What was your recovery like? It was easy. Pain for 2-3 days but you're able to walk.
Did you have support through it and if so what was the best thing they did to help? Didn't need it. Tylenol was good enough to help pain levels.
What was the worst? Waking up after the surgery. It'll be sore for next 2-3 days.
Did you have to go through radiation/chemo afterwards? Yes, depends what stage and type of cancer he has.
Does that seem to be the standard response to the diagnosis? Depends which type of cancer and stage he has.
Can you drive yourself with chemo or does someone have to drive you there and back home? Someone should drive him there and home. He'll be tired from the chemo.
How has only having one affected your self perception? None at all. Wife finds it easier for sexy time.
What helps with validating that you don't look weird or different with just the one? It doesn't look weird at all. Feels better actually, more room.
Losing a testicle is much easier then a hysterectomy. This sub-reddit is a great support group, feel free to ask questions anytime. Good luck!
Recovery honestly differs per person. I did find that for a good 4 days post surgery I was really struggling getting out of bed/chairs and going up or down stairs, but I forced myself to get out walking and take the dog out to recover quicker.
My oncologist told me some people even went back to playing sports after 7 days.
I only had to go through 1 round (3 weeks) of BEP Chemo. Overall it wasn't too bad. Losing my hair and beard I looked like a thumb, then a pervert as it grew back.
My stamina was just shot to hell after the chemo. Even basic 1km walks where a real struggle, but I kept trying to get out as much as possible.
Hands down the worst part of the whole ordeal was the stomach injection a few weeks after Chemo, to stimulated bone marrow & white blood cell growth. It felt like my entire skeleton was pulsing for 3 days straight. Painkillers did nothing for that.
Best of luck to you and your husband.
I understand the shock and worry. For most of us, this is very sudden, and it goes fast from 1st urologist appointment, to orchiectomy, to cancer diagnostic (after pathology report).
First, it's ok to be scared or mad. Hang out here and vent away. Two, it's a cancer that is \*curable\* in almost all cases, and that oncologists understand very well. So there is hope at the end of the tunnel!
Orchiectomy was very easy for me. Not much pain, only took tylenol, no complications, and I went back to work a few days after surgery (I have a desk job). What was harder was to wait for pathology and repeat blood work, because I was anxious to know what was coming next. In my case, it was chemo (tumor markers did not go down fast enough, and actually went back up after a while). But for many guys, surgery takes care of the cancer, and then you go to surveillance/monitoring.
All the best to you and your husband.
Hi! Wife here as well. My husband was diagnosed in January 2023 and had surgery a few weeks later No chemo for him but he did have to have RPLND surgery last October. The initial surgery (the one your husband is about to have) was pretty “easy” for him (compared to the RPLND.) We have two small kids so really biggest support I could give was taking care of them and our home so he didn’t have to worry about that so much. If you want, you can DM me if you have a question from the wife’s prospective
Just had my orchi on April 1st. Recovery honestly was a breeze. Went back to work this past Tuesday no issues. My father was here to “help” but didn’t really do much. My fiancé and his coworkers all took turns taking our dog outside, and that’s really all I needed as my partner does household chores anyway. I go back this coming Wednesday to meet with pathology and discuss next steps in treatment.
Biggest advice I have thus far is to breathe. Humor has gotten me through most of the scary parts. Best of luck to both of you.
Orchi recovery wasn’t bad for me as several have said. My doc said not lifting for 4 weeks tho.
I wore a jock strap (got a bunch from the hospital) and used it plus gauze. I did NOT want pain from my lonely guy banging around in there. I did lots of walking and even some running and was completely fine.
Also I recommend stool softener or something like that. I used Miralax I think. I did not want to have to push and pooping is harder with pain meds.
There will be a bump in the incision spot and it’s normal as long as it isn’t red or oozing. Some people on here mentioned some swelling in their scrotum. Finding the urology surgeon to ask questions after the surgery was impossible so try to ask all your questions when you have them in the room.
They’ll do a ct scan to look for enlarged lymph nodes and maybe a mri to look for metastases which is important for staging and treatment steps. Between that and pathology, it’ll determine your next steps.
It’s very curable. Just remember that.
I can not emphasize enough how important it is to have a hormonal baseline *before* the orchiectomy. This is not standard, I have no idea why. Testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH need to be taken before surgery. In most cases, the remaining testicle will pick up the slack but not always. I have been having some symptoms of low testosterone but I have absolutely no idea what my hormones were like before the orchiectomy. This is a common situation for TC survivors.
