Interview 07

Age at interview: 36

Age at diagnosis: 33

Brief Outline: Testicular cancer (seminoma) diagnosed in 1998; orchidectomy. No evidence of any secondary tumours, but radiotherapy (2-3 times a week over 8 weeks) to prevent any recurrence.

Background: Banker; married, 2 children.

Explains that he noticed that one of his testicles was bigger than the other.

Okay I suppose the story started er when I was around 30 years of age, which was 6 years ago. I noticed that my testicles were of different sizes. I don't know whether they'd always been like that or if I'd just suddenly noticed but you know hearing things on the television and reading in the newspaper about potential problems in that area that started to concern me somewhat. Having said that I didn't actually do anything about it, I just was thinking about it and then I tried to push it to the back of my mind. But it was always there in my mind so I didn't quite know what to do and how to approach the problem. But as I was fairly fit and young and it wasn't affecting me. I wasn't getting any pain or anything like that I didn't really feel that it was too urgent to get anything sorted out. So I basically just lived with it and kept monitoring the situation for a couple of years after that.
 

Explains that he delayed seeking help because of lack of time and embarrassment.

And so I basically, I worked up the courage to go and see the doctor about it. It sounds strange saying working up the courage but I think a lot of young men are in that situation where they feel they er, firstly they don't like going to see a doctor. I mean I don't enjoy going to see a doctor. If you're a young man you consider yourself to be fairly fit and healthy, it's difficult to take the time, also getting the time off work and everything to go and see the doctor if you're living a busy lifestyle. And also if it's a slightly what could be called an embarrassing problem then you know you tend to delay it I think. But I finally took the decision to go and see him. Also another thing, it was it was a new doctor, I'd never met before so I suppose that works in both ways. I mean it took a bit of courage to go and see him but on the other hand I didn't have any history with him so I could come straight out with it and say what I felt the problem was.
 

Remembers that his doctor talked to him for a couple of hours about different treatment options Remembers that his doctor talked to him for a couple of hours about different treatment options and different types of tumour.

I mean I was basically, as I say he explained things very thoroughly and I probably was talking to him for a couple of hours.

Really.

And then as I say literally a couple of hours after that I was being prepared for the operation. I obviously had time to call my family and tell them what the situation was but I think they were prepared for that anyway. We all knew that there was some problem there which needed sorting out, so that wasn't too difficult.

So he talked to you for a couple of hours, what did he go through in those couple of hours?

Yes well all these things about the options that were open to me, what types of problem it could be. There's the, I mean I'm not an expert on it either but I think the most common tumour is a seminoma which is perfectly curable if caught at an early stage and he explained, he went through basically how that occurs and how it's treated. And then he went through the other more aggressive types of tumour that it could be and he explained that there could be more difficulty with those if it turned out to be something like that.
 

Recalls his concern when wasn't offered sperm storage before radiotherapy, and relief he felt when his wife had a baby.

It's uncomfortable but long term hasn't been a problem at all. And even in terms of, one thing which was concerning us is the question of fertility, and a lot of the literature you read talks about perhaps storing some sperm before you have any treatment done. That option wasn't actually given to me at all because the consultant felt that it wasn't necessary and that was a bit worrying in the back of my mind for some time after that that perhaps there could have been some sort of side-effect. I think sometimes the radiotherapy can have the effect of reducing fertility or destroying it altogether. So that was a bit worrying for myself and my wife because we had planned to have another child.

Mm but you did ask the consultant about it, did you?

Yes I asked him on a number of occasions and he was fairly confident that, I mean he couldn't guarantee it 100% but he was fairly confident that it wouldn't be a problem. And it turned out not to be a problem in the end because I was actually, we had a young daughter 7 weeks ago.
 

Recalls that the doctor said that he didn't think a false testicle was necessary and that it might lead to infection.

At that stage did he [the doctor] discuss whether or not he might replace it with a false one, a prosthesis?

He did. I asked him that point and he, he was of the opinion that it wasn't actually necessary and actually can cause some complications in certain, I mean there's always a risk of infection and things like that. So he actually advised me against it unless I particularly wanted that and I took his advice on that point. I mean I don't think, I don't think it's particularly necessary unless you're some sort of nude model or something like that (laughs). I mean there are a limited number of people that are going to see, and at the end of the day if you're just glancing it doesn't actually look different to what it did before.

Right, that is something that other young men might want to know?

Mm

If they were perhaps in the rugby showers and everything, it's not too obvious then that you've only got one?

No, no, unless someone is studying in a lot of detail, but I mean that doesn't happen I think in normal day to day life.
 

Points out that people who have had cancer may find it hard to get life insurance.

You were mentioning life insurance?

Yeah I think one thing that quite often is overlooked by people is the effect it has on your life insurance premiums, if you take out any new life insurance, which quite often you need to do. I needed to do. For instance when I bought a new house; the insurance companies will heavily weight the premiums for a certain length of time after an operation of that type. Because I suppose they just see the word 'cancer' and it's dealt with in exactly the same way whether it's perfectly clear or if you've still got a problem. So that's a potential financial set back. And yeah I mean that will, I think that will last. I've talked to a number of brokers about it, trying to get some idea of how long that will go on for and I think that lasts for 5 years after the operation and then they will then reconsider. But by that time obviously you're 5 years older so the insurance is more expensive anyway.