Your treatment plan
If you have testicular cancer, your recommended treatment plan will depend on two factors:
The first treatment option for all cases of testicular cancer, whatever the stage, is to surgically remove the affected testicle (an orchidectomy).
In cases of stage one seminomas testicular cancer, after the testicle has been removed, a short course of radiotherapy may be given to prevent the cancer returning. In stage one non-seminomas testicular cancer, chemotherapy may be given.
In cases of stage two and stage three cancer, further surgery will be required to remove the affected lymph nodes. Three to four cycles of chemotherapy will then be given using a combination of different medications.
A similar treatment plan is used to treat stage four cancer. Additional surgery may also be required to remove tumours from other parts of the body, such as the lungs.
Deciding what treatment is best for you can be difficult. Your cancer team will make recommendations, but the final decision will be yours.
Before going to hospital to discuss your treatment options, you may find it useful to write a list of questions to ask the specialist. For example, you may want to find out what the advantages and disadvantages of particular treatments are.
Orchidectomy
An orchidectomy is the medical name for the surgical removal of a testicle. If you have testicular cancer, it is necessary to remove the whole testicle because only removing the tumour may lead to the cancer spreading. By removing the entire testicle, your chances of making a full recovery are greatly improved.
If you have testicular cancer that is detected in its very early stages, an orchidectomy may be the only treatment you require.
The operation is performed under general anaesthetic. A small incision (cut) is made in your groin and the whole testicle is removed through the incision. If you want, you can have an artificial (prosthetic) testicle inserted into your scrotum so that the appearance of your testicles is not greatly affected. The artificial testicle is usually made from silicone (a soft type of plastic).
After an orchidectomy, you will need to stay in hospital for a few days. If you only have one testicle removed, there should not be any lasting side effects. Your sex life and your ability to father children will not be affected.
If you have both testicles removed (a bi-lateral orchidectomy), you will be infertile. However, it is only necessary to remove both testicles in 1 in every 100 cases.
You may be able to bank your sperm before having a bi-lateral orchidectomy to allow you to father children if you decide to. See the box to the left for more information about sperm banking.
Testosterone replacement therapy
Having both testicles removed will also stop you from producing testosterone. This means that you will have a low libido (a decreased sex drive) and you will not be able to get or maintain an erection. In this case, you will require testosterone replacement therapy.
Testosterone replacement therapy is where you are given a synthetic version of the testosterone hormone to compensate for the fact that your testicles will no longer produce a natural version of the hormone.
Testosterone is usually given either as injections or skin patches. If you have injections, you will usually need to have them every two to three weeks. If you have testosterone replacement therapy, you will be able to maintain an erection and your sex drive.
Side effects of testosterone replacement therapy are uncommon and are usually mild. They include:
- oily skin, which can sometimes trigger the onset of acne
- enlargement and swelling of your breasts
- a change in your normal urinary patterns, such as needing to urinate more frequently or having problems passing urine (caused by an enlarged prostate gland which puts pressure on your bladder)
Lymph node surgery
If your testicular cancer is more advanced, it may spread to your lymph nodes. Your lymph nodes are part of your body's immune system, which help to protects it against illness and infection.
Lymph node surgery is carried out under general anaesthetic. The lymph nodes in your chest and abdomen are the most likely nodes that will need to be removed.
In some cases, the nerves that are near to the lymph nodes can become damaged, which means that rather than ejaculating semen out of your penis during sex or masturbation, the semen instead travels back into your bladder. This is known as retrograde ejaculation.
If you have retrograde ejaculation, you will still experience the sensation of having an orgasm during ejaculation, but you will not be able to father a child.
As with an orchidectomy, you may wish to bank your sperm before your operation, in case you become infertile.
Nerve-sparing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection
A new type of lymph node surgery, called nerve sparing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND), is increasingly being used because it carries a lower risk of causing retrograde ejaculation and infertility.
