Men's Health

[Scottie]

Well, if I had to choose between 30% chance of recurrence and a single dose of chemo to drop it to 5%, I'd be inclined to do the chemo. And then I'd thank my lucky stars that it was only 1 single dose/round of chemo.
And already, 30% risk is pretty low, so that IS good news when it comes to cancers.

 

[Gaby]

Yeah, you can see why in the guidelines, radiotherapy is offered for those who want to reduce their chances of recurrence AND who refuse chemo.

You can make a recapitulation of the years prior to the diagnosis and think what you could have done differently for the better. You can also ask if the data of 30% chances are based on statistics prior to 2020 or after 2020. That could help you decide.

We know that early therapy reduces your chances of recurrence, and this is a window of opportunity. This is something I would ask too: if there's a recurrence, would "late" therapy work just as well as if it would have been done the first time around?

 

[T.C.]

We know that early therapy reduces your chances of recurrence, and this is a window of opportunity. This is something I would ask too: if there's a recurrence, would "late" therapy work just as well as if it would have been done the first time around?

Actually this was discussed. He basically said that seminomas are so sensitive to carboplatin that if I chose to just monitor and the cancer came back (if cells have already made it to other areas and grow as tumours), that I’d have the same survivability. The difference is that I would have to have more rounds of chemo than just one.

 

[Breo]

I just read your update. I wish you all the best and that you can keep your spirit up in all decisions ahead.
You are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Alejo]

Actually this was discussed. He basically said that seminomas are so sensitive to carboplatin that if I chose to just monitor and the cancer came back (if cells have already made it to other areas and grow as tumours), that I’d have the same survivability. The difference is that I would have to have more rounds of chemo than just one.

So, it's one round of chemo now to reduce the chances of it coming back to 5%, which they're assuring you would be the results. Or take your chances with monitoring but there is a 30% change it might come back, and if it does, you'd need more than one round of chemo then... more than likely.

Well, I would probably take the chemo now, if for nothing else than you're stronger now than you will be in that hypothetical moment when it may come back, and in that moment you'd be dealing with chemo for a lot longer. So maybe it's worth to go through it now.

just my two cents.

 

[irjO]

Well, I would probably take the chemo now, if for nothing else than you're stronger now than you will be in that hypothetical moment when it may come back, and in that moment you'd be dealing with chemo for a lot longer. So maybe it's worth to go through it now.

I would do the same, it’s better to prevent any possible chances than later you being up taking more than one round if something happens.
We have to prevent any possible door that can lead to an “attack” if you want to look it that way.
I’m not a medical expert but I would think that with good supplementation and good diet, most likely those effects by the chemo will go away one way or another.

 

[Windmill knight]

Well, I would probably take the chemo now, if for nothing else than you're stronger now than you will be in that hypothetical moment when it may come back, and in that moment you'd be dealing with chemo for a lot longer. So maybe it's worth to go through it now.

There's also the consideration that in the future the medical system may not be as it is now. I mean, if there really is another 'pandemic' (real or not) then hospitals might be overwhelmed, and if some other crazy stuff happens later, who knows what it our access to modern medicine will be, so perhaps it's better to act now. I'm sorry you have to go through this tough choice - I hope that whatever you decide does turn out for the best, and you'll be in our prayers whatever comes.

 

[hlat]

If the cancer is gone now, then I would not take chemo as a preventative measure. I figure why poison myself now to change odds in the future from 70% to 95%, if I am fine right now.

Also, could this be a When The Body Says No situation where emotional and psychological difficulties helped manifest this cancer? Maybe that's something to consider.

 

[T.C.]

There's also the consideration that in the future the medical system may not be as it is now. I mean, if there really is another 'pandemic' (real or not) then hospitals might be overwhelmed, and if some other crazy stuff happens later, who knows what it our access to modern medicine will be, so perhaps it's better to act now. I'm sorry you have to go through this tough choice - I hope that whatever you decide does turn out for the best, and you'll be in our prayers whatever comes.

Yes, I raised this point to Ksee yesterday when we were discussing it. That, together with the fact that a lot more people getting cancer, in itself, might make it harder to get chemotherapy drugs like carboplatin.

 

[T.C.]

If the cancer is gone now, then I would not take chemo as a preventative measure. I figure why poison myself now to change odds in the future from 70% to 95%, if I am fine right now.

That’s the problem that makes it a difficult decision. We don’t know if the cancer is gone. The size of the tumour and the way it spread to the head of the testicle that joins to the tube increases the chance that cancerous cells might have moved through the tube. We just don’t know.

Also, could this be a When The Body Says No situation where emotional and psychological difficulties helped manifest this cancer? Maybe that's something to consider.

Yes, we’ve already discussed this earlier in the thread.

I’m going to have the chemo. All things factored in, with the particular characteristics of my tumour, I think it’s for the best.

 

[T.C.]

I had a blood test while I was at the clinic yesterday to check for tumour markers. The doctor just called me to let me know that everything is normal. So that’s good.

I told him I’m having the chemo. I’ll be booked in for a kidney function test some time in the next week. Then I’ll go to clinic again next Thursday, and have the chemo either Monday or Tuesday the week after.

 

[Ant22]

There's also the consideration that in the future the medical system may not be as it is now. I mean, if there really is another 'pandemic' (real or not) then hospitals might be overwhelmed, and if some other crazy stuff happens later, who knows what it our access to modern medicine will be, so perhaps it's better to act now.

That’s my thinking too. Back in 2020 during the first lockdown the NHS provided almost no cancer treatments for months. Then there were huge delays, so those with cancer ended up waiting for as long as six months to receive care.

“Rumours” are already circulating about another pandemic, who knows how it’s going to play out - and what the impact on the healthcare system is going to be?

If we lived in a different reality then monitoring could be enough. But given the facts on the ground, even monitoring may soon not be available for long stretches of time, let alone treatments.

Here are a few headlines from 2020 that I found among my bookmarks. These are from April of that year, so the very beginning of the first lockdown, but as we learned later on, it was pretty much as bad as the media was reporting:

People with treatable cancers will die due to Government scaremongering, warns NHS nurse​

'60,000 cancer patients could die because of lack of treatment or diagnosis': Oncologist on coronavirus dilemma​

I had a blood test while I was at the clinic yesterday to check for tumour markers. The doctor just called me to let me know that everything is normal. So that’s good.

I told him I’m having the chemo. I’ll be booked in for a kidney function test some time in the next week. Then I’ll go to clinic again next Thursday, and have the chemo either Monday or Tuesday the week after.

I hope it all goes well and one round won’t be too harsh on your system. Given the amount of time you're offered to recover I guess it's not a treatment without any side effects - even if it's just one dose. I hope your employer is supportive. Take a good care of yourself T.C., you are in my thoughts

 

[987baz]

thinking of you TC, you'll be in my prayers mate, sounds like signs are good, hope the chemo goes well, and please keep us updated!

 

[Redrock12]

thinking of you TC, you'll be in my prayers mate, sounds like signs are good, hope the chemo goes well, and please keep us updated!

Ditto @T.C.

 

[Chu]

I’m going to have the chemo. All things factored in, with the particular characteristics of my tumour, I think it’s for the best.

Wise decision, I think! One round now, while the system is okay and you are young and strong, is really not bad. Plus, you can take measures to reduce side effects. I think the reason it reduces the chances of recurrence is that there is less chances of mutations later (and given the rate of mutation in cancers nowadays, that's important, IMHO). At least, that's what some oncologists explained to us, and for some cancers.

We'll be thinking about you!