recently diagnosed
#TalkingBollocks
Testicular cancer is a highly treatable cancer with an excellent cure rate, if diagnosed and treated early.
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are the 3 main treatments for testicular cancer.
Your recommended treatment plan will depend on:
the type of testicular cancer you have (whether it's a seminoma or a non-seminoma) and the stage of your testicular cancer.
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TREATMENT
SURGERY
An orchiectomy is a straightforward procedure and can be done with a short hospital stay.
RECOVERY
You'll be very tender and will not want to venture far from your home for a week or two.
04.
05.
SEEING THE ONCOLOGIST
The oncologist will look after you from here on. They specialise in cancer treatment.
FURTHER TREATMENT
Depending on your cancer stage and type, you may need further treatment.
TREATMENT
The first treatment option for all cases of testicular cancer, whatever the stage, is to surgically remove the affected testicle (an orchidectomy).
Deciding what treatment is best for you can be difficult. Your cancer team will make recommendations, but the final decision will be yours.
Before discussing your treatment options with your specialist, you may find it useful to write a list of questions to ask them.
For example, you may want to find out the advantages and disadvantages of particular treatments.
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Surgery (Orchidectomy)
If testicular cancer is detected in its very early stages, an orchidectomy may be the only treatment you require. An orchidectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a testicle. If you have testicular cancer, the whole of the affected testicle will need to be removed because only removing the tumour may lead to the cancer spreading. By removing the entire testicle, your chances of making a full recovery are greatly improved. Your sex life and ability to father children will not be affected.
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Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses powerful medicines to kill the malignant (cancerous) cells in your body or stop them multiplying. You may require chemotherapy if you have advanced testicular cancer or it's spread within your body. It's also used to help prevent the cancer returning. Chemotherapy is commonly used to treat seminomas and non-seminoma tumours.
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Radiation Therapy (radiotherapy)
Radiotherapy uses high-energy beams of radiation to help destroy cancer cells. Sometimes seminomas may require radiotherapy after surgery to help prevent the cancer returning. It may also be needed in advanced cases where someone is unable to tolerate the complex chemotherapies usually used to treat stage 2 and 3 testicular cancer. If testicular cancer has spread to your lymph nodes, you may require radiotherapy after a course of chemotherapy.
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Anyone who has been diagnosed with testicular cancer - regardless of age, gender, treatment, diagnosis or prognosis - is a Thriver to The Robin Cancer Trust; a Thriver is about being part of a community that ‘gets it’ and our specially curated Thriver Packs are here to help make your cancer journey more comfortable.