Post-treatment follow-up

After surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, regular monitoring of the patient's health is needed to detect relapse or progression in time. Long-term follow-up of patients after testicular cancer treatment is carried out by a general practitioner in consultation with oncologists and urologists.

In stage I non-seminomatous and seminomatous disease after radical orchofuniculectomy, active monitoring of the patient is one of the options for treatment tactics. Treatment would be initiated if a relapse (recurrence) is detected. If this tactic is chosen, regular tests for relevant cancer markers, abdominal CT scans and chest X-rays are performed. These tests are carried out according to a pre-determined schedule set by the doctor so that if the disease relapses, it can be detected as early as possible. The advantage of active surveillance is that chemotherapy, radiotherapy or retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy after radical orchidectomy is avoided.

In the case of non-seminoma, the above mentioned tests should be performed once every 2 months for the first two years and less frequently in the following years. In the case of seminoma, the tests are performed once every 4 months for the first 2-3 years and less frequently thereafter. Patients are actively followed up for at least 10 years after diagnosis.

Please note

If you notice something strange, don't wonder whether it's serious or not. Contact your GP directly who will refer you to a urologist. This will give you the chance to diagnose a possible disease early. Early diagnosis means a better chance of successful treatment, faster and easier treatment.

Men themselves can detect abnormalities in the testicles if they regularly carry out a testicular self-examination. It is essential to seek medical attention immediately if you feel a lump in the testicle or an enlarged, swollen testicle, if fluid accumulates, or if you feel heaviness, soreness or any other unusual sensation in the scrotum. Only ten per cent of men diagnosed with testicular cancer had a painful nodule in the testicle. These symptoms can occur for many reasons, most often not due to a malignant process. However, in every case, even if the enlarged testicle is not painful, the patient should be examined by a doctor. It should be remembered that testicular cancer is now almost always a curable disease, especially if detected in the early stages, and that later stages of the disease are often treated successfully. Treatment of the disease does not reduce sexual potency, and in most cases the possibility of having children remains.

Other symptoms may be related to testicular cancer, but may also be due to completely different causes:

lower abdominal or groin pain or dull aching,
back pain or soreness,
enlargement of the breasts or nipples (some testicular tumours produce female hormones),
chest pain, shortness of breath, expectoration of bloody sputum - after the disease has spread (metastases in the lungs).

In testicular diseases, they may include:

painful,
enlarged or shrunken,
nodules or fluid accumulation;
problems such as infertility, loss or loss of sexual potency.

More information: National Cancer Institute