First, this is not a pity party thing. If things go that way, comments get turned off or this post disappears.
I finally got a GP, after 20 years without having a regular doctor. Drop-in clinics just don't cut it. So I see him, and he gives me a pretty thorough checkup. If you know what I mean. And he pauses, and checks again. He says there's something he's feeling, while examining a nut.
Not the kind of thing you want to hear. He explains that it's most likely nothing, but it's worth checking it out. He writes up an order for a scrotal ultrasound. I didn't even know that was a thing.
I book the ultrasound, and go to the appointment. Super easy procedure. The tech took about 10 minutes, to get a full image. A couple days later, I get a call from my doctor. He wants to talk about the results. I think to myself "that's good news, right?"
I meet the doctor as soon as I can, which is a couple days after the call. Not great sleep in the meantime.
He tells me they found something. That it's not necessarily a tumor. But if it is a tumor, odds are that it's cancer, based on where it is. They can't do a biopsy, due to the type of mass or something - they're scared that a biopsy would just spread the cells. If it's malignant, that'd be Bad.
So, we get to play a waiting game. Another ultrasound in a few months, to compare. If it's a tumor, it'll be bigger, and we can figure out what to do then.
It's not easy to be calm about this. I've had freakouts. It's scary having to think about this stuff, feeling like my body has betrayed me, and hoping it turns out to be nothing.
So, really, I don't have any information. We wait. But I wanted to tell everyone to get their stuff checked. I don't think of a 42 year old guy as being the poster child for this kind of thing. But here I am. Something on a nut that probably shouldn't be there.
I'm going to try documenting the process. This shouldn't be a secret, and sharing it might help someone.
Get your stuff checked.