In nerve-sparing RPLND, the site of the operation is limited to a much smaller area. The advantage of limiting the site of the operation is that there is less chance of nerve damage occurring. The disadvantage is that by limiting the site of the operation, the surgery is much more technically demanding. Due to this, nerve-sparing RPLND is currently only available at specialist centres that employ surgeons with the required training.
There may be a long waiting list for nerve-sparing RPLND. However, in many cases, it may be too dangerous to delay surgery and ‘traditional lymph node surgery’ may be required.
Laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection
Laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (LRPLND) is a new type of ‘keyhole’ surgery that can be used to remove the lymph nodes. During LRPLND, the surgeon will make a number of small incisions (cuts) in your abdomen.
A special instrument called an endoscope is inserted into one of the incisions. An endoscope is a thin, long, flexible tube that has a light source and a video camera at one end, enabling images of the inside of your body to be relayed to an external television monitor.
Small, surgical instruments are passed down the endoscope and can be used to remove the affected lymph nodes.
The advantage of LRPLND is that there is less post-operative pain and a faster recovery time. Also, as with nerve-sparing RPLND, in LRPLND there is a smaller chance that nerve damage will lead to retrograde ejaculation.
However, as LRPLND is a new technique, there is little available evidence regarding the procedure’s long-term safety and effectiveness. If you are considering having LRPLND, you should understand that there are still uncertainties about how safe the procedure is and how well it works.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is a form of cancer therapy that uses high-energy beams of radiation to help destroy cancer cells. Most seminoma types of testicular cancer require radiotherapy as well as surgery. This is to help prevent the cancer from returning.
If your testicular cancer has spread to your lymph nodes, you may also require radiotherapy.
The side effects of radiotherapy can include:
- reddening and soreness of the skin, which is similar to sunburn
- nausea
- diarrhoea
- fatigue
These side effects are usually only temporary and should improve after you have completed your treatment.
See the Health A-Z topic about Radiotherapy for more information.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses anti-cancer medicines to kill the malignant (cancerous) cells in your body or stop them from multiplying.
If you have advanced testicular cancer or it has spread to other places in your body, you may require chemotherapy. It is also used to help prevent the cancer returning. Chemotherapy is most commonly used to treat non-seminoma tumours.
Chemotherapy medicines are usually injected or given orally (by mouth). Sometimes, chemotherapy medicines can attack your body’s normal, healthy cells. This is why chemotherapy can have many different side effects. The most common side effects of chemotherapy include:
- vomiting
- hair loss
- nausea
- sore mouth
- loss of appetite
- fatigue
- breathlessness
- infertility (usually temporary)
- ringing in your ears (tinnitus)
- skin that bleeds or bruises easily
- increased vulnerability to infection
- numbness and tingling (pins and needles) in your hands and feet
These side effects are usually only temporary and should improve after you have completed your treatment.
You should not father children while you are receiving chemotherapy and for a year after treatment has finished. Chemotherapy medications can temporarily damage your sperm, increasing your risk of fathering a baby with serious birth defects. Therefore, you will need to use a reliable method of contraception, such as a condom, during this time.
Condoms should also be used during the first 48 hours after having a course of chemotherapy. This is to protect your partner from any potential harmful effects of the chemotherapy medication in your sperm.
See the Health A-Z topic about Chemotherapy for more information.
Follow-up
Even if your cancer has been completely cured, there is a risk that it will later return. Around 25-30% of people will experience a return of the cancer, usually within the first two years after their treatment has finished.
Due to this risk, you will require regular tests to check whether the cancer has returned. These tests include:
- a physical examination
- blood tests
- chest X-ray
- computerised tomography (CT) scan
Testing is usually recommended every three months during the first year after treatment. After the first year, the tests will be less frequent, decreasing to twice a year, and then annually.
If the cancer does return and is diagnosed at an early stage, it will usually be possible to cure it using radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Some types of recurring testicular cancer have a cure rate of almost 100%.
