Testicular lumps

So I’m 16 I saw a video on tiktok about testicular cancer. I took a warm shower and just felt my balls and found a little lump that is harder then my balls but not rock solid. I’m not sure what I should do.

I'm hoping I'm out of the woods with cancer now, though there's a chance I'm not, but I've posted a little here and found everyone's stories and information really useful, even just on an emotional level, so I thought I'd share mine.
I'm an immigrant to Canada and this is my first real experience of Canadian healthcare so I thought I'd contextualise that too.
April 4, 2024: I was bathing leisurely in the tub smoking a joint (fuck yeah, Canada!) when I noticed my left testicle was hard. The right one was normal and squishy. I was high as hell so I gave them a very paranoid examination. Didn't find a lump, so didn't consider cancer. Figured it was a weird thing that would go away.
April 5: I noticed an aching sensation in my groin but put it down to being a little too vigorous in my examination. However the sensation didn't subside the next day (April 6) so I booked an appointment with my GP/Family Doctowhatever you wanna call your regular doctor. I didn't mark it as urgent or anything so I had to wait a week to see her.
Over the next week the sensation didn't subside, in fact the discomfort was growing. Perhaps I was more aware of it, but sometimes I even felt I was walking a little funny.
April 12: Saw my GP. She had a good ol' fondle and didn't think anything was unusual but booked me in for an ultrasound, and also did an STI test (negative!).
That was a Friday, I had my ultrasound on Monday April 15th.
April 16th I get a notification for a phone appointment with my doctor on April 17th. My doctor prefers to only do phone appointments for emergencies and mental health... so this set alarm bells ringing.
April 17th my doctor called me and told me my ultrasound was concerning and that she was sending me to a urologist at Princess Margaret Hospital.
Friday April 19 I get a call from the urologist at Princess Margaret. I'd taken the day off and intended to make the most of it so asked if I could come in the following week. They made it quite clear I should definitely come in that same day.
Cue: panic attacks. I've had anxiety disorders in the past but until this point I hadn't seriously considered cancer, and when a cancer hospital tells you to come in *that day* in a country known for slow healthcare... well I called my doctor to get a new lorazepam prescription.
I went in to see the urologist, Dr Robert Hamilton. He was awesome, and it turns out one of the top testicle doctors in North America. I have since been reading research papers on TC and his name is almost always in the authors list.
Dr Hamilton examined me and pretty much instantly said "Oh yeah, thats definitive". He sat me down and explained that there was a 95% chance I had testicular cancer, that the treatment is an orchiectomy, and that he would get me into surgery as soon as he could. He offered a prosthetic, I declined. I just didn't want something fake in my body -- that's a personal choice, no judgement on either from me. I just didn't want it.
He referred me for bloodwork. The bloodwork came back that same day: All well within normal range. HCG 2. AFP 1.8. LDH 185.
At this point I started corresponding with Dr H's assistant, Kerry, who was also awesome and kept me totally up to date on finding a surgery slot. They had been considering adding me "to the board", meaning I would be triaged as an emergency surgery, if they couldn't find a spot within a couple of weeks.
In the end they got me a slot with Dr Zlotta at Mount Sinai, which is just across the street from Princess Margaret. The date was set for May 2nd.
Dr Zlotta, it turned out, was headhunted from Belgium for his expertise in testicular cancer (although he's more of a prostate guy now). He wanted to meet me before surgery, so I went to Mount Sinai and he talked me through the process and recovery, and just got to know me and my partner a little better.
I should probably note I was freaking out the whole time and quashing panic attacks with medication.
Surgery:
Prep: Nil by mouth from midnight the night before. No alcohol or cannabis for 24 hours before. I was allowed my lorazepam, which I took. They encouraged it because they didn't want me having panic attacks in the hospital!
My surgery was at 8am. I had to arrive at the hospital at 6am. I did not sleep well the night before.
I confess that the day of surgery is a little blurry, but I had to put one of those embarrassing gowns on. I was seen by various different nurses and staff who asked me which testicle it was about 6 times (weirdly not very reassuring) and then marked my left hand with pen.
I remember walking into the operating room and seeing a bunch of faces I didn't recognise, being asked to lie on the table, and then having the mask fitted with oxygen etc. They all immediately recognised I was on the edge of a panic attack and started asking me about my tattoos to distract me.
Then I woke up, sitting sort of upright in the recovery area. I had been "conscious" for a while, but not really. The first thing I said was "is [partner's name] ok?" ... which prompted them to fetch my partner. She handed me my glasses and I confidently thanked her. I said "Face!".
I still remember saying thanks. I really thought I said thanks.
I wasn't allowed to leave until I peed, so I made a nurse keep bringing me large cups of tea. The nurse was also quite liberal with the IV hydromorphone so I felt *fucking great* at this point.
Eventually I could pee. I wanted to check my junk out so I walked myself to the bathroom, rather than use a little pot by the bed. It looked... weirdly normal, if a little bruised. I could barely tell the ball was gone at this point.
My partner went and got the car while an attendant wheeled me out of the hospital. We went home. It was about 130pm by now.
I don't remember a lot from that day, I was high as hell on opiates and anesthetic. I called my friend in the UK and had a cheerful natter in the sunshine on my patio. I had no idea how much pain I was about to be in.
May 3rd: Recovery begins.
I couldn't even sit up in bed. I woke up in so much pain I couldn't really speak. My partner asked if I wanted pain meds, to which I replied through gritted teeth "yes. now."
When the hydromorphone kicked in I drifted back off to sleep, but eventually forced myself to get up.
The following week was a process of gradually feeling less pain and slowly being able to walk. I don't know how some of you guys are able to feel normal after a couple of days, perhaps it's cause I'm older (34) than many of you, but recovery was kinda brutal.
The mental part was the hardest. I was super depressed, crying after friends visited. I just wanted to be left alone.
I am freelance so I tried to do some work in the week after surgery but as a creative worker I just didn't have the brain power. The drugs, the fatigue, the depression all just took it out of me.
I got the pathology back a few days later:
CS1 Seminoma. 1.8cm x 2cm x 1.9cm. Confined to testes, but with LVI.
Lepidemic involvement of the rete testes (still unsure about exactly what that means or the implications really).
I had a follow up appointment with Dr Zlotta two weeks later. He told me the pathology was excellent news and that he'd be "flabbergasted" if I was recommended chemo, or anything other than monitorning. I knew this already because I'd read Dr Hamilton's paper on what to recommend to stage 1 TC patients.
31st May: My follow up with Dr Hamilton. He was awesome, explained the potential treatment options (1xcarboplatin or monitoring). He strongly recommended just monitoring and explained that my relapse risk is somewhere between 7.5% and 19%, probably around 12-13% based on current research. He said chemo would only lower it by a few percent but has negative long term outcomes.
I chose monitoring. I'll have CT scans every 6 months for three years, then every year for another three, then again at 7 and 9 years. Then I'll be declared cured, assuming no relapse. I was told even if I relapse I have a 99%+ chance of survival.
So that's where I am now. I'm off the lorazepam and feeling much better mentally and physically. The scar itches but otherwise is healing really nicely.
My main takeaway: Make sure you take at least a week off work after surgery. You need it for your physical and mental health.
The other takeaway? My partner is fucking amazing and I fully intend to marry her. She was incredible from start to finish. I love her so much.
Finally: Canadian healthcare fucking rules when you really need it. I've paid a total of like $40 for some lorazepam and hydromorphones. (edit: and $150 for sperm banking)
I hope this helped. It's been a bewildering two months. Best of luck to everyone out there.
Edit: forgot to mention a couple of things:
I brought up my fatigue to Dr Hamilton on the 31st May and he got my testosterone levels measured. Super low, but not unhealthy. That's to be expected, but if it doesn't rise over the next year we'll talk TRT.
He also recommend I make a deposit at the sperm bank, so I did. That part cost $150. If I keep them frozen it'll be $300 a year, so in about 6 months I'll have my sperm examined to see if it is "gorgeous" (to quote Dr Hamilton), and then if its all good I can ditch it.

