the Price of Oncology

My brother has had testicular cancer. Therefore, when I found a lump in my testicle and noticed that one was much larger than the other, I sort of panicked. I called my mother and father and they said I needed to make an appointment with an Oncologist immediately to be sure what I was dealing with. With my family history (my family is literally a cancer nightmare), they didn't feel there was any time to waste. I called my family doctor who referred me to a local oncologist that she had worked with many times and I called them. With my family doctor's referral (I did not see her but discussed the issue with her via the telephone), the oncologist agreed to see me the next afternoon during a lapse in his schedule. The doctor examined my testicles with his hands and did an ultrasound. Luckily, all came back negative. He found no actual lumps with either type of exam and diagnosed me with Epididymitis (swelling due to over exertion). He told me to try not to lift a lot and to have less sex.

The doctor was sort of blunt and I was not comfortable with him at all. I cried while he was examining me and he just kept examining, not even asking me if I was OK or if he was hurting me. The ultrasound was a miserable experience as the gel was really cold and again it was painful to deal with due to the pressure. Even though the exams were very unpleasant, I am glad I went. With my family history, any time I find anything unusual on my body I go directly to a doctor of some kind to be safe. I am glad that it was just an exertion thing and not cancer. With some NSAIDS, I was able to get the swelling down and the pain went away with it. I would not recommend this particular doctor to anyone because of his poor bedside manner, but I would recommend having the exam done to anyone in my situation.

If possible, get a referral from your doctor AND someone who has been to that doctor. If you have a family history of cancer, do not play with fire. If something doesn't feel right, have it looked at. Better paranoid than dead.