge” or “bump” but i think it feels more like a vein. It’s not just a little dot more like a line. Is that bad? Is it really a vein? Is it urgent or can i wait a bit. Other effects i have is sometimes in that testicle i have mild pain but that’s from it being sideways i think. Thanks for your answers i’m stressing abt this so any insight is helpful.

Meeting my oncologist on Monday but wanted to share my post chemo ct scans here to see if there are any informed questions I should ask. Based on the report below, is it normal to have residual lymph node enlargement after chemo? Am I in remission?

What are the chances the remainder transforms into teratoma?

So im 2 weeks out of having the port put in and I had 1 cycle of ep treatment. My question is that my port is like sore. It's all healed up but I can feel it, if that makes sense. It doesn't like hurt per say but it's sore. i feel it whenever I move and I can feel it when I cough and sneeze, is that normal? It doesn't look infected or anything and I'm sure it's nothing but me just getting used to it. But I'd figure I'd ask the pros that have done this all before. 😊 thanks!

I feel a mass at the bottom of my testicle. It's kinda similar in touch to touching to the penis glans that under the foreskin. An edge of some sort that's "glued" to the bottom of the testicle. I can feel it at the bottom/front. Hard to tell.

As I said there is an edge or a "ridge" if you will BUT...
Once I lay - it becomes less hard.
Once I sit - it becomes even harder and becomes like a small hard lump.
When I stand up it's the most feelable and is exactly like described.

I have a testicle sonograph scheduled for 1 April.
I cannot get anything earlier unfortunately and 2 months is plenty of time for a potential cancer to spread and start destroying my whole body so how do I properly monitor what's happening during that time?

The damn thing feels different every time I touch it.
Even worse, the back-side of the testicle varies even more.

How to conclude for now if that's most likely (not surely) cancer or something else?

Also, to anyone who's dealt with testicular cancer, please share if it's as bad as it sounds.
I'm going crazy.

EDIT: It's a bit similar to how the "inside-left" part of the right testicle feels like if that is helpful by any means.

In this episode of It Takes Balls...

What started as a chance discovery in the shower for Arjun became a journey through diagnosis, treatment, and self-discovery. Growing up in a culture where health discussions were often taboo, Arjun had to navigate uncharted waters, leaning on intuition and determination to seek answers. He reflects on the emotional toll of his diagnosis, the resilience it demanded, and the unwavering support of his family and community.

Now a passionate advocate for awareness, Arjun shares how his experiences have inspired him to help others and foster open conversations about men’s health. His story is a powerful reminder of the strength found in vulnerability and the transformative power of connection.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-takes-balls/id1590038802?i=1000687748892

YouTube: https://youtu.be/6LaGlry_Klg

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5eDIaPuQHqYRmYxW8pFf42?si=831b42564742484d

Hello warriors,

I just finished 1xBEP on January 28th. My hair has started falling out fairly rapidly, specifically my beard. What did you guys do? Should I just go ahead and shave it? I buzzed my hair before treatment and took the beard down some. I just don’t want to see my baby face. Any recommendations welcomed.

I finished 3xBEP (non-sem) in December and Friday of last week I had a blood test that showed LDH at 224 (normal 105-205) I panicked and called them and this Monday it was 206 on a re-test. But I can't help but being a bit anxious still. Maybe for no reason? The Tuesday before the Friday I had my first work out session (like ever) so while it may not be considered hard work out for most, it was for me. Can that affect LDH? Also I have had pneumonia (at the end of December) and on a CT scan I also had last week to control my lungs after it, it showed regression of post-infectious changes (compared to earlier scan in Jan.)... so maybe that can be elevating LDH too, I mean the repairing of my lungs? I still cough.

The reason I am panicking is because post-orchi it was the only marker to be elevated and when I had my recurrence it rose too (from 222 to the 230+s) along with HCG, which remains normal. During chemo LDH first fell to well in the normal range and then rose again in December, at the same time I began to cough.

I am generally struggling with anxiety and I am so affraid the cancer isn't gone.

After the chemo my only enlarged lymph had skrunk to 6mm so I know the risk is very low.

I honestly just don’t want to deal with travel and lodging, I can’t afford it. So I’m just going to go here to my local university medical center for my RPLND.

