Movement will keep your muscles conditioned and help you deal with the pain. Pace your activities during the day, and include rest and stretch breaks. Include relaxation techniques in your daily routine.
Full Answer
How can I manage pain during cancer treatment?
Controlling pain is an important part of your cancer treatment plan. Pain can suppress the immune system, increase the time it takes your body to heal, interfere with sleep, and affect your mood. Talk with your health care team about pain, especially if: the pain makes it hard to eat, sleep, or perform your normal activities
What can I expect after testicular cancer surgery?
Possible problems after testicular cancer surgery depend on which type of operation you have. You’ll have follow up appointments to check your recovery and sort out any problems. They‘re also your opportunity to raise any concerns you have about your progress.
Should I tell my cancer team about my pain?
It’s important that you tell your cancer team about any pain you have and to describe it the best way you can. Even severe pain can be controlled well by combinations of medicines that can be taken by mouth. Pain medicines work best if they are taken on a regular schedule before the pain becomes severe.
What to do if a patient is in pain after radiation?
Watch the patient for signs of pain. Ask the patient about pain if you notice grimacing, moaning, tension, or reluctance to move around in bed. Try warm baths or warm washcloths on painful areas. (Avoid areas where radiation was given.)
How long does it take for testicular cancer to heal?
After a couple of days you can usually start to move around. You will be able to go home after about 7 to 10 days. It can take a few weeks for the wound to fully heal. And you will need to avoid strenuous exercise and heavy lifting for at least 6 weeks.
How long does testicular surgery pain last?
The incision will ooze fluid for 2 to 3 days. You can expect to feel better each day, although you may have some mild to moderate pain for several days after surgery. You may need pain medicine during this time. Your scrotum will be swollen after surgery.
What happens after testicular cancer is cured?
After treatment ends, you will have regular appointments to monitor your health, manage any side effects and check that the cancer hasn't come back or spread. During these check-ups, you will usually have a physical examination and you may have blood tests, x-rays or scans.
What are the odds of testicular cancer returning?
Despite the surgery, about 10% of testicular cancers come back even if the lymph nodes were not found to have cancer. If lymph nodes with cancer are found during the RPLND, 2 courses of chemotherapy (see below) can help lower the chance of recurrence to about 1%.
Can you get an erection without testes?
Having one testicle removed need not diminish or reduce sex drive or erections. But because the testicles produce male hormones, men who have lost both of their testes may experience a reduction in sex drive and difficulty in getting and/or maintaining an erection.
How do you shower after testicle surgery?
You may take showers. Pat the cut (incision) dry. Do not take a bath for 2 weeks or until your doctor tells you it is okay. Ask your doctor when it is okay for you to have sex.
Can you live a normal life after testicular cancer?
This is one of the most treatable cancers. About 95% of men will survive more than 5 years after it's diagnosed. That gives you plenty of room to think about your life after surgery.
Can you live a normal life after testicular cancer surgery?
Most people are able to have a normal sex life after having testicular cancer. You will need time to get over surgery, or any other treatment. The side effects you have will depend on what treatment you have.
Is it common to get testicular cancer twice?
Compared with most men in the general population, testicular cancer survivors are up to twice as likely to develop a new cancer outside the testicle. The chance of a second cancer changes over time and depends on which treatments were used and how old the patient was when he was treated.
Is testicular cancer completely curable?
Can testicular cancer be cured? Testicular cancer is curable. While a cancer diagnosis is always serious, the good news about testicular cancer is that it is treated successfully in 95% of cases. If treated early, the cure rate rises to 98%.
What is the life expectancy of someone with testicular cancer?
The general 5-year survival rate for people with testicular cancer in the United States is 95%. This means that 95 out of every 100 people diagnosed with testicular cancer will live at least 5 years after diagnosis.
How do you know if testicular cancer has returned?