I had some occasional pain/discomfort from my right testis during certain movements for about 2 weeks (or maybe a bit more, can't remember exactly), but I wasn't noticing any other issue so I decided to just see if it went away for a little bit.
This week I noticed that that testis had gotten bigger, stiffer, and heavier. During self-examination I couldn't see any lumps or other unregular surface signs, it felt smooth and oval.
Today I did a testicular ultrasound. The radiologist said that there is some damage that needs an MRI with contrast to be examined properly, possibly due to an infection, but no obvious signs of tumors so far.
On the report for the right testis he wrote "heterogenous solidocystic formation with dispersed calcic spots with dimensions up to 35 x 27 mm with very pronounced vascularization in the examination with color doppler and B-flow. Minimal hydroceles evident".
For the left testis the report is all ok. He also adds "The bilateral inguinal regions exhibit some lymph nodes with preserved hilum in favor of the reactive nature [I translated this last part very roughly because I don't know what was meant exactly]".
I already have a urologist appointment scheduled as part of the public healthcare system, but it is 8 days from now.
My question is: how time-sensitive does this seem? Should I get an MRI and/or consulation sooner than that at a private clinic?
Also, any insight regarding potential diagnoses could be helpful. Does this have anything to do with orchitis? Chances of needing an orchitectomy?
EDIT: 22M