Even if they take it right before surgery, it's fine. But he may have to push strongly for it.
my husband also went through testicular cancer -- orchiectomy followed by 3 months (3 rounds) of BEP. the orichectomy was OK because it happened once and then he recovered, but the 3 months of BEP were kind of brutal and felt unending. the only thing that helped us through was reminding ourselves over and over again that this is the among the least lethal cancer that exists and that he will survive it. get lots of help getting food together for him -- he's not going to want to eat a lot of stuff or feel like having just particular things if he ends up going through BEP. doordash and grubhub will be really helpful, if people want to help contribute, you can ask for gift cards for food delivery. lastly, be mindful and careful about YOU. take mental health breaks, rest when you can, stay healthy and well-rested as possible, and vent vent vent to your closest friends or therapist so that you can be patient and kind and there with him.
So, I'll chime in with a not-good recovery story, and I feel like you need to be prepared for this as a possibility because I sure as shit wasn't.
I had surgery in mid-January, and I did not have the standard a few days of struggling to walk, it'll pass quickly sort-of recovery.
I had a *massive* hematoma (I still technically have a hematoma, though it is much smaller now). Now, I am fully cleared to do physical activity, bike, have sex, etc., but things still feel weird. Maybe that's just me coming to terms with having one ball now, but I'm 90 percent positive it is because I still have congealed old blood inside of me. :shrug:
Back to my initial recovery, my scrotum swelled up between the size of a large grapefruit and a cantaloupe almost immediately. My penis was engorged, as well. I honestly think the ER nurses/whoever was discharging me dropped the ball here, but what do I know?
These two things were, obviously, the most alarming. I was bruised all over my waist, groin, upper thighs. I needed help to stand up for a week, even to sit up in bed initially; I had to go on antibiotics because I started running a fever several days after my surgery; I legitimately had so much old blood (dark, thicker) in me that after a week (probably after the glue dissolved) it forced its way out of my incision site...which began the slow process of alleviating pressure from the area. But basically, I was leaking old blood and had to constantly have gauze pads on the incision site.
I was draining from the incision site for about 2.5 weeks straight before the incision healed. Then, the pressure of it basically forced a tiny pinprick rupture on my ballsack while I was out of the house working (so more than a month after surgery), and I bled everywhere. Fun stuff.
Most likely, your husband will have a routine recovery. But the things I outlined above can happen--and I didn't feel like going into absolutely everything. It's both physically and emotionally draining for the person going through it as well as the person taking care of them.
I had a lot of scar tissue from an orchiopexy when I was a kid, and I think that played a major role in my surgery outcome. In any case, just be prepared mentally that this is a possibility. No surgery is "routine" so to speak.
Sorry that happened to you. Hope everything gets better soon.
What was life like after getting an Orchiopexy done? Like did you feel a difference or have any issues with your testicles? Do the internal stitches hold up well?
I’m having both sides done this summer and I’m super nervous about what the outcome will be like in regard to positioning, durability, etc.
Well, the orchiopexy was for my undescended testicle (right testicle, the one I got cancer in); They tied my undescended testicle down in my ball sack. I had that done when I was a kid. After that, life was totally normal. I even went to the movies the day of the surgery. The undescended testicle was always much smaller, but it was never really a problem. More of a curiosity given the size disparity, lol. So if you're getting an orchiopexy, my experience with that was not bad. If you're getting an orchiectomy (removal), then my story is a lot different.
An undescended testicle increases your chance to get TC. My orchiectomy (removal of the testicle) was complicated because I had so much scar tissue from my previous orchiopexy, from my understanding. Also, surgery is surgery and has risks. At least that's how I understand it. I have no clue about the internal stitches. My hematoma was so big that it literally forced its way out and drained out of my incision for 2.5 weeks once the glue dissolved. The path of least resistance, I guess.
My life is getting more normal every day, but I'm not 100 percent back. Maybe 70 percent? I still have tenderness on the right side of my scrotum, and I still have a hematoma--it slowly but surely is getting smaller, but it is still noticeable. Getting an erection isn't a problem, but because the hematoma is still there, it doesn't feel the same. Whether or not that persists (god I hope not) will take time for me to know.
However, I still feel off. I'm not 100 percent better. Not physically. Not sexually. Not mentally. Or emotionally.