Generally, because the entire testicle is removed, it's pretty rare that cancer will return locally. Your blood test results are important too. Doctors can notice signs — like a rising beta-hCG or AFP in your blood — that may indicate that cancer has returned.
What happens if testicular cancer comes back?
If the cancer comes back. If the cancer does recur at some point, your treatment options will depend on where the cancer is located, what treatments you’ve had before , and your health. For more information on how recurrent cancer is treated, see Treatment Options for Testicular Cancer, by Type and Stage.
What to do if you have testicular cancer?
If you have (or have had) testicular cancer, you probably want to know if there are things you can do that might lower your risk of the cancer growing or coming back, such as exercising, eating a certain type of diet, or taking nutritional supplements.
How to plan for cancer survivorship?
Talk with your doctor about developing a survivorship care plan for you. This plan might include: 1 A suggested schedule for follow-up exams and tests 2 A schedule for other tests you might need in the future, such as early detection (screening) tests for other types of cancer, or tests to look for long-term health effects from your cancer or its treatment 3 A list of possible late- or long-term side effects from your treatment, including what to watch for and when you should contact your doctor 4 Diet and physical activity suggestions 5 Reminders to keep your appointments with your primary care provider (PCP), who will monitor your general health care
What tests are done to check for cancer?
During these visits, your doctors will examine you and ask questions about any problems you're having. Lab tests and/or imaging tests (such as chest x-rays and CT scans) will be done to look for signs of cancer or treatment side effects. Radiation treatment and some of the chemo drugs commonly used for testicular cancer have side effects.
Why is it important to follow up after testicular cancer?
Follow-up care is extremely important after treatment of testicular cancer because even if it comes back, it’s still often curable. This is why finding it early is so important. Your health care team will explain what tests you need and how often they should be done.
What tests are done to detect relapse?
Imaging tests (such as CT scans and chest X-rays) are also done to help find relapse as early as possible. As time goes on, these visits and tests will be done less often. Depending on the type of treatment you've had, you may also need follow-up for the possible complications of treatment.
How long does it take for cancer to come back?
Report any new or recurring symptoms to your doctor right away. Most of the time, if the cancer comes back, it does so in the first 2 years.
How does pain control help with cancer?
Pain control can improve quality of life. If you have pain from cancer that has spread or other long-term cancer pain, it can exhaust you. This type of pain can keep you from doing things that you want and need to do.
What does it mean when you have cancer pain?
When people say they are having pain, it usually means they’re hurting somewhere. But it can also mean that they just can’t get comfortable. They could be feeling bad in general, not in any one place.
What to do if pain medicine doesn't work?
If the prescribed pain medicines don’t work as expected, let your cancer team know. Rate your pain using a pain rating scale, such as 0 = no pain to 10 = the worst pain you can imagine. You can use this scale to explain your pain to others. Take your pain medicine exactly as prescribed.
How to help a patient who is forgetful?
Offer plenty of fluids and food with fiber. If the patient seems forgetful, help them track when pain medicines are due to avoid over- or under-dosing. Help the patient remember to take stool softeners or laxatives suggested to prevent constipation.
How long does it take for pain medicine to get better?
Some pain medicines make you sleepy or dizzy. This often gets better after a few days, but you may need help getting up or walking.
What does it mean when pain doesn't go away?
Pain that doesn’t seem to go away or that goes away and comes back before your next dose of pain medicine is due (This might mean that your medicine plan needs to be changed.) Trouble sleeping. Lack of interest in things you used to enjoy . New areas of pain or a change in your pain.
Can you crush pain pills?
Do not crush or break your pain pills unless you get the OK from your cancer team. If medicines are in time-release form, taking broken pills can be dangerous. If pain medicines are not keeping your pain under control, ask your cancer team about other measures. If you keep having trouble, ask to see a pain specialist.
Why is pain important for cancer patients?
Controlling pain is an important part of your cancer treatment plan. Pain can suppress the immune system, increase the time it takes your body to heal, interfere with sleep, and affect your mood.
How to treat pain?