(20M) For starters I was born with one in the chamber. If I lose this nut I’m all out. I’m very scared today and I just want to outline some event to see what people think.
About 2 weeks ago I’m lifting and I realize my lower back right around my tailbone hurts a lot as I squat. I didn’t push it at all and I worked the rest of my day with a lot of back pain. It felt like I had just strained something back there so I thought nothing of it. At this point, 2 weeks later my back feels almost fine.
5 days ago I was with a girl and had a blue balls situation. My scrotum and abdomen killed for an hour or two after and I slept it off. This has happened to me a few times since I was 16. I usually just sleep it off.
1 day ago my scrotum felt sore. I thought nothing of it at first but it lasted around 3 hours. I looked up some causes. Testicular cancer of course came op so I began feeling my single nut frantically. I felt no hard lumps or anything. I’m not sure if my testicle changed in size because I don’t nt have another one to compare it to.
Today the same scrotum ache persisted. I’ve been paranoid all day. I know I should go to the doctor which I probably will. If I lose this nut I’m out of luck.
My only saving grace seems to be that I can’t feel a tumor. I’m still very worried though. These negative thoughts fill my head all day now.

Does anyone know much about AFP tumour markers?
I had a lump and raised AFP tumour marker in the blood, and so had an orchidectomy a couple of weeks ago. Had the results and the good (f*cking fantastic) news is that it is something called adenomatoid tumour. Benign.
But, what else could be causing that raised marker? Google (I know!) suggests a raised AFP is either testicular cancer or liver cancer, but it isn’t testicular cancer and I had my liver checked in a CT scan before the orchidectomy and it was clear.
Any advice? Are there any other causes of that marker being raised, or any other scans etc of the liver I should be pushing for?
Thanks!

24M, here go my list since 2020
I think it was/What it turned to be
Pneumonia- Just fear of vírus, felt i couldn't breathe
Chest Pain 1 : Heart Attack/ Costocondrithis
Coughing up Blood: Lung Cance It was just a inflamed throat caused by allergy
Lump at my balls: Testicular CanceJust an Ingrown hair
Abdomen Pulsating: Abnormal Aortical Aneurysm/Just too much gas passing
Rashes and skin peeling off on my penis: Syphlis/Just an allergic reaction to my New underwear i bought
Chest and arm pain: Heart Attack again/Just some muscles tearing off, i was working carrying heavy bags on a hotel.
PVC: Deadly Arrythmia/Just my SVT ablation recovery, it's normal to have some irregular beats at recovery.
Red Lines under my nail: Endocarditis/Just a Psoriasis combined with trauma
Fun Fact: I Discovered my recent lines under my nail were only dirty that's too deep it can't be remover by Just washing my Hands, while some are real, the majority were dirty lines.
Ps: This list shows how a simple thing can make us think at the worse everytime, like a Leg Pain, instead we think it only our leg needs is some rest, some of us think it is Deep Vein Thrombosis, a Clot that can be fatal if go to the lungs.
By this list i would be dead at the start if those contitions were real.

