Community

The main symptom of testicular cancer is a swelling or a lump on one of your testicles. There are a number of causes for swelling of the testicles but a solid feeling lump is more likely to be cancer. To be certain you are advised to see your GP if you find any adnormalities in your testicles Swellings in the scrotum (the sack of skin surrounding the testicles) are quite common and most of these are not cancer, particularly if they are separate from the testicles themselves. If your GP thinks it is necessary, he/she will arrange an urgent appointment with a specialist called a urologist for a second opinion.If you have any concerns or worries please feel free to contact our National Cancer Helpline on Freefone 1800 200 700 (Mon - Thurs 9 - 7, Fri 9 til 5 ) and speak with one of our nurses trained in cancer care.

It is important to remember that blood in a bowel movement does not always mean that you have cancer. There can be other causes, e.g. haemorrhoids or piles. Bowel cancer usually occurs in people over the age of 50 so if younger people experience this symptom it is usually due to other bowel problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or ulcerative colitis. It is important however to get this symptom checked by your doctor. Other symptoms of bowel cancer can include weight loss, a change in your bowel habit that lasts a long time (6 weeks), feeling of sickness, a bloated feeling or pain in your stomach. National Cancer Helpline Freefone 1800 200 700 (mon-thurs 9am-7pm, fri 9am-5pm)

Well, I am interested in hearing your story. How old are you? Where do you live? What type of breast cancer do you have? Which treatments did you get? For me it is quite interesting to see how women in other countries are teated. So I hope we can help each other by using this forum. Okay, my name is Sabine. I live in Germany. When I got the diagnosis I was 35 years old. Triple hormon negative, G3 tumor, 1,6cm. I had to go through chemo first (4x EC, 4x Taxan - just have the German words, sorry), then surgery and then radiation treatment (36x). In Germany women are sent on a socalled Heilbehandlung. You go to a place for about 3 weeks where you do sports and get special lectures on the subject breast cancer and things like that. It is to recover from the treatments and to make you get back into social and work life. That's what I did. I finished all my treatments in June 2007. In Germany women with breast cancer go to health checks every 3 month after their treatments were finished. You get ultrasound checks and every 6 month mammography on the side where you had the tumor. Every 12 month the other side is checked as well. I am looking forward to hearing from other women with breast cancer. Sorry for my English...

HIFU stands for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound. Traditionally HIFU was used as a secondary (salvage) treatment following surgery or radiotherapy, but evidence now suggests that it can be of benefit to men with localised prostate cancer. Suitability for treatment depends on multiple variables including PSA (prostate specific antigen), prostate volume, biopsy results, the tumour grade and stage, the individual's general health and age, specialist advice and patient preference. Unfortunately HIFU treatment is not available in Ireland as yet, but some men have travelled to the UK for treatment. To date the outcomes of HIFU are promising but further research with long term follow-up is necessary. If you are interested in HIFU treatment, have a chat with your urologist and ask if it is an option for you. For further information on HIFU, please contact the freefone Prostate Cancer Information Service at 1800 380 380 Mon-Thurs, 9am-7pm, Fri 9am-5pm and speak with one of our nurses trained in cancer care.

Hi there! Does anybody out there know if its okay to take Sage supplement for hot flushes while on Tamoxifen? I'd be grateful for any insight Thanks Resolute

Hi, I am new to this message board but am looking for help. I Lost my mum to breast cancer, it is coming up to the fourth year anniversary and I am still lost in grief, what is wrong with me, I know part of it is that I cant accept that she is gone I so dont want her to be

Hi, My mum has recently been diagnoised with a localised advance tumour in her stomach. She is having trouble keeping food down & losing weight. Any tips for helping her to keep the food down or stop the weight lose would be greatfully appreciated. Also any positive stories or ideas as to how i could help her would also be appreciated. Thanks

my mam was diagnosed just over two years ago with myeloma, cancer of the blood. at that time she was given 4 years to live...this changed everything for everyone, no one realised how sick she was, she had even put it down to menopause, just lack of energy and had gotten used to the pain. shes the strongest woman i know. She got very sick over the last 2 years,she recieved lots of intensive chemo and then a stem cell transplant,which seemed to work, she looks and feels so much better and had so much belief in it that she was convinced she'd get ten to 15 yrs instead..we all kinda believed it, until a recent doctor visit gave her a more "realistic" view. Then three weeks ago, her mother, my grandmother whos lived with us for the past 18 years was diadnosed with pancreatic cancer. we havent told her yet, but i think she knows. i dont live in the family home, havent for nearly 7 years and i dont seem to be able to grasp the possitive attitude the rest of them are portraying. i admire them for it of course, but when i do come to visit i end up getting so sad and frustrated that i blow up at the silliest things and cause arguments or tension when its the last thing i want to do. we never really talked about feelings or emotions growing up, im fine arond my friends but im not very good at expressing myself with my family. In between my rants or arguments i catch myself looking at these two women who have rared and shaped and influenced me so much, and i can see the day when im looking at where they used to sit, or the bedrooms they decorated, or the cup they liked...and i can see me kicking myself for carrying on the way i do now...but i dont know what else to do, im so angry all the time and so afraid to let them know how im feeling incase i upset them, i dont want either of them to hurt any more. Everyones bein so positive and they'r all living near eachother so it seems normal to them, moving home isnt an option. i joined this sight for information and already feel a little less isolated after reading some other members topics. i could really use advise....

surviving pancreatic cancer hi everybody first post i was diagnosed with inoperable panc ca in july 2005 given months to live told it was metastatic first time i ever heard word agreed to trial m200 and gemcetibine every monday lasted 1 year stopped due to effects of chemo and trial worked 3 day week throuout year but struggled jump to july 2008 working fulltime but tumour getting bigger went to hospital massive blood loss into tumour doctors then questioned how i was working and gaining weight given 2 biopsys and told it was neuroendocryne and operated spleen tail of panc removed told if it grew any bigger could not have operated follow up ct and ostre scans no cancer cells walked my daughter down isle 27 feb 2009 didnt think possible there is always hope

Hi, I'm hoping to contact someone in the Tallaght area who has experience with throat cancer and coming to terms with using a peg. I would be very grateful if anyone can help. Thanks.