Men's Health

[Debra]

I’ll see what the doctor says. The scan’s the next step in the process for me, now. I’ll get that done and see what comes of it.

To your point, any ailment we might suffer from can probably tell us something about ourselves. The affirmation that Mari quoted resonates with certain things I’ve been exploring in myself: “It is safe to be a man”.
[…]
So I’m continuing to keep this affirmation in mind, and I’m exploring what it might mean for me, in all areas of my life and my being.

Hi T.C., my heart goes out to you.
When these types of issues arise, after one does all they can to live a healthy, grounded and “clean” life, it can be so confusing and frustrating, and scary.
I speak from experience, as your situation nearly mirrors exactly what happened to my first born son, when he was in his early 30’s.
Now, I must post this:
“What I am posting, [legal/medical/fitness/health/other] information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, I encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals.”

Hopefully that should suffice.
Ok, about my sons incident.
During a televised campaign for “Men’s Health” he did a self examination, and found a swelling in his right testicle.
Holy HELL, the panic, emergency bells and havoc that ensued was epic!

I won’t go into it, we have all survived it, and the lessons and shared life experiences are the pay off.
The reprogramming, the knowledge and enlightenment that we gained, as a family, was in hind sight, the Divine Cosmic Minds answers that I’ve been searching for all my life.

It was due to his diagnosis, and the ensuing involvement with the “medical system”, that lead me to my studies of Natural Biological laws, and German New Medicine.

I’ve learned that at the root of “every ailment” is a valid, biological program, and it’s running not for self destruction, but for adaptation!

When I read the line you wrote above, “[…]any ailment we might suffer from can probably tell us something about ourselves”,I thought, you nailed it, T.C., but..hold on, here, it’s not “all areas of your life”, the body organ, or system affected is specific.
That’s how biology works, straight up, no emotional interpretation needed, it’s all deeply programmed and biological, as in cause, and response.
So, think, T.C., What are your testicles purpose?
What is the biological benefit from tissue growth, making more sperm and testosterone?

T.C., somehow, someway, your Psyche has engaged a primitive, biological program due to a shocking, and unexpected profound loss conflict.
Our psyche responds to LOSS of someone, or some being you considered one of your family, and I’m gonna hazard a guess, if it wasn’t a human, that it was one of your beloved pets perhaps.
I’ve learned:
Making peace with whatever loss it was, and resolving the issue, is The Way.
It’s gonna be ok, don’t panic, and I’m here if you want to ask for any additional information.

 

[T.C.]

Just got home from the doctor's.

I saw a different doctor. He looked at my file and said that the previous doctor who I saw had put it down as epididymitis (inflammation of the epididymis), and he asked me if the previous doctor had explained it to me. I said that he hadn't, and didn't mention it, but that I assume it meant inflammation of the epididymis. I asked him what can cause that and he said there were multiple possibilities.

One the things I haven't mentioned so far in the thread is that when I was 15 I found a lump on the currently swollen testicle. I had an ultrasound and it was found to be a cyst on my epididymis. I was told that it was nothing to worry about, but that if there are ever any changes to it, either in size or if there was pain or something, to see a doctor.

I've never noticed any change to the cyst. And even now, I'm pretty sure that it's the same size as at always has been.

This new doctor said he'd like to examine me himself, just so he could understand the symptoms and get an idea of what the testicle was like, and also to make sure that there weren't any new lumps since my last examination. I said I was fine with that. He checked my abdomen, got me to raise my feet in the air, got me to cough as he examined a few different areas. Checked both testicles. He said that the cyst did seem to be quite large and asked me if I was sure there was no change to it. I thought about it and said that I was pretty sure there was no change, but that since the testicle itself has now swollen, that might be throwing me off in my assessment since I judge the size of the cyst by the size of the testicle.

He did a differential diagnosis to check if it might be cancer: No blood in the urine or ejaculate, no problems in the abdomen, no loss of appetite or weight-loss, no small or multiple lumps. But he said that we can't rule it out until I've had the scan.

