Testicular cancer: conventional medical treatment

[ --- Nota bene: Unless stated otherwise all information listed on this page was written and provided by a TC patient and not by a doctor. Although it was collected with great attention it cannot and shall in no way replace your visit to your local doctor! --- ]

The conventional treatment of testicular cancer will probably comprise of one or multiple of the following treatment options:

• Surgery: Orchiectomy
  The final diagnosis of testicular cancer will most likely be made by the temporary removal of the testicle out of the scrotum. Depending on the outcome of this check the doctors may decide to put the testicle back to its place or to remove it immediately during the operation. The latter is called an orchiectomy.
  The full removal of one testicle does not affect your ability to get an erection or to father children.
  
  
• Chemotherapy
  Chemotherapy "is the use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. They work by disrupting the growth of cancer cells and as they circulate in the blood, they can reach cancer cells all over the body. ... The chemotherapy drugs are given by injection into a vein (intravenously).
  Chemotherapy is given as a course of treatment, and may last for a few days or longer, depending on the type of chemotherapy. This is followed by a rest period of a few weeks, which allows your body to recover from any side effects of the treatment. Chemotherapy for testicular cancer will usually mean spending a few days in hospital every three weeks ... " (© www.cancerbacup.org.uk)
  
  
• Bone marrow transplantation/high dose chemotherapy
  "For autologous bone marrow transplant, bone marrow is taken from the patient and treated with drugs to kill any cancer cells. The marrow is then frozen and the patient is then given high-dose chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to destroy all of the remaining marrow. The marrow that was taken out is then thawed and given back to the patient through a needle in a vein to replace the marrow that was destroyed."
  (© CancerNET UK)
  
  
• Radiation therapy
  "In radiation therapy, high energy rays are used to damage cancer cells and stop their growth. Like surgery, radiation therapy is a local treatment; it affects only the cells in the treated area. The patient usually receives radiation therapy as an outpatient."
  (© www.acor.org/TCRC)
  
  
• Surgery: Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND)
  It is now common sense that testicular cancer usually spreads via a predictable route: from the testes into the lymph nodes of the retroperitoneum (the cavity of the body between the chest and the pelvis at your back), then upwards into the lungs, further into the liver and brain and elsewhere.
  Depending on the type and stage of the cancer there may be reason to remove the respective lymph nodes. Check the following scheme for further details.
  
  
• Further surgery
  Further surgery is sometimes needed to remove any disease that may still be in the chest after chemotherapy or radiotherapy have been given. This refers mainly to cancer cells that have spread into the area above the retroperitoneum, i.e. lungs or liver.
  
  
• Surveillance and further treatment
  If your cancer has not yet spread it may be feasable to just observe and not to apply chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
  You have to stick to a surveillance protocol that defines when and in which intervals you need a check of your tumor markers, a chest x-ray and an abdominal CT scan.
  This procedure also applies to all patients that underwent any type of treatment. It is very important that you see the outpatients clinic regularly because in some patients the disease may come back.

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