After 3 years it seems my RE has started to fix itself and honestly... I'm upset about it. I've enjoyed this clean activity the past 3 years and then BOOM! An unexpected mess!

Around 6 months back while I was home alone walking around my house I got this sharp pain in my left testicle I looked and saw that it was swelling. I called 911 thinking it was torsion and they came and took me to the ER.

My grandmother who is my legal guardian wasn’t there since at the time my mother suffered a soon to be life ending seizure which put her in a coma. All they did was questioned me I ended up staying in the hospital bed from 5-10 at night until they transferred me to a different hospital they did an ultrasound and found nothing.

I then continued go in and out for the next 3 months of feeling this bump on top of my testicle getting multiple scans done until finally after 3 months until finally they were sure they found something growing on my left testicle. They said I shouldn’t worry and that they would set up an appointment with the urologist I have now been on a list of about 200 ppl for 2 months waiting to go get a check up.

Hey everyone, I'm 27, and on Thursday, I noticed a tiny bump on the inner-middle section of my right testicle—about the size of a pimple. I don’t have any other symptoms, but I went to my GP on Friday to get it checked out.

He mentioned that it’s uncommon for lumps to appear in that area, so he recommended an ultrasound just to be safe. I have it scheduled for Monday and should get the results by Wednesday.

I’ve been spiraling a bit because the way he explained it made it seem like most testicular lumps typically form in different areas than where mine is. Now, I’m overthinking all the possibilities and freaking myself out.

I guess I’m just looking for reassurance or insight into what else this could be. Has anyone experienced something similar?

How long does this glue stay on after the surgery?

I originally went to the exam room because I had bad testicle pain in my right side, penis pain towards the right side where the testis ment, swollen lymph nodes on the right side of my inner thigh, and also had blatter pain and lower back pain. This made me suspected I had some sorta UTI, they had me do an ultrasound and a CT and they identified a 10mm abnormal lesion in my right testi, and a 4mm cyst in my right epididymis. I was put on ciprofloxacin for about a week which helped the pain go away (everywhere besides my right testi and penis, but the pain was decreased). I was referred to urology, there, the doctor immediately recommended I get the right side testi completely removed (I've never had to have surgery, and it sucks this is gonna be my first one). At this point, they didn't know it was cancer but she said the abnormal lesion looked like it. This led to more tests and I found out the abnormal lesion had shrunk on one side a little, but now there's blood flow going into it. She said that is almost positive I have some sorta cancer. I'm going in next week to get the right testi removed, but I just want some outside options on people dealing with it, and help on how I can better process this. Also, I'm terrified about going in next week to get the surgery, any wisdom on how I can better mentally process this? I'm not worried about living with one testi, more the surgery itself and the recovery, I've heard the recovery is the worst. And I'm terrified of being put on chemo, I've heard that sometimes the side effects are just as bad at the cancer. I'm stuck, I'm terrified and I'm angry that I was told I have cancer right after my 18th birthday.

My husband is 7 days post op. Yesterday a spot near his belly button started draining fluid enough to soak through the pads I put on. It’s been soaking the pads consistently for 24 hrs now. We sent photos and talked to the urologist and basically everyone says as long as it doesn’t look infected, smell, or hurt it just needs to drain. Sometimes he soaks through the pads within 20 min. It’s just a small little spot and you can see the fluid flowing out of it and pooling into his belly button.

Has anyone else experienced a lot of draining fluid? Did you just keep up on absorbing it and it eventually stopped? He’s on a blood thinner for 2 weeks so we are not sure if that could be preventing it from stopping as well.

We will reach out to the urologist on call this weekend if we get more concerned, just looking to see if others experienced a lot of fluid as well.

Hi all. Husband finished BEPx3 about 5 weeks ago for stage 3a 70% seminoma and 30% embryonal carcinoma with rp lymph nodes up to 1.7 cm and lung nodules up to 1.3 cm. Post CT scan showed rp lymph nodes completely resolved and lung nodules significantly decreased (see below). Blood markers have always been neg except ldh which was in normal range post surgery. Has anyone been through this? Did you need further treatment?

IMPRESSION: Near complete resolution of previously noted bilateral pulmonary nodules with few scattered remaining pleural and pulmonary micronodules, most of which have significantly decreased in size compared to prior exam.

Edit to my post: all remaining micronodules are measuring under 1cm

World Marathon Challenge first stop in Antarctica… -24°!!