Hello, 19M here from the UK, so about 5 weeks ago, I started having testicular discomfort - Just a dull pain in my left testicle. I went to the GP to get it checked, no lumps or anything were present, they asked me to take an STI, which I did, and was negative - After that they prescribed me ofloxacin for a week, during the course of taking the medicine, I felt better, but once I finished the course, the dull pain came back.
I went back to the GP and asked for a ultrasound to be sure, I even had a course of doxycycline (which was kinda dumb, but I was scared) which again, made me feel better, but the pain came back after the medicine ended, and for general information, I haven’t had intercourse with anyone, but have received oral for which I panicked and bought the doxycycline.
Anyways, my main question is, that my ultrasound is scheduled in like 3 weeks, I’ve already have had the discomfort for 5 weeks now and it’s annoying/slightly concerning - should I just book a more expensive private ultrasound instead of the wait? Ive read infertility can be caused if this is left untreated for too long.
Thank you for your help!

so i’ve always been a worry wart about my nuts, and i’ve had a couple minor issues pertaining to them in the past. these include a varicocele on my left nut at the back of it and like 9 small angiokeratomas on my sack. obv had the varicocele checked out with ultra sound and all g, also raised my concerns with the angiokeratomas with gp as i was aware it was weird for someone my age (19 at the time) to have them. he wasn’t worried and told me to forget about it, put it down to trauma. i did. anyway now my right nut has been feeling a little out of sorts for months, also felt like there was a bit of a soft mass behind that testicle. about 6 months ago when i started noticing it i went to gp and he did an exam, said that it was just an anatomically larger epididymis and nothing to worry about. since then it’s not been a major worry until i had some particularly good sex 2 weeks ago roughly, while it was cold, which caused my nut to go full retract mode. since then it’s felt like it’s been a little sore and i’ve noticed from feeling around there it appears to be a slightly larger mass behind the testicle. it’s very much soft and feels fluid filled. kind of hard to feel tho unless it’s warm if you catch my drift. a bit of discomfort but not really pain, possibly a bit in my head too cause i’ve been thinking about it a lot. does any of this sound like cause for concern? i do intend to have it checked but can’t for at least a few days.

I 29 yr old have stage 1b non seminoma testicular cancer. Did the orchiectomy last month and today I just did my first day of chemo. Couldn't really sleep last night because of the fear of chemo. Went by myself and the whole routine felt normal. I always knew I'd get cancer. From the age of 19 I had this lump on my right testicle. I have terrible health anxiety I went to many doctors, specialist, hospitals had many test done CT scans, MRI, X ray, ultrasound, surgery etc. No signs of cancer on my testicle or anywhere else until recently about a month ago. I know realize how ridiculous it is to stress over it and I'm glad I made the right decision but too anyone going through this don't let it get you down because this cancer is treatable. Just make sure if you do feel any lumps get an ultrasound instead of asking people online.

Hi All, Not sure if this is the right place to ask so apologies for that but I’m lost for where to go!
Around 2 months ago I had some very sudden testicular pain and swelling around the bottom to top of my right testicle (following the tubes that run up the back of them to the top). This was first diagnosed with epididymitis and was told this was likely due to and STD being received from my new partner. However STD testing and urine samples proved this as the incorrect diagnosis and has lead me on a diagnostic frenzy ever since from the NHS urologists etc.
The swelling and pain was on and off lasting for hours at a time before fading and being painful enough that upon my next A&E visit and assessments by roughly 6 doctors in 45 mins, it was determined as testicular torsion but again the swelling and pain stopped after a few hours - as such I wasn’t put into theatre and a consultant specialist was called in who countered the diagnosis and said it was not TT due to the correct lie of the testicle and lack of continued swelling.
2 visits later within the week (including now the same symptoms occurring in my left testicle) and diagnosis became intermittent TT and was given appointment to have an ultrasound and to talk about future action - from the scan we found no issues nor hernias and a pea size lump which was determined to just be fluid above the testicle, we discussed surgery to fix the testicles in place however I opted against this as they couldn’t give me a solid confirmation this was the cause and would actually solve the issue and considering my uni exams ongoing at the given date I opted against this.
1 month and a half later and to date I have had repeated swelling and pain in the tubes above the testicles as well as around the testicles, switching from one side to the other to even both occurring simultaneously! Yesterday I had it again in both but this time it was accompanied by pain in my lower back near where I imagine the kidneys are as well as feeling like stomach discomfort.
If anyone has had anything similar any advice would be much appreciated as I am currently unsure if this could be more serious and the urologists cannot seem to find an answer!
Apologies for the long post I am just very mentally stressed from this and in constant fear of them swelling/hurting in my day to day life.