Here are some steps you can take, as you work with your health care team to prevent, treat, or lessen pain: Keep track of your pain levels. Each day , write about any pain you feel. Writing down answers to the questions below will help you describe the pain to your doctor or nurse.
How does a doctor work with you?
Your doctor will work with you to develop a pain control plan that is based on your description of the pain. Taking pain medicine is an important part of the plan. Your doctor will talk with you about using drugs to control pain and prescribe medicine (including opioids and nonopioid medicines) to treat the pain.
What kind of doctor treats pain?
Specialists who treat pain often work together as part of a pain or palliative care team. These specialists may include a neurologist, surgeon, physiatrist, psychiatrist, psychologist, or pharmacist. Talk with your health care team to find a pain specialist. Ask about integrative medicin e.
What to do if your pain isn't getting better?
Talk with your health care team about pain, especially if: the pain isn’t getting better or going away with pain medicine. the pain comes on quickly. the pain makes it hard to eat, sleep, or perform your normal activities. you feel new pain.
Can you stop taking pain medicine?
Do not stop taking the pain medicine unless your doctor advises you to. Tell your doctor or nurse if the medicine no longer lowers the pain, or if you are in pain, but it’s not yet time to take the pain medicine. Meet with a pain specialist.
How long does it take for a wound to heal?
After a couple of days you can usually start to move around. You will be able to go home after about 7 to 10 days. It can take a few weeks for the wound to fully heal.
How long does it take for stitches to go out?
Your groin and scrotum may be uncomfortable for a week or so and you might need to take mild painkillers. You have your stitches taken out after about a week. Most men can go back to normal activities, including work, after 2 weeks.
What is the name of the unit where you come round after a lymph node removal?
After removing lymph nodes (retroperitoneal lymph node dissection) When you come round after the operation you might be in a high dependency unit (HDU) or intensive care unit (ICU). Your nurses will monitor you closely. This is usually only for one night before you move back to your ward.
What are the two prognostication models for testicular cancer?
There are two major prognostication models for testicular cancer: staging,
Where is stage 2 testicular cancer?
Stage II testicular cancer involves the testis and the retroperitoneal or peri-aortic lymph nodes usually in the region of the kidney. Retroperitoneal involvement should be further characterized by the number of nodes involved and the size of involved nodes. The risk of recurrence is increased if more than five nodes are involved or if the size of one or more involved nodes is more than 2 cm. Bulky stage II disease (stage IIC) describes patients with extensive retroperitoneal nodes (>5 cm), which portends a less favorable prognosis.
What is retroperitoneal lymph node?
Evaluation of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes, usually by CT scanning, is an important aspect of staging and treatment planning in adults with testicular cancer. [ 21, 22] Patients with a negative result have a substantial chance of having microscopic involvement of the lymph nodes. Nearly 20% of seminoma patients and 30% of nonseminoma patients with normal CT scans and serum tumor markers will subsequently relapse if not given additional treatment after orchiectomy. [ 23 - 25] For nonseminoma patients, retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) increases the accuracy of staging but as many as 10% of men with normal imaging, normal tumor markers, and benign pathology at RPLND will still go on to relapse. [ 26] About 25% of patients with clinical stage I nonseminomatous testicular cancer will be upstaged to pathologic stage II with RPLND, and about 25% of clinical stage II patients will be downstaged to pathologic stage I with RPLND. [ 26 - 28] In prepubertal children, the use of serial measurements of AFP has proven sufficient for monitoring response after initial orchiectomy. Lymphangiography and para-aortic lymph node dissection do not appear to be useful or necessary in the proper staging and management of testicular cancer in prepubertal boys. [ 29] (Refer to the PDQ summary on Childhood Testicular Cancer Treatment for more information.)
What is stage 3 cancer?