He said that this kind of problem can happen to men as they start to get older if they are sexually active. He mentioned something, which to my layman's ear basically sounded like ducts can get blocked by sperm, or something. He also said that the cyst might be the problem - that the cyst could have got infected, or there might be a fluid build-up inside it. That these things can also cause the testicle to swell up.

He said that for him, at this stage, it'll be best to wait for the scan and go from there. He didn't prescribe me any more antibiotics, which I don't really have an issue with. The first course don't seem to have done anything, and I'm not in a hurry to take more if there's not a good reason to do so.

So my scan is this Sunday. I'll update further when I have more info.

 

[RedFox]

Hey T.C.
After reading this:

To your point, any ailment we might suffer from can probably tell us something about ourselves. The affirmation that Mari quoted resonates with certain things I’ve been exploring in myself: “It is safe to be a man”.

The following stood out for me:

One the things I haven't mentioned so far in the thread is that when I was 15 I found a lump on the currently swollen testicle.

You also mentioned a few years back (in this thread "Healing Back Pain" by Dr. John E. Sarno ) that you where suffering from back pain.
So maybe this is a stretch, but this is what Louise Hay says about all of those

❤️ Louise Hay List of Symptoms and Affirmations to cure

This is complete Louise Hay list of symptoms from her book Heal your body “I am healthy, whole, and co

theflowguy.com

Cyst(s): Running the old painful movie. Nursing hurts. A false growth.
Affirmation: The movies of my mind are beautiful because I choose to make them so. I love me.


Back: Represents the support of life. I know that Life always supports me.

Back Problems:

— Lower: Fear of money. Lack of financial support.
Affirmation: I trust the process of life. All I need is always taken care of. I am safe.

— Middle: Guilt. Stuck in all that stuff back there. “Get off my back.”
Affirmation: I release the past. I am free to move forward with love in my heart.

— Upper: Lack of emotional support. Feeling unloved. Holding back love.
Affirmation: I love and approve of myself. Life supports and loves me.

So given the above (and 'masculinity/it is safe to be a man') - and the timing of the cyst (puberty), we might be able to conclude it was something around that time that perhaps triggered you/brought up beliefs from earlier in childhood that manifested as "the old painful movie" about "masculinity". Maybe you'd 'learned' that men's sex drives got them to do things that hurt others? And now (at 15) having one yourself, it just spun up the loop?

Maybe the back pain ties to this/expands on the clues too?
If so, perhaps the age you developed back pain, and these new symptoms are also symbolically connected to that above early belief? Maybe this is the age that 'men do something specific'?

An alternative (drawing on the book The Biogenealogy Sourcebook) is this may be a healing crisis, that is you are attempting to resolve things and it's causing a "flareup". The way through is to process the feelings and come to resolution.
The same book mentions problems with the testicles being related to "loss of a child" and/or "loss of a parent".

 

[T.C.]

Had my ultrasound yesterday. The doctor just rang me about it. There is a lesion around 3.5cm x 3cm on the right testicle which is showing increased vascularity. It’s referring to the cyst I’ve had for most of my life.

I’ll have some bloods taken tomorrow to test for tumour markers and I’ll be getting a letter to fast track me to a urologist.

 

[T.C.]

I got the blood test results, but I accessed them through my online file just now and the doctor only just reviewed them, so I haven’t spoken to him yet.

Everything seems to show within normal ranges and they are noted “No further action”:





I’ve also received my referral letter for the urologist. I need to call them tomorrow to make the appointment.

 

[T.C.]

Some more results from the blood tests have been added to my online file.

HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin) is abnormal. This is one of the markers specific to testicular cancer.

Also Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is high. This is a marker for damage and inflammation in the body.

My testicle continues to increase in size. I have an appointment with the doctor this morning. I spoke to urology at the hospital and they’re trying to get me in as quickly as they can, but still waiting.

 

[T.C.]

The universe just did me a favour. The doctor I’ve just seen works in ER/A&E, urology, he’s like the expert on this whole process.

We had a good chat. The short version is that the best thing to do is just wait for urology to give me an appointment. If it gets to the point where I’m in unbearable pain then the best thing to do would be to go to A&E.