It all started about a year ago.
My testicle started to hurt. I didn't go to the doctor and the pain disappeared after some time. But then after few weeks pain relapsed again - several times. All this time I'm afraid I might have cancer.
I wanted to go to the doctor several times to finally check it out - but the pain usually went away just when I was about to do it... And I started living normally again until the pain returned.
I doesn't feel any hard lumps on my testicle, but sometimes I feel a rather soft lump next to or above my right testicle. I suspect it may be variocele. I finally have an appointment scheduled for Monday.
Is it possible for testicular cancer to cause pain that comes and goes?
And yes, I know well that I should have checked this a long time ago. I regret that I didn't do it. Life would be much better knowing what is happening.

I’m having very mild and dull aches in my groinal area. Not necessarily in my testicles but i feel its a lil bit behind my scrotum. I checked my testicles and my right testicle seems to have a minor lump, however I’m very uncertain given Im reading things on the internet and my mind is starting to project a lot of things to reality. I just might be delusional when I say I see a lump. I have back pain too (which is one of the symptoms) but then again I have recently started boxing and I got back pain from boxing drills but then again now that I read back pain is one of the symptoms I start to feel like it might be cancer. Any guidance/words of consolation? Even if I have testicular cancer is it treatable? Will I be able to maintain my reproduction ability afterwards?

Hi guys.
Well, I never thought I would post something like this, however, I just wanted to share my thoughts.
Recently I “graduated” med school (I write it in between “” since I know I have a long way to go still), and now I’m leaving my hometown, which is also where I was treated for testicular cancer, and my family, to keep on with my studies.
I feel very weird. When I was first diagnosed I was only focused on getting out. Then I finished chemotherapy and was left into the world by myself again with no explanation or instructions on how to live your life after cancer at a very young age. I remember I wasn’t able to plan ahead during those days - it was meaningless to my eyes, to me it didn’t make sense to go on with a life that could change or stop or could be put on hold all of a sudden, and planning ahead was really over for me.
So I guess I went by one day at a time. Eventually I was able to plan ahead but not more than a few days, and then a couple weeks. Maybe nowadays I’m capable of doing it by some months (way less than every six, if you get what I mean), but I’m just hanging in there.
Now leaving, if you would’ve told me back then that I was gonna leave to follow my dreams because I wanted to and planned so, I would’ve thanked you but not really believed you.
There are so many things after cancer. Life is so different now. Sometimes I mourn who I used to be before the lump, and life sucks so much (specially when I have to get scans and my mind is all over the place with my heart beating on insane speeds and my stomach telling me that things could get screwed but also my gut telling me that things will be ok at the end), but it also is somehow better than it used to.
I hope that you guys reading this, the ones going through, and the ones starting off, know that there will be an after. It might seem crazy or it might not even seem like there will be one at all, but trust, it’ll arrive.
Maybe you are gonna need to figure it out eventually, and it might take you some time too (like myself, still trying to figure some stuff out), but you will be okay. Things will be alright. You will survive, and then you’ll live and even leave too. BTW: Not an oncologist but a doctor willing to help with anything! :)

Had a lump checked this morning (Friday) and dr saying it’s testicular cancer after ultrasound.
Monday I have to do some fertility checks (sperm bank) and then Tuesday a CT scan to see how far it’s gone. Then told surgery to remove the testicle in the next two weeks.
I’m recently married and 30. Not sure how I feel right now and still trying to process. I hope I caught it early enough.
I just want to know more, how much this will impact my life and especially re fertility. Right now I don’t know if this is a fight for 6months or whatever. Do I need chemo? Etc etc
Fuck knows. Hoping this will be a community to help me through this. All very surreal right now. Feels like a bad dream

