Interview 18

Testicular cancer diagnosed in 1991; orchidectomy. No evidence of secondary tumours, but radiotherapy 5 times a week for 4 weeks to prevent recurrence.

Thinks that his testicular cancer may have been caused by a vasectomy or by microwaves.

Age at interview 53

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 43

Do you ever think about what might have caused the problem?

Yeah you know well I’m not actually sure it wasn’t the vasectomy er because when I had the vasectomy that was about the 80s and I think everybody was having them, we were sort of queuing up like at the dentists. And so theres , I’m not sure, I’ve read things since that theres a correlation between the two things.

Between what two things?

Having a vasectomy and having testicular cancer. And I thought well that seems to fit in my case you know. The other thing is I did used to work on radar at one time and er theres a lot of microwaves and stuff like that floating about, so I might have got in the way of some of them.

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Says that when he started radiotherapy he felt a bit frightened.

Age at interview 53

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 43

You sort of are put in a room with a big machine around you with a whole load of lead weights on a sort of shelf above your chest and then all these people scuttle out, away from wherever this thing is and theres this sort of buzzing type noise. It doesn’t hurt or anything but it does feel a bit strange to be stuck there alone in this room, it’s a bit frightening. But I suppose after a month you get used to it, you can used to anything if you do it that many times. And when you look at the other people that were going for the same sort of treatment you think how lucky you are you know.

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