possible testicular cancer - advice please

[tim19]

Hi guys, i'm new here and i'm very worried about testicular cancer, i have a swelling in my epidermis quite large in comparison to the other side, but i also have a small pea sized lump/cyst not far from it, below ive added a picture to try and describe what i mean:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1323/mytesticle.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us



I originaly went to the doctors about this as you can imagin i was very concerned, so they had a look and basicly told me it was my epidermis but booked me for an ultrasound none the less, mainly for peace of mind and the doctor was comftable it wasn't cancer, i went to the ultrasound and the guy told me it's just my epidermis, so i was happy and left it for awhile. The swelling on my epidermis is alot bigger than the cyst so i was worried after weather he had just examined the epidermis as it's the most prominant lump, but i left it none the less, ive now developed gynecomastia, i'm into weight traning and definatly would have noticed it prior to now, i may have had a little in the past i'm not sure, but its definatly alot more evident now and definatly noticable, i'm 19 and half and to be honist if it was gyno from puberty i think i'd have had it alot sooner than now, reasearching it seems most teens who suffer from gyno start getting it between 12 - 14 and its sort of suddenly come on for me, this worries not only because of the cosmetic effect but because it's linked to testicular cancer. I'm very paranoid about this and scared, i know you're thinking i've already had an ultrasound scan but the main question i'm trying to get answerd from this thread is when i had my ultrasound scan would it be possible for the guy to miss my cyst/lump because he was asuming the swollen epidermis was the thing i was complaning about.

Thanks alot in advance for your help.

[Aegean]

It is always possible that the tech or radiology doc missed something. That being said, although it has happens to a small handful of guys here, it is extremely rare. Bring up your issues with your uro and ask for a second ultrasound to put your mind at rest.

[TGlover]

All my ultrasounds commented on everything they could see. They described the whole shot even stuff I didn't care about.. but, If i were you and didn't have faith in the results (or maybe they didn't explain what they were doing) then you could just go to a different dr/ultrasound/uro for a 2nd opinion.

[Smartie]

Originally Posted by tim19

when i had my ultrasound scan would it be possible for the guy to miss my cyst/lump

Possible yes, but unlikely I'd say. The ultrasound is the right tool to detect anything sinister going on. I can't imagine the radiologist would be so blinded by a swollen epididymis that he'd miss a solid mass, or indeed a cyst.

Having said that, you are clearly worried. I've been there. It's easy to get your mind into a loop that your can't break out of. The only way out that I've found is to get reassurance from the professionals. See you urologist again, and you'll get the reassurance you need.

[My dog Gypsy]

I know you are definitely worried and wish you the best, but I agree you should speak to your urologist about your concern, see what the doc says about it. Also, has anyone taken any sort of blood test pertaining to this matter? You may want to ask for this too along with the second ultrasound or second opion from another doc.

[Davepet]

Ultrasound is much more dependent on the skill of the tech than most other imaging technologies.

X-rays & ct's show what they show, ultrasound depends on what the tech sees, & how hard he/she presses on the imaging tool & how many times they re-try to get the image that shows something significant. All this info comes from a US tech with 25 years of experience that imaged me....
Dave

[Scal5]

Hi -

I would suggest you go to another organization to get a new ultrasound. I also had an ultrasound done and they completely botched it (hard to imagine) said i had and STD and told me to get on antibiotics.

I new something was wrong so i got a second opinion, sure enough, no STD and I had Testicular cancer.

You know your body better than anyone, if you think something is wrong, keep working at it until you find and answer. Remember, dr's and techs are all human, they make mistakes too.

Good Luck, keep us posted.

[chrisg551390]

I would agree with all of the above. You have to work hard to miss a testicular cancer but it can happen (not to me), I have seen this in practice.
However from what you describe it does sound benign.
But, you are obviously not happy and the only way I can think to resolve this is to have another scan to put your mind at rest.

[ekaradimos]

I don't think you should worry. What is good for you is that you took immediate action and went for an ultrasound. I don't think there is the slightest possibility that you are misdiagnosed. Of cource you should see your urologist for the swelling of your epididymis.

I had a swollen and painful right testicle for a long time (about 3 years) but I was afraid to go to the urologist and hear the bad news. The I only think I did was reading on Internet about TC and trying to convince myself that I don't have the symptoms for TC, although it was obvious that I had TC.
However I was lucky to have pure seminoma (stage 1A). Cancer has spread to spermatic cord but left lymph nodes untouched. I was treated with adjuvant RT and now, 5,5 years later, I am cancer free.
The only problem is that I am left sterile, which is very sad. I have my sperm banked. Last month my wife had her first IVF.
Doctor said it was not successful due to my bad sperm quality. They defrost my sperm and only 10000 out of 1200000 (<1%) were alive. They couldn't find any single sperm with medium mobility. Doctor said that our last hope is to collect fresh semen and hope that they can find a few number of alive sperm.

Sorry to bother you with my store but I am very sad to hear the news from my doctor yesterday.

[apple]

Tim - it's extremely unlikely to be serious. Ultrasound is very very sensitive in detecting TC. But since you are very worried I think you should ask for a second scan. It will help settle your worries.

Alex: I just read your post. So sorry to hear this. I really hope you get lucky with this. Fingers crossed for you mate.

Adrian