Dr. T. Clark Gamblin completed the first of 7 marathons in Antarctica with great success!! He will be running 6 more marathons over the next 6 days on 6 more continents, finishing in Miami, FL in support of the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation.

As a cancer survivor, he is not only running to push his physical limits but to inspire other people to also set their sights higher than they normally would. “Your body will in many cases do what the mind tells it to do,”. Dr. T. Clark Gamblin

About 2-3 weeks ago I started having slight discomfort with the testes. Started with a feeling of tension (felt retracted as if you were cold for a long time or sitting in an odd position) and a shake of the leg would make it go away at the time. This feeling has increased in frequency but no increase of intensity, alternating between left and right testicles, sticking around for longer. Comes randomly and goes randomly. There’s nothing in particular that causes this feeling or solves it, it just comes and goes. I’d say about 75% of the time it’s on the left, the rest of the time it’s the right. Usually a dull ache or “blue balls” feeling, but sometimes it’s sharp, but only sharp on the right. My left is larger than the right as it always has been…I don’t think the left is any larger than usual but I rarely checked myself before this started happening. I can’t find a lump, but feels like there’s a lot more components/larger blood vessels on the left..went to the doctor today and got blood drawn, urine sampled, and was referred for ultrasound. Doctor said he can’t rule anything out yet. He also said there were small amounts of blood in the urine sample (not visible to naked eye, normal colored urine). I know TC is in this differential diagnosis, and I also know there’s a few other things it could be, but how likely is it that I have TC with these symptoms? I haven’t had back pain or fatigue, symptoms are localized to the testes right now it seems. Some slight soreness in lower abdomen but feels muscular and minimal, kind of like a few days after core training in the gym. Any insight is greatly appreciated, suppose to be a week or so to get in for the ultrasound and I feel as if I’m going to spend every minute worrying until I get an answer. Pretty freaked out at the moment. Thanks fellas.

I have a hard lump on the top right side of my testicle I have no medical insurance just curious if anyone has some advice or wisdom and or knowledge to share with me I have hard this hard lump for a couple years now it hasn’t grown at all.

Hi,

I am 36 and I have androgen alopecia for around 10 and so years and my hair was pretty thin and noticable and I planned HT for this year. Just as I planned the bad news came and I had to go trought 1XBEP chemo for testicular cancer which i finished about a week ago.My hair has fallen out and now I am completely bald and I dont like it.Bald isnt a good fit for me and want suit me good.I know that there are many important thing right now but I am wondering will may thin hair come back after chemo, beacuse as thin as it was, it was much better than bald, I and just want to be there to pass enough time for HT after chemo which I will probably have next winter if all will be good with the health.

Currently, I am 5 years cancer free. I had TC with wide spread metastasis (abdomen, lungs, almost every organ, and brain). I had a left orchiectomy and 5 rounds of chemo. I had one round of BEP and it almost killed me so they switched to VIP and I had 4 rounds of that. From what my oncologist told me, VIP is a lot more aggressive on sperm with a much higher chance of infertility. I have had multiple analysis’ done over the years and they have all come back blank. Has anyone had VIP and then been able to have kids or am I thoroughly screwed on that front and should give up hope that it will ever happen? TIA

Hey guys. I want to preface this post by saying I’m not looking for medical advice, only asking about similar experiences and the outcome. I AM under the care of a urologist.

Background:

About one month ago I (32, almost 33yo) noticed some atrophy in lefty. I didn’t think too much of it but noticed again two weeks ago along with some occasional dull aching, so I made an appointment. I have no major recent trauma to the area. The only recent change in life is that I started smoking cannabis in November. Frequency is a couple puffs at a time, a few times per week.

Procedures:

I had a scrotal ultrasound one week ago and saw the doctor two days ago. Right is normal, left is atrophied and has several lobulated hypoechogenic mass like areas that could represent testicular malignancy. Doctor did an exam and said it does not feel like cancerous tumors due to lefty being soft, smooth, etc. He immediately sent me for bloodwork and scheduled a follow up SUS in six weeks. Blood results came back today normal so he suggested sticking with the plan and said he’ll see me in six weeks. I did ask him what his opinion was on moving forward with removal and biopsy and he said it’s not a terrible idea but suggested the conservative route with the SUS.