22 AMAB transgender male-to-female. Diagnosed with IIH. 5'10 360 lbs. Currently taking estradiol 2 mg twice daily, Diamox 250 mg 4 times daily, an iron supplement, a vitamin D supplement, a collagen/biotin supplement and Flonase as needed.
I’ve just recently started taking hormone replacement therapy (within the last month) and have been having testicular pain for about a week (three weeks into taking HRT). I initially thought this was due the shrinking of testicles associated with hormonal changes but am now unsure as it’s been constant for about a week and isn’t going away at all. Pain in testicles is worse when standing up, and when standing up I feel extremely light headed and like I am going to faint. Right testicle is sensitive to the touch while left is not. Recently had all vitamins checked and not terribly deficient in anything except iron and vitamin D (but the supplements have been helping). My doctor also asked if I was fighting an infection as my white blood cell count was high but I haven’t been sick (except minor allergies).
This is embarrassing but I don’t know how to properly check for lumps in my testicles. I tried to check my testicles and I can’t distinguish anything on my left testicle but feel a harder area on my right, under the skin near the backside of the testicle, but I can’t tell if this is actually a lump or not.
I’m not sure what to do or if this is normal. I called my doctor who is assisting with my care for HRT and haven’t heard back. Is this something I need to be seen for ASAP? Is the pain normal for this amount of time? I don’t know what to do.

(19m).
Around March 2022, i masturbated one time (it was my first in nearly 3 years making it my second), i thought it felt weird but oddly satisfying but i didn't like it and regretted it. Unfortunately thats where my "addiction" began. I mostly did it in the shower using conditioner or my spit. I did it on weekends but it worsened to weekdays because it mostly happened when during days i shower. It got bad to the point i always told myself to never do it again but i keep doing it over and over. The only thing that was worth it was that i didn't have to deal with wet dreams anymore even though i considered masturbation to be worse. I would eventually started doing it in areas in my house where i was distant from everyone and during a time where everyone was inactive. I since then hated masturbating but it felt good even though it was never worth it. I always hated myself from doing it but i couldn't stop.
Forward to earlier this year where i've noticed there was a lump in my testicle. I was confused on what it was but like the fucking idiot i was i kept doing it. It kept getting bigger when i masturbated and i kept getting even more horrified the bigger it was. I last masturbated at April 28th. 5 days later started to hurt (i was high on weed(sativa)). The week after that it hurted that Sunday (May 6) and i assumed it was testicular cancer. I had to talk to my dad the day after that i thought i had testicular cancer and then after i told him my symptoms he started being convinced that it was a cyst (and then i started believing it too).
I went to the urologist and the doctor said it was most likely a dilated vein (varicocele). I am going to get an ultrasound this afternoon (and seeing a radiologist).
I have looked up multiple times on the internet about masturbation and i kept getting that it was "100% healthy and won't cause any problems". If i saw that there had been risks like those then i (hopefully) would've stopped much sooner. I hate dealing with this bullshit now my parents might have to know that i have masturbated (though its been 3 weeks and i hope i never even do it again). I'm using this account because i am too lazy to make new ones and try to get karma off them. I made this to post on suicidewatch but luckily i am doing better mentally.
But otherwise i hate myself from masturbating but the fact that i haven't even stroked since late April means to me that i am getting better. This is a record for me because the longest i have went without masturbating was 2 weeks around March (unrelated reason). Only if i knew about this sooner.

I (38M) was diagnosed with liver cancer in late 2019 and had two surgeries right before the pandemic hit to remove 1/3 of my liver. I’ve been doing the CT scans and MRIs, first every 6 months and now just annually as I’m technically considered in remission until I have 5 years of clean results. They’ve been doing the MRI for my last three scans and they focus really only on my liver, whereas the CT was abdominal and chest. Everything so far has come back clean (a few possible “What is that?” moments that were later determined to be fatty tissue and not tumor recurrence) but a couple days ago I felt what appeared to be a hard lump on my left testicle. I don’t know why I didn’t give it much thought but just took a mental note of it. A few days later I tried to find it again and was having no luck despite trying feel both testicles. Admittedly, my scrotum was doing me no favors as it wasn’t cooperating for me to get a good feel. But last night I checked and immediately as soon as I felt it, the left testicle has plain as day a clearly defined hard lump/bump on it. I had been procrastinating setting up my new primary care physician for a while now but decided this morning to call and set up my new patient appointment. The earliest they had is July 2nd, which I jumped at and plan to bring this up to them during the appointment. My question is, since I have a history of cancer should I be trying to call and set something up with my oncologist before our regularly scheduled scans and follow up? I’m torn on whether I should just wait until my new PCP sees me (my scans and oncologist appt is always in July too) or if I should be trying to get my oncologist to look for me earlier in case I really do end up having secondary testicular cancer. I’m not usually very well tuned into my body so I don’t want to just jump the gun and try to get seen by my oncologist if it’s nothing, but I don’t know. Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Advice/personal experience would be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