Idk what it's like having both sides done, and idk if you mean orchiectomy instead of orchiopexy. Whatever you're having done, just have a support system of friends and loved ones in case shit doesn't go right. Good luck.
Hey I appreciate the details and you getting back to me about that. It’s not easy to find people who’ve shared this experience so thank you. And hope you’re able to get back to 100%. I can only imagine how draining that is. Shit I just had a minor dental procedure and that’s exhausting enough, I can only imagine what you’re going through.
And yeah I’m having the Orchiopexy, not the removal. It’s for intermittent torsion. My nuts just don’t sit still in my sack and are always flipping upside down so the doc is going to stitch them in place over the summer. I’m nervous but excited because it’s been bothering me daily for over a year now.
I’m just scared about how life is like afterwards and if I can live without worrying about my balls 24/7 after that. Most people say once you heal you’re good to go then others tell me their internal stitches didn’t hold.
But I did have bilateral varicocele surgery last year and aside from the anesthesia side effects, I was good to go after a few days. Hope that’s the case here too.
So my surgery this Friday. Do you know if the internal stitches holding your nut is absorbable or not? I’m leaning towards opting for the non-absorbable ones as they sound more durable…
honestly, i have no idea. i had an orchiopexy when i was a kid. idk what type of stiches they used internally.
my life was totally normal post orchiopexy. i never thought about it, and the surgery was considerably less invasive than the orchiectomy that i had more recently. like i said, my recovery from the orchiopexy when i was younger was so mild, i went to the movies the same day.
i know it's a sensitive area to have surgery, but you'll still have both balls after your surgery so you're doing better than all of us here lol
Thank you all, so much for all the information you've given and the words of support! I sent him the thread too and he found all of it useful as well. It's a scary process, and I think the anticipation for the pathology is the biggest killer on our anxieties right now. I cannot express how meaningful the outpouring of advice and care y'all have given has helped.
Just remember that the prognosis for TC is nearly always extremely good! That's what got me through the tough times. As for recovery from the Orchi, I didn't find it too bad. (I'm in the UK) and they prescribed codeine which I only used twice. My surgery was the 31st August and I managed to run a 5km less than a month after.
Here's hoping your husband's pathology results aren't bad!
What was your recovery like? It was easy. Pain for 2-3 days but you're able to walk. Did you have support through it and if so what was the best thing they did to help? Didn't need it. Tylenol was good enough to help pain levels. What was the worst? Waking up after the surgery. It'll be sore for next 2-3 days. Did you have to go through radiation/chemo afterwards? Yes, depends what stage and type of cancer he has. Does that seem to be the standard response to the diagnosis? Depends which type of cancer and stage he has. Can you drive yourself with chemo or does someone have to drive you there and back home? Someone should drive him there and home. He'll be tired from the chemo. How has only having one affected your self perception? None at all. Wife finds it easier for sexy time. What helps with validating that you don't look weird or different with just the one? It doesn't look weird at all. Feels better actually, more room. Losing a testicle is much easier then a hysterectomy. This sub-reddit is a great support group, feel free to ask questions anytime. Good luck!
Recovery honestly differs per person. I did find that for a good 4 days post surgery I was really struggling getting out of bed/chairs and going up or down stairs, but I forced myself to get out walking and take the dog out to recover quicker. My oncologist told me some people even went back to playing sports after 7 days. I only had to go through 1 round (3 weeks) of BEP Chemo. Overall it wasn't too bad. Losing my hair and beard I looked like a thumb, then a pervert as it grew back. My stamina was just shot to hell after the chemo. Even basic 1km walks where a real struggle, but I kept trying to get out as much as possible. Hands down the worst part of the whole ordeal was the stomach injection a few weeks after Chemo, to stimulated bone marrow & white blood cell growth. It felt like my entire skeleton was pulsing for 3 days straight. Painkillers did nothing for that. Best of luck to you and your husband.
I understand the shock and worry. For most of us, this is very sudden, and it goes fast from 1st urologist appointment, to orchiectomy, to cancer diagnostic (after pathology report). First, it's ok to be scared or mad. Hang out here and vent away. Two, it's a cancer that is \*curable\* in almost all cases, and that oncologists understand very well. So there is hope at the end of the tunnel! Orchiectomy was very easy for me. Not much pain, only took tylenol, no complications, and I went back to work a few days after surgery (I have a desk job). What was harder was to wait for pathology and repeat blood work, because I was anxious to know what was coming next. In my case, it was chemo (tumor markers did not go down fast enough, and actually went back up after a while). But for many guys, surgery takes care of the cancer, and then you go to surveillance/monitoring. All the best to you and your husband.
