There is no standard or routine screening test for the early detection of testicular cancer. Also, there are no proven ways to prevent testicular cancer. However, performing monthly TSE’s and knowing the symptoms of testicular cancer increases the possibility of detecting the disease at an early stage, when it’s most curable.

National Cancer Institute

There are several ways to treat testicular cancer once it is initially diagnosed. The most common way starts with an orchiectomy, which is the surgical procedure to remove the testicular mass. Once removed, the mass is sent to a pathologist to determine if it is indeed malignant and if so, the stage of the cancer. Other treatment options include: Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection, Chemotherapy, Radiation and Surveillance.

Men may experience a wide range of emotions after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. However, do not, and I repeat, do not let these emotions interfere with understanding and receiving appropriate treatment options. In addition to speaking with a health care provider, men should join a support group to discuss their feelings with others who’ve had similar feelings.

WebMD.com

If testicular cancer is suspected, a health care provider will evaluate a man’s general health, which includes a physical exam as well as laboratory and other diagnostic tests. These tests include:

•Blood Test – this test measures the levels of tumor markers. Tumor markers are found in higher-than-normal amounts when cancer is present. The most commonly found markers suggesting the presence of a testicular tumor are alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)

•Ultrasound – this test is 100% accurate in differentiating testicular cancer from other possible diagnosis. A testicular ultrasound determines the density, size and shape of a testicular mass. In most cases, when a solid testicular mass is discovered, it is a sign of a tumor since most testicular conditions involve fluid build-up.

•Biopsy – this test is the microscopic examination to determine if cancer is present. If the biopsy is positive an orchiectomy is performed, which is the surgical procedure to remove the affected testicle.

If testicular cancer is confirmed, more tests will be needed to determine if the cancer has spread from the testicles to other parts of the part so an appropriate treatment plan can be implemented.

MedicineNet.com
Mayoclinic.com

“Many men don’t realize the importance of doing a testicular self- exam each month. Just as women should be examining their breasts to look for possible signs of breast cancer, it’s important for men after they have reached puberty, to perform a testicular cancer self exam each month. Because testicular cancer has a very high cure rate and with a cure rate of almost 100% for the very early stages of this disease, it’s very important to detect and treat the cancer as early as possible. Doctors recommend that men perform a testicular self-exam while standing up, and preferably after a hot shower or bath when the muscles are most relaxed …” Dr. Melissa Stoppler, MedicineNet.com

The detection of testicular cancer:

Most men don’t feel ill nor do they report any symptoms associated with testicular cancer. Hence, it is important for men to perform a monthly TSE (testicular self examination). This exam is painless and is an excellent tool for men to recognize any changes of their testicles. A TSE involves holding each testicle between the thumbs and fingers of both hands and gently rolling it between the fingers. Me should pay particular attention to any hard lumps within the testicles or changes in the way it feels.

The symptoms of testicular cancer:

•Pain or swelling in the testicles
•Lumps or nodules in the testicles, whether painful or not
•Enlargement of the testicles or changes in the way the testicles feels
•Pain in the lower abdomen, back or groin
•Swelling in the scrotum or collection of fluid within the scrotum

It is important to note that there are other benign conditions, which can be associated with the symptoms listed above.

Do not self-diagnosis any medical condition! You can’t be sure whether you have testicular cancer or not based on symptoms alone. That’s why it’s important for men to see a health care provider immediately if they experience any of these symptoms.

Reference links to explore:

American Cancer Society
MedicineNet.com
Testicular Cancer Symptoms
WebMD
Testicular Cancer

Remember, when detected early, testicular cancer has a cure rate in excess of 90%.

What is testicular cancer?
•Testicular cancer is a disease in which cells become malignant (cancerous) in one or both testicles.

The testicles are a pair of male sex glands, which produce and store sperm and is the main source of the male hormone, testosterone.

95% of testicular cancers are classified as either seminomas, or nonseminomas tumors. The difference between these two germ-cell tumors is how they spread (metastasize) and the way in which they respond to treatment. The remaining five percent of testicular cancers are classified as lymphomas or other non-germ-cell tumors. These uncommon types of testicular cancer have a tendency to appear later in life.