Stage III implies spread beyond the retroperitoneal nodes based on physical examination, imaging studies, and/or blood tests (i.e., patients with retroperitoneal adenopathy and highly elevated serum tumor markers are stage III). Stage III can be further stratified based on the location of metastasis and the degree of elevation of serum tumor markers. In the favorable group (IIIA), metastases are limited to lymph nodes and lung, and serum tumor markers are no more than mildly elevated. Stage IIIB patients have moderately elevated tumor markers, while stage IIIC patients have highly elevated markers and/or metastases to liver, bone, brain or some organ other than the lungs. These subclassifications of stage III correspond to the International Germ Cell Consensus Classification system for disseminated germ cell tumors. [ 2]
What percentage of testicular tumors are seminomas?
[ 1] . Less than 50% of malignant testicular germ cell tumors have a single cell type, of which roughly 50% are seminomas.
How many people fathered children after testicular cancer?
In two, large studies, roughly 70% of patients actually fathered children after treatment for testicular cancer. [ 33, 34] The likelihood of recovering fertility is related to the type of treatment received.
How many people will die from testicular cancer in 2021?
Incidence and Mortality. Estimated new cases and deaths from testicular cancer in the United States in 2021: [ 1] New cases: 9,470. Deaths: 440. Testicular cancer is a highly treatable, usually curable, cancer that most often develops in young and middle-aged men. Most testicular cancers are germ cell tumors.
How long does cancer pain last?
For those who have lived with cancer, it is no surprise that cancer-related pain often continues for months or years after treatment has ended.
What is pain management?
Pain management includes a number of interventions that can help restore well-being or make small improvements in a person’s quality of life. There is so much variation and personal perception when it comes to pain; this is why clinicians need to be sensitive to a person’s experience and history of pain when they develop a treatment plan.
What is the shadow of pain?
Similarly, the shadow of pain follows those living with cancer as a chronic illness, who have an uncertain future or face relapses and periods of remission. What this means is that doctors treating people with cancer need to know about the chronic pain syndromes from cancer treatment.
Why do doctors need to engage in a productive dialogue with cancer patients?
Doctors and cancer patients and survivors need to engage in a productive dialogue at every visit to uncover any causes or contributors to pain. Then, they may come up with solutions that are acceptable and provide relief.
Is it difficult to talk about pain?
It is difficult to talk about pain. It can be impossible to find words to describe unpleasant or unbearable feelings and sensations. Pain is subjective and fluid. It may be incapacitating one moment and gone the next, or it can be a constant and unwelcome companion. Researchers who study pain understand this very well and consider pain ...
Is pain a natural part of human life?
Researchers who study pain understand this very well and consider pain when they design clinical trials. Some people believe that pain is a natural aspect of being human and are prepared to accept some pain for some time. For others, pain is frightening and devastating and something that must be extinguished using whatever means available.
Can stem cell transplant patients have pain?
Survivors who have had stem cell transplantation may face painful syndromes that are managed with lifestyle changes and chronic use of medications. Doctors sometimes worry about the dangers that come with prescribing pain medications, so a collaborative approach is absolutely essential.
What is the best treatment for a tumor?
Taking a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug like Celebrex or meloxicam can offer relief . Ibuprofen and acetaminophen can help treat less severe pain and are available over-the-counter.
Does alcohol cause pain in the spine?
Patients with cancer in the abdomen or with carcinomatosis (which is when cancer has spread widely throughout the body) may have severe pain caused by tumors pressing on the spine or organs. In those cases, a neurolytic procedure may help. With this method, alcohol is injected around the nerves that are causing pain. The alcohol burns off the nerves and prevents them from sending pain signals to the brain.
Does spinal cord stimulation help with nerve pain?
Spinal cord stimulation may help patients with extreme nerve pain like burning, stabbing, or tingling that isn’t relieved by medication. “Similar to a pacemaker, spinal cord stimulation uses an implanted battery-operated device to deliver mild electrical signals to the spine,” Osuagwu explains. The electrical signals modify peripheral input from painful areas, which masks pain signals before they can reach the brain.