In 1997 when I was 30, I started to have pain in my breast area, the main time this happened was when my children climbed in bed beside me in the mornings, they tended to lever themselves up with an elbow on my chest!! I booked an appointment with my GP, Dr John Dorward. I gave him my symptoms and he said I either had an alcohol problem or there were a “couple of cells in my body producing hormones, causing an imbalance”! I knew I didn’t have a drink problem and he had basically told me I had a tumour without telling me!! Clever man!
I went to the Borders General Hospital in Melrose on the 5th November to have an ultrasound scan on my liver and testicles. One of my testicles showed up as one colour on a dark background, the other had black spots on the screen. The ultrasound nurse said “that’s your problem, that’s coming out”!!
I waited and saw the surgeon an hour later who examined me but could feel nothing. He told me that was a good thing because that’s how quick it had been detected.
I was taken in for an operation the next week and my right testicle was removed. 2 days later I was home and waited on biopsy results to see what further treatment was required. On the 22nd December it was decided that even though it was a combination of Terratoma and Seminoma, there would be no further treatment.
I was monitored regularly at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh for the next 6 years and fortunately no further problems.
I was very lucky and maybe wouldn’t have been if I’d had a lump etc. I went in to the doctor with sore boobs!!!! I always look at symptoms for testicular cancer but I haven’t seen berast pain as one of the syptoms.
I hope this is a help to someone.