I want to start by saying that this post is nothing important compared to what some people on this sub have gone through and are currently going through, but if it convinces one person to get off the internet and go to the dr, it's worth sharing.
I found myself on here a few weeks ago with very painful and tender testicles. The pain migrated up from my sack to my lower abdomen, and then even higher above my bellybutton. I had lower back pain as well. I went through all the logical things, verocele, epididymitis, hernia, tc, etc. I went to my family dr, and she assumed it may be related to a herniated disc I have in my back from a few years ago, I felt skeptical but open-minded.
Fast forward, the pain didn't feel like the sciatic pain like I had with my disc. She scheduled an mri for my back, which I'm thankful for, but it still felt like something that wasn't related to my disc issues. Over the next two weeks, as my pain worsened, my anxiety started to get the best of me, and it really began to screw up mental health. I'm a business owner, and along with the stress from day to life, as well as my constant testicular and abdominal pain really started to break me. I ended up walking into an urgent care and was very quickly diagnosed with both an umbilical hernia and inguinal hernia. Im having surgery on both asap. I've always had an outie kinda belly button so I didn't notice the umbilical one, but now I can feel it poking through when I push on it (likely from my appendix being removed a few years ago). Also, I didn't have a noticeable lump in my groin, but apparently, it pokes out and is fairly substantial when I cough. Long story kind of long, my ball pain and my abdominal pain both come from separate hernias.
I guess the reason I'm posting this, is for those who have pain, or are scared and unsure how to handle things, go to the dr, and if you feel like you didn't get the answers you were looking for, you know your body best, if something isn't right, just go again. That area of our bodies is complicated, and your issues could be any number of things, some of which require some real digging to figure out. No matter the outcome, you can get things rolling to tackle it, and your mental health (and your work/home life) will thank you for it. For everyone who went through symptoms similar to mine, and it ended up being tc, I wish you all the best of luck in your fight, my friends.
Also, don't pick up heavy things by yourself. It's not worth it.

14M. Just today i have been having some testicle pain which only seems to occur on the right side, looked on google but it came to no avail as i was writing too specifically, in my right ball i seem to have this pain, i felt over it with my fingers to check for a lump but i found nothing. i pulled down on the right side and that’s where i felt the most pain, i pushed up and the same pain came, after this i let go and it felt painful but not so much as when it was pulled or pushed up. as its only occurred today i haven’t had any time to look deeply into it and get medication for it, if there even is any. If it means anything my right ball seems to be higher than the left. as i mainly don’t wear boxers under my pants around the house it could be a case of me putting pressure on the right, but i doubt that as it’s only happened now and never before, i want to find out what it could be because im afraid it might be testicular torsion which will only get worse the longer i leave it.
Also, will be marking this nsfw just in case the bot sees it like that. Thanks for any help!!
at the time of posting this, i will be going to sleep, when i’m awake i can inform you guys on the pain compared to now!

Thanks for the add.
I inspect myself DAILY, multiple times.
I had some scares around a mole last week. Now that's removed from my head, it's just been replaced by a fear of testicular cancer.
I feel it over and over and my brain is seemingly making me forget that I've had a GP appointment a year or two ago where he checked the general area and told me he couldn't find anything of worry.
It's making me forget the countless times where my old doctor told me to look for a hard pea sized lump on the body, not in the tubes connecting.
It's making me forget that this has existed without change for at least 2 years.
It's making me think however, that maybe it's grown. It feels foreign, it shouldn't be there.
And that's led to literally hours of checking over and over.
I need to break this cycle that just ends in a GP telling me it's fine, but I don't see how.

So, potential tw for mentions of cancer.
Im 19, and ive been on hrt for 2.5 months. I was doing a fairly regular body check for lumps (skin cancer runs in the family) and i felt a couple new lumps that make me think i could have testicular cancer, but i cant really get it checked out because im quite seriously living paycheck to paycheck. (Idek if ill be able to afford my rent or hrt at the end of the month). Im just scared. I know its not as serious as some cancers, and typically, orchi takes care of it, but i cant even afford testing, let alone surgury.