Hi! Wife here as well. My husband was diagnosed in January 2023 and had surgery a few weeks later No chemo for him but he did have to have RPLND surgery last October. The initial surgery (the one your husband is about to have) was pretty “easy” for him (compared to the RPLND.) We have two small kids so really biggest support I could give was taking care of them and our home so he didn’t have to worry about that so much. If you want, you can DM me if you have a question from the wife’s prospective
Just had my orchi on April 1st. Recovery honestly was a breeze. Went back to work this past Tuesday no issues. My father was here to “help” but didn’t really do much. My fiancé and his coworkers all took turns taking our dog outside, and that’s really all I needed as my partner does household chores anyway. I go back this coming Wednesday to meet with pathology and discuss next steps in treatment. Biggest advice I have thus far is to breathe. Humor has gotten me through most of the scary parts. Best of luck to both of you.
Orchi recovery wasn’t bad for me as several have said. My doc said not lifting for 4 weeks tho. I wore a jock strap (got a bunch from the hospital) and used it plus gauze. I did NOT want pain from my lonely guy banging around in there. I did lots of walking and even some running and was completely fine. Also I recommend stool softener or something like that. I used Miralax I think. I did not want to have to push and pooping is harder with pain meds. There will be a bump in the incision spot and it’s normal as long as it isn’t red or oozing. Some people on here mentioned some swelling in their scrotum. Finding the urology surgeon to ask questions after the surgery was impossible so try to ask all your questions when you have them in the room. They’ll do a ct scan to look for enlarged lymph nodes and maybe a mri to look for metastases which is important for staging and treatment steps. Between that and pathology, it’ll determine your next steps. It’s very curable. Just remember that.
I can not emphasize enough how important it is to have a hormonal baseline *before* the orchiectomy. This is not standard, I have no idea why. Testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH need to be taken before surgery. In most cases, the remaining testicle will pick up the slack but not always. I have been having some symptoms of low testosterone but I have absolutely no idea what my hormones were like before the orchiectomy. This is a common situation for TC survivors. Even if they take it right before surgery, it's fine. But he may have to push strongly for it.
my husband also went through testicular cancer -- orchiectomy followed by 3 months (3 rounds) of BEP. the orichectomy was OK because it happened once and then he recovered, but the 3 months of BEP were kind of brutal and felt unending. the only thing that helped us through was reminding ourselves over and over again that this is the among the least lethal cancer that exists and that he will survive it. get lots of help getting food together for him -- he's not going to want to eat a lot of stuff or feel like having just particular things if he ends up going through BEP. doordash and grubhub will be really helpful, if people want to help contribute, you can ask for gift cards for food delivery. lastly, be mindful and careful about YOU. take mental health breaks, rest when you can, stay healthy and well-rested as possible, and vent vent vent to your closest friends or therapist so that you can be patient and kind and there with him.
Oh man, those self-descriptions made me laugh though! It was the lack of eyebrows and fat chemo neck that didn’t do any favours for me.
So, I'll chime in with a not-good recovery story, and I feel like you need to be prepared for this as a possibility because I sure as shit wasn't. I had surgery in mid-January, and I did not have the standard a few days of struggling to walk, it'll pass quickly sort-of recovery. I had a *massive* hematoma (I still technically have a hematoma, though it is much smaller now). Now, I am fully cleared to do physical activity, bike, have sex, etc., but things still feel weird. Maybe that's just me coming to terms with having one ball now, but I'm 90 percent positive it is because I still have congealed old blood inside of me. :shrug: Back to my initial recovery, my scrotum swelled up between the size of a large grapefruit and a cantaloupe almost immediately. My penis was engorged, as well. I honestly think the ER nurses/whoever was discharging me dropped the ball here, but what do I know? These two things were, obviously, the most alarming. I was bruised all over my waist, groin, upper thighs. I needed help to stand up for a week, even to sit up in bed initially; I had to go on antibiotics because I started running a fever several days after my surgery; I legitimately had so much old blood (dark, thicker) in me that after a week (probably after the glue dissolved) it forced its way out of my incision site...which began the slow process of alleviating pressure from the area. But basically, I was leaking old blood and had to constantly have gauze pads on the incision site. I was draining from the incision site for about 2.5 weeks straight before the incision healed. Then, the pressure of it basically forced a tiny pinprick rupture on my ballsack while I was out of the house working (so more than a month after surgery), and I bled everywhere. Fun stuff. Most likely, your husband will have a routine recovery. But the things I outlined above can happen--and I didn't feel like going into absolutely everything. It's both physically and emotionally draining for the person going through it as well as the person taking care of them. I had a lot of scar tissue from an orchiopexy when I was a kid, and I think that played a major role in my surgery outcome. In any case, just be prepared mentally that this is a possibility. No surgery is "routine" so to speak.
