As I previously mentioned it will be about Testicular Cancer, after chemo today I went and spoke to 'John Smith' who is someone I met a few months back in hospital, he was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer and here is a small chunk of his story!
John is a 32 year old male with a wife and 2 children, of ages 7 and 5.
Charlie: "Okay John, let's start with how were you diagnosed? What were your symptoms?"
John: "I had no idea about Testicular Cancer to be honest and I didn't know a lot about other cancers either, no one in my family had ever suffered so I had never been exposed to it before, one day I was taking a rare shower with my wife (winks and laughs) and ermmmm she noticed a small lump.... in.... my balls! HAHA I ignored it but she was concerned, she did a LOT of googling and I brushed it off thinking it was a blocked sweat gland or something like that, told her to stop being dramatic and went on about my life for weeks, maybe even a couple of month. I then got a really bad bug and needed a couple of days off work it only lasted a day in the end but the fatigue lasted a couple of weeks after, concerned, I went to the doctors because it started to effect my ability to play with my children, he put it down to my bug and sent me away. A further two weeks passed and I ended up feeling a really tight heavy feeling.. down there, so went back and they sent me straight into the general for blood work and further tests, I stayed in over night and the next day they told me I had cancer"
John and I then chatted for a while about how he was originally sent away much like I was and how we can see why it was done.
Charlie: "What has effected you most about your diagnosis?"
John: "The look, that look people give you when you tell them, like you've just told them your cat has died and you're 5 years old. I understand that it's hard for people to hear, people never understand though, what it's really like until they hear the news from a doctor saying it's you that has it. But also telling my children, telling my oldest daughter was so hard because she seemed to crawl into herself, she's old enough to use the computer so we needed to monitor her more then than ever because she would read things that were open from my wife's research and not understand it so that would make her worry more, it was awful to watch. She also told some of the children at school and came home and said 'Amelia said Daddy's going to die' and I can't sit there and promise her that I won't, THAT is the hardest thing"
Charlie: "Do you feel like you've received enough support from the NHS?"
John: "If I'm completely honest, no. That sounds so selfish aswell because they're giving me the treatment I need to beat this but the support side of it is severely lacking, my wife, the rock that she is has found me the support groups, which yes, being a man I refuse to go to. But the NHS need some volunteers to come in, and chat to people, actually, what you're doing now is really helping, do this full time!"
Charlie: "What advice would you have for other men that aren't aware of the symptoms as you weren't?"
John: "It sounds weird but listen to your wife, seriously, she reads about this sh*t in cosmo magazine she knows! Don't be afraid to go to the doctors there is a stigma with going to the doctors and it's ridiculous, you don't need to check in on facebook and let everyone know you're there do you? If she looks at a lump and says 'you should get that checked' even if it's just for her piece of mind, do it! They worry a lot more than we know sometimes and why would you want to put the love of your life through that?
Some people catch it too late and that is sometimes through sheer laziness of not getting checked for months on end. GET. CHECKED."
John was absolutely fantastic, we chatted on for a long time but it has no particular structure, he mentioned a charity called 'Ballboys' that raise awareness and also aim to provide support to cancer patients which I think is where we are really lacking, we are all for raising money and standing up to cancer meanwhile cancer patients have to kind of 'get on with it' we don't always want to rely on our family for support because if you have cancer so do your family, it's hard on everyone around you, I know it's hard on the people close to me because they have to deal with my moaning! haha.
Here is a link to Ballboys page, have a read! http://www.ballboys.org.uk/
Symptoms:
- A lump or swelling, could be the size of a pea or larger
- A dull ache or sharp pain in your testicles or scrotum *see above diagram if you aren't sure ;)*
- A feeling of heaviness in your scrotum that John mentioned
- A sudden collection of fluid in your scrotum
- Fatigue
- A general feeling of being unwell
Diagnosis:
- Physical Examination- this may be what you guys are most afraid of, someone touching round your area! DON'T BE AFRAID- They are most likely to hold a small light or torch up to the lump and see if light passes through it, clever huh?
- Scrotal Ultrasound- this too is painless!
- Blood test- okay so I used to be scared of blood tests but I've had that many now, if you are worried about blood tests (male or female this applies to) ask to be led down, the nurse won't mind I promise, close your eyes and count... yes, sounds weird but just count, breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Prevention:
- There is not really a way to prevent testicular cancer but just make sure you check yourself regularly, in a warm shower or bath, check both testis about once a month, hold your scrotum in the palm of your hands and examine your testicles using your finger and thumb!
Well, that's all from me on that subject, I know that 'John' is reading this so I just want to say, thank you so much for being my first patient, good luck with the rest of your journey and it's bittersweet that I will only see you once more at chemo, look after your beautiful family and take care of yourself!
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