•Testicular cancer accounts for only one percent of all cancers in men in the United States. Annually, 8000 men are diagnosed, and approximately 390 die from the disease. The occurrence of testicular cancer is seen in men between the ages of 20 and 39, and is the most common cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 34. Testicular cancer is most commonly found in White men of Scandinavian descent. However, the rate of this disease has double in White men in the past 40 years and has recently begun to increase in African-American men, although the incidence between the racial occurrences remains unknown.

The key to fighting and being victorious over a disease is having a better understanding of the battle you’re up against. Listed below are a few reference links to explore:

Testicular Cancer

National Cancer Institute

American Cancer Society

If you suspect you or your partner have testicular cancer, make an appointment with your health care provider immediately.

For months, I’ve tried to interview this petite-framed leading lady and finally succeeded. I was stuck by her warmth and honesty the moment she walked into the room. At only five feet, three inches, physician researcher with flawless butter cream skin, red hair and eyes the same shade as polished emeralds captivated my attention for over an hour. During our time together, I learned a lot about this freckled-face heroine that I believe readers would be interest to know.

Q: Laney you have an uncommon first name for women, but it’s a very common last name for both men and women. Can you tell us what your name means?

A: Laney is a variant of Laine (English), Lainey and Lane and (Middle English). Laney means “path, roadway”.

Q: I understand there’s a special man in your life. Do you mind sharing with our readers who he is?

A: I’ve never responded to any man they way I have to jazz musician, Raphael Baptiste. Sensuality and masculinity permeates through Raphael and simply put, the man exudes sex.

Q: There’s been a lot of speculation about your relationship with Raphael. Inquiring minds want to know…do you love him?

A: Yes, I love him. Raphael compares favorably with the men in my family. I love his strong work ethic, his demand for perfection, his advocacy for education, his fearless sense of power and his strong-willed nature.

Q: Wow! That’s an impressive list by any standard. So does this mean Raphael is in love with you?

A: That’s a question you’ll have to ask Raphael. Before we had a chance to discuss our relationship, he was knocked for a loop when he received some devastating personal news that will change the course of his life – forever.

Q: Laney, tell us about your family.

A: I’m an only child. I was reared by my paternal grandfather and maternal aunts and uncle after the unexpected death of my parents.
Q: Where are you from?

A: Memphis, Tennessee

Q: What do you want out of life?

A: For the last ten years, all my energy and passion has been channeled into continuing the investigative research study my mother began before she died. I’ve been just as driven as she’d been to discover a cure for the congenital birth defect I was born with, which caused the absence of my middle and index finger on my right hand.

Q: How would you describe yourself?

A: Caring, supportive, understanding and when needed most, unselfish.

Q: Is there anything else about you that you’d like to share with readers?

A: I never thought it was possible to want a man, both physically and emotionally until I met Raphael. Because he’s a celebrity, women chase after him, but I won’t be one of them. I knew I was in trouble when my out-of-control hormones kicked into full gear and I fell hard for the man who’d told me upfront he’d never settle down with any woman. Now I’m faced with a dilemma. A causal affair isn’t on my agenda. While I love Raphael to distraction, what he wants isn’t what I desire. I’m not a snob, but I’ll never sacrifice my two best friends—self-respect and dignity—in the name of love.

Q: So does this mean you aren’t going to let Raphael know how you feel about him?

A: Not at all! This is the first time in my life I can recall following my heart and not my head.

Q: Hmmm, so how do you plan to snag Raphael Baptiste?

A: Aaah, you’ll have to wait until March 4th to find out.

Laney, it was wonderful to speak with you. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your story with our readers. We’re anxiously waiting to see how your relationship with Raphael turns out in If I Were Your Woman.

Here’s the analogy I go through each and every time I sit down to develop the characters in my stories:

Suddenly, you receive a call with the news that your best friend has eloped with someone she’s only known for a couple of months. What would your reaction be? Would you slump to the nearest chair, flabbergasted and say, “Oh, my God, she did!” Or would you confidently say, “Sorry, you must be mistaken.”

Your answer will be based on how well you know your best friend.

Now I offered that scenario to you so you’d better understand the fundamental basis I use to create my characters. I take the time to become intimately acquainted with their personalities. And trust me, it’s time well spent. If at any point during the writing process I get off track with the direction my characters should go, I stop and get back in tune with them based on my complete an unequivocal knowledge of their persona.

