He avoided them: Testicular cancer

Dr. Sandra Scantling’s story of her brother’s legacy:

I wasn’t always an only child. I once had a brother, Stephan Wolfe. He died of testicular cancer when he was only 35.

Stephan was nearly 6-foot-4 with an enormously powerful frame. Everything about him was large—his smile, his generosity and his heart. He seemed invincible, and he was the younger sibling. He was never sick a day in his life—or so he claimed.

He was a devoted husband and a terrific brother—but he did have one tragic flaw: He was afraid of doctors and hospitals. He avoided them.

I found out much later that he had a painless swelling in his testicular area that he apparently ignored for months. In the end, this avoidance probably cost him his life.

Stephan had his cancerous testicle removed (an "orchiectomy"). His lymph nodes were clean, and the pathologist determined the cancer—seminoma--was highly curable.

He told me that he only needed a year’s follow-up and no further treatment. No radiation. No chemotherapy. He asked for my support. "It’s my life, Sandy," he said.

After his death, I learned that he had refused further treatment, insisting in his own stubborn way that he would be fine. He didn’t want to become a cancer patient—so he chose to do it his way.

He only lived three more months.

Suffering is witnessing and supporting someone you love make decisions—or fail to make decisions—that affect the length or quality of their lives. The survivor guilt is especially painful with all of the unanswered questions of "why" and "if only."

Advice to siblings: Make sure your brothers know the signs of testicular cancer; see http://tcrc.acor.org/tcexam.html.

Pay attention to change of any kind:
Any enlargement, or significant shrinking, of a testicle;
A feeling of heaviness in the scrotum;
A dull ache in the lower abdomen or groin;
A sudden collection of fluid in the scrotum;
Pain or discomfort in a testicle or scrotum;
Enlargement or tenderness of the breasts.


Read a much happier story about testicular cancer, or read Dr. Sandra Scantling’s source story in the July 1 Hartford Courant.