Details:

SUS on 1/22/25 had below findings:

Asymmetric atrophy of the left testicle with several mass like lobulated hypoechogenic areas, largest measuring 1.7 x 0.7 x 1.2 cm, which could represent testicular malignancy, subacute ischemic, traumatic or inflammatory insults. Internal doppler flow is present in the hypoechogenic areas.

Right is 4.4 x 2 x 2.6 cm Left is 3.4 x 1.5 x 2.3 cm

Exam on 1/28/25 had below findings:

Exam today revealed right testicle unremarkable, left testicle with noticeable atrophy, however soft, smooth, and symmetric with no palpable nodules or masses. I do feel the SUS findings are less likely malignant in nature, and rather ischemic, traumatic or inflammatory. Nevertheless, I do recommend further lab workup and close imaging follow up, which I anticipate extending long-term. Serum tumor markers (AFP, bHCG, and LDH) ordered today. Repeat SUS in 6 weeks.

Bloodwork on 1/28/25 had below results:

LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE(LD): 153 IUnit/L

ALPHA FETOPROTEIN, TUMOR MARKER: 1.0 ng/mL

BETA HCG QUANT: <.1 mIU/mL

Relevant History:

A previous SUS due to testicular pain at 20yo was unremarkable on both sides with

Right measuring 2.5 x 3.7 x 1.9 cm Left measuring 3.8 x 2.1 x 2.9 cm

With all of that said, has anybody else had a similar experience with atrophy and masses with internal Doppler flow, but normal bloodwork? Did you go for immediate removal? Did it end up being TC? What else could the masses be if not TC?

I’m tempted to go ahead with removal but want to hear others experiences. I have no problem losing lefty, even if the masses are benign, if it means I am potentially reducing further complications and/or the need for chemo. My wife is also on board. Thanks in advance for sharing.

It’s a seminoma pT1B, clean margins, CT and markers clean, and will be referred to an oncologist soon.

The urologist said my options were surveillance, chemo or radiation. He recommended surveillance tho.

Not sure what I’ll do yet, I guess I’ll wait for the oncologist.

I've had this discomfort feeling in my groin and right T, together with low back pain, for a few months. I initially ignored it due to my history of similar issues. Over 12 years ago, I had pain near my groin and the boy, went through several tests and urologists who couldn't figure out the cause, until an old urologist found out that I had problems with pelvic floor muscles (spasm, etc.). I went through bio-feedback PT sessions and the pain went away, but occasionally came back briefly due to my job (sitting a lot for too long), although now I know how to relax my pelvic muscles. I also have issues with a disc, that cause low back pain from time to time. But this time the discomfort lingered and felt different.

A few weeks ago, I learned about TC. I examined my T's and found at least 2 lumps near my right T, one behind near the top of the T and the other distant from the T, closer to the groin. They are not painful but discomforting. I freaked out and was scared (also because I am now 45 with a family and young kids). I called my PCP office but the earliest appointment is end of March. I called a very large urology group of the largest health system in my area (a large city in the US South), the earliest appt is Feb 20, 3 weeks from today. I asked if they could squeeze me in but they couldn't and only put me in a wait list in case there is a cancellation. Is that too long to wait? I'm scared because I know early detection is crucial. I contemplated ER but this is not an emergency and my health insurance would be happy to decline my claim. Should I wait or should I find another way? I don't know if urgent care can check this type of health issues and can do cancer tests (I think urgent cares are for common issues and illnesses). Any advice is appreciated.

Is it a hard lump that doesn’t move? Is it just swelling?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently on my second week of the 3x BEP (5-day regime) chemo for relapsed pure seminoma (they found a 4.0 cm lymph node). I’ve developed moderate ringing in my ears, but I don’t have any noticeable hearing loss or sensitivity to noise—just a constant buzzing sound.

The tinnitus started around Cycle 1, Day 3-4, and I’m now on Day 11 of my first cycle. My oncologist did warn me about cisplatin-related toxicity, but I wasn’t expecting to notice symptoms this early.

For those who have gone through BEP chemo, is this something you experienced in your first cycle? Does it tend to get worse over time? Also, should I bring this up with my oncologist now, or is it one of those things they just expect? I don’t currently have any hearing tests scheduled.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s been through this. Thanks in advance! 💙