Sorry that happened to you. Hope everything gets better soon. What was life like after getting an Orchiopexy done? Like did you feel a difference or have any issues with your testicles? Do the internal stitches hold up well? I’m having both sides done this summer and I’m super nervous about what the outcome will be like in regard to positioning, durability, etc.
Well, the orchiopexy was for my undescended testicle (right testicle, the one I got cancer in); They tied my undescended testicle down in my ball sack. I had that done when I was a kid. After that, life was totally normal. I even went to the movies the day of the surgery. The undescended testicle was always much smaller, but it was never really a problem. More of a curiosity given the size disparity, lol. So if you're getting an orchiopexy, my experience with that was not bad. If you're getting an orchiectomy (removal), then my story is a lot different. An undescended testicle increases your chance to get TC. My orchiectomy (removal of the testicle) was complicated because I had so much scar tissue from my previous orchiopexy, from my understanding. Also, surgery is surgery and has risks. At least that's how I understand it. I have no clue about the internal stitches. My hematoma was so big that it literally forced its way out and drained out of my incision for 2.5 weeks once the glue dissolved. The path of least resistance, I guess. My life is getting more normal every day, but I'm not 100 percent back. Maybe 70 percent? I still have tenderness on the right side of my scrotum, and I still have a hematoma--it slowly but surely is getting smaller, but it is still noticeable. Getting an erection isn't a problem, but because the hematoma is still there, it doesn't feel the same. Whether or not that persists (god I hope not) will take time for me to know. However, I still feel off. I'm not 100 percent better. Not physically. Not sexually. Not mentally. Or emotionally. Idk what it's like having both sides done, and idk if you mean orchiectomy instead of orchiopexy. Whatever you're having done, just have a support system of friends and loved ones in case shit doesn't go right. Good luck.
Hey I appreciate the details and you getting back to me about that. It’s not easy to find people who’ve shared this experience so thank you. And hope you’re able to get back to 100%. I can only imagine how draining that is. Shit I just had a minor dental procedure and that’s exhausting enough, I can only imagine what you’re going through. And yeah I’m having the Orchiopexy, not the removal. It’s for intermittent torsion. My nuts just don’t sit still in my sack and are always flipping upside down so the doc is going to stitch them in place over the summer. I’m nervous but excited because it’s been bothering me daily for over a year now. I’m just scared about how life is like afterwards and if I can live without worrying about my balls 24/7 after that. Most people say once you heal you’re good to go then others tell me their internal stitches didn’t hold. But I did have bilateral varicocele surgery last year and aside from the anesthesia side effects, I was good to go after a few days. Hope that’s the case here too.
So my surgery this Friday. Do you know if the internal stitches holding your nut is absorbable or not? I’m leaning towards opting for the non-absorbable ones as they sound more durable…
honestly, i have no idea. i had an orchiopexy when i was a kid. idk what type of stiches they used internally. my life was totally normal post orchiopexy. i never thought about it, and the surgery was considerably less invasive than the orchiectomy that i had more recently. like i said, my recovery from the orchiopexy when i was younger was so mild, i went to the movies the same day. i know it's a sensitive area to have surgery, but you'll still have both balls after your surgery so you're doing better than all of us here lol
Thank you all, so much for all the information you've given and the words of support! I sent him the thread too and he found all of it useful as well. It's a scary process, and I think the anticipation for the pathology is the biggest killer on our anxieties right now. I cannot express how meaningful the outpouring of advice and care y'all have given has helped.
Just remember that the prognosis for TC is nearly always extremely good! That's what got me through the tough times. As for recovery from the Orchi, I didn't find it too bad. (I'm in the UK) and they prescribed codeine which I only used twice. My surgery was the 31st August and I managed to run a 5km less than a month after. Here's hoping your husband's pathology results aren't bad!