He said the fact that urology haven’t contacted me instantly is actually a good thing. He’s known cases where someone has gone for a scan or ultrasound and they’ve been sent straight to operating theatre. If my case was deadly, deadly serious right now then urology would have given me an appointment as soon as the doctor referred me.

He also told me something I already learned recently from doing research, about the prognosis for testicular cancer and how treatable it is. He said he’s worked in urology and A&E since 2011 and he’s never seen any case of someone dying from it. He literally said, “If I had to get cancer, then I’d want it to be testicular.”

He also said he’s frustrated himself with the lack of reassuring interaction in primary care towards patients who are in my situation, where they in between tests and diagnosis and they don’t know what’s going on, but he hopes one day that communication will improve.

We had a really good chat. I feel better about waiting. He said in his opinion, I’ll probably hear from urology this week. He said if I don’t hear from them after two weeks from the 15th (the referral date), then I should start demanding to be seen.

 

[Z...]

I am glad you are getting to the bottom of this.
Hang in there and stay cool - what he said about testicular cancer is true, and I think the fact that they didn't contact you immediately is a good news. Keep us posted

 

[flashgordonv]

The universe just did me a favour. ...

He also told me something I already learned recently from doing research, about the prognosis for testicular cancer and how treatable it is. He said he’s worked in urology and A&E since 2011 and he’s never seen any case of someone dying from it. He literally said, “If I had to get cancer, then I’d want it to be testicular.”

Hang in there TC. What he said about speed if you have an issue is spot on. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2009. I went to see the GP to get a medical certificate for health insurance at a new job, and at the end of the appointment, mentioned my enlarged testicle. The GP felt it, and immediately burst into action. I was in hospital by the end of the day and the cancer removed the next morning. Five years of follow up, starting 3 monthly, then 6 monthly and in the end 12 monthly. All good, no issues, no recurrences.

 

[T.C.]

Hang in there TC. What he said about speed if you have an issue is spot on. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2009. I went to see the GP to get a medical certificate for health insurance at a new job, and at the end of the appointment, mentioned my enlarged testicle. The GP felt it, and immediately burst into action. I was in hospital by the end of the day and the cancer removed the next morning. Five years of follow up, starting 3 monthly, then 6 monthly and in the end 12 monthly. All good, no issues, no recurrences.

Thanks. Can I ask, what was it about your condition or symptoms that lead him to act so quickly?

 

[flashgordonv]

Thanks. Can I ask, what was it about your condition or symptoms that lead him to act so quickly?

The fact that one testicle was a hard lump and mearly twice the size of the other one. And the size increase had happened relatively quickly

 

[T.C.]

Urology appointment to see the consultant tomorrow at 15:30.

 

[T.C.]

I saw the urologist today. Plan of action is to remove the testicle.

I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow for my pre-op and to have some blood tests for kidney and liver function.

Then on Friday I’ll have a CT scan on my body to see if there’s any problems anywhere else.

The operation will either be on Monday or Thursday.

They can’t do a biopsy on a testicle due to the risk of causing the cancer to spread. So the tumour will be analysed after they’ve removed it. The results of that, together with the results of the CT scan will determine if further treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy might be needed.

 

[Gaby]

You'll be in our thoughts and prayers, and keep us posted. At least this is taken care of while the health care system is not on "lockdown".

 

[flashgordonv]

I saw the urologist today. Plan of action is to remove the testicle.

I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow for my pre-op and to have some blood tests for kidney and liver function.

Then on Friday I’ll have a CT scan on my body to see if there’s any problems anywhere else.

The operation will either be on Monday or Thursday.

They can’t do a biopsy on a testicle due to the risk of causing the cancer to spread. So the tumour will be analysed after they’ve removed it. The results of that, together with the results of the CT scan will determine if further treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy might be needed.

Fingers crossed mate along with prayers and thoughts. Fortunately it is a very common operation with very high probability of success. And they don't seem to be in any great hurry to get it done, (unlike my situation). Hang in there while DCM confers the optimal outcome.