Conventional treatment and adjuvant treatment of testicular cancer

Many patients become very distressed after discovering that they have testicular cancer, because they do not know that testicular cancer can be cured. Currently, there are many methods for treating testicular cancer clinically. The methods for treating testicular cancer are very important. What are the specific conventional treatments and auxiliary treatments for testicular cancer? Please see the following content.

1. Surgery for testicular cancer

The procedure of removing part of a testicle through the groin is called a terminal inguinal orchiectomy. Men who undergo this treatment may worry that removing one testicle will affect their sexual ability and may cause infertility. However, men with only one healthy testicle can still have normal erections and produce sperm. Therefore, surgical removal of one testicle will not make a man impotent or infertile. During the surgery, the doctor can place an artificial testicle in the scrotum. This artificial testicle weighs and feels like a normal testicle, and the uninformed person cannot tell the difference between an artificial testicle and a natural testicle by appearance. Some lymph nodes deep in the abdomen are also removed. Although this surgery does not affect the man's normal erection and orgasm, it can cause infertility because it may prevent ejaculation.

2. Radiation therapy for testicular cancer

Radiation therapy is a method of using high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink the tumor. Radiation therapy is a local treatment, which affects only cancer cells in the treated area. When treating testicular cancer, doctors use an accelerator outside the patient's body to send high-energy rays to the lymph nodes in the abdomen. Spermatogonia are very sensitive to radiation. Non-spermatogonia are not sensitive to radiation, so radiation therapy is not usually used for non-spermatogonia. Radiation therapy should be used after the orchiectomy. Radiation therapy affects not only cancer cells, but also normal cells. The side effects of radiation therapy are usually determined by the dose of treatment. Common side effects include fatigue, skin changes in the treated area, nausea, and diarrhea. Radiation therapy can affect the patient's sperm production, but most patients will still be able to have children for 1 to 2 years.

3. Chemotherapy for testicular cancer

Chemotherapy is a method of killing cancer cells throughout the body with anticancer drugs. Chemotherapy is often used after surgery to kill any cancer cells that remain after surgery. This method is called adjuvant therapy. Chemotherapy can also be used as the first treatment if the cancer is in an advanced stage. Most anticancer drugs are given by injection directly into a vein.

Only by understanding these treatments of testicular cancer can you receive correct treatment when you are sick and avoid falling into treatment misunderstandings. I hope that every testicular cancer patient will not ignore treatment when they are sick. Correct treatment and care are the key to effective recovery from the disease.