My books are character-driven. Long before I sit down to plot the story my characters will be featured in, there are three tools I use to truly understand them once they’ve given me a sneak peek into their persona: intuition, questions and habits.

Allowing my intuition to take over helps me to go far beyond merely providing readers with the physical descriptions of my characters, but helps me give readers the same insight into the character that I have. In order words, I allow my characters to speak to me. This process helps me to get to know them as I would my best friend. I know how they dress, what they will say, and most importantly, what they will and will not do in certain situations. Also, I understand their strengths and weakness, what they fear and what event will spark them to rise up and fight like hell. Now is there a set amount of time for this process? Frankly for me, there isn’t. However, when I can honestly say I know my characters the way I know my best friend, then I’m ready to settle down and write the story.

Next are a few of the questions I pose to each of my characters:

•What do you want readers to know about your life?
•What do you want readers to know about you at the end of the story?
•How would you explain your greatest fears in life to readers?
•What way will you show readers how you’ll overcome the conflict in the story?

And finally, the ever important idiosyncrasies of my characters take center stage. Understanding this aspect of my characters, helps me explain to readers the reasons for their quirky mannerisms or their annoying habits. I want readers to see my characters as actual people they want to love.

Now someone will read this and say, why bother going through this long, drawn out process. And to those critics, my justification is simple: if I don’t love my characters enough to truly get to know them, who will?

Until next time – stay well and be blessed!

I love romance! Plain and simple. Based on the 2006 report from Simba Information, revenue from romance fiction was estimated at 1.37 billion dollars. With the exception of religion/inspirational books, romance fiction outsold every market category with a whopping twenty-six percent. So, there are a lot of authors and readers who love my addiction to the genre, too.

Romance first captivated my attention when I was a junior in college. The year was 1979. My college roommate introduced me to the world of romance when she handed me a tattered copy of The Flame in the Flower by the late Kathleen Woodiwiss. Instead of studying for an organic chemistry mid-term the next day, I spent the entire night reading one of the greatest romance novels of all times. And just in case you’re wondering, about that exam, wonder no more. Yep, I flunked big time. Overnight, I’d transformed into a hopeless, never to recover, romance-a-holic. I didn’t know it then, but that one night, twenty five years ago, would eventually land me on the road to publication.

Becoming a writer was never something I was particularly interested in or even considered doing. Honestly, I was content being an avid reader. It was the challenge from my late husband in the spring of 2003 that made me seriously consider penning my first romance novel.

One night, I was in bed reading a romance, but I simply couldn’t get into the story. It was well past midnight and I guess I’d whined and moaned enough. Hubby turned to me and said, “Baby, if you can write a better book, do it. Now turn out the lights, please.” At first, I thought this man was crazy. Well, truth be told, I thought he was funky, crazy insane. Although I was a fairly decent technical writer in my profession as a public health educator, fiction writing was a different monster all together. Eventually, I honored his request, but not before a zany cast of characters settled in my head, and wrapped around my heart. They’d later become known in the literary world as the Baptiste Family.

Three months later, the timing was right and something amazing happened. My enthusiasm for teaching health, social responsibility and social justice over the years sparked a multitude of storylines. What if. . . Since I didn’t have anything to lose, I took my husband up on his challenge and rolled the dice.

Four years later, the gamble paid off with the release of my debut novel, WHEN I’M WITH YOU followed six months later with my sophomore release, WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN. On March 4th, I’ll celebrate the release of my third fill-length single title, IF I WERE YOU WOMAN.

It ain’t been easy, but it’s been worth it!!

Until next time- stay well and be blessed.

It’s reported that half of the movies made in Hollywood are adaptations of stories written as novels, non-fiction books, comic books, short stories, plays and poems. So where do the powers-to-be in Hollywood find these books? They scan publisher’s listings looking for big, popular commercial books. Let me note here that self-published books or those published by smaller presses are less likely to be assessed for movie potential. Not impossible in these cases, just not highly probable.

So in the case of the Twilight Series, it’s fairly easy to see how it catapulted to the big screen. First published in 2006, New Moon quickly landed on the New York Times and USA Today’s bestseller’s lists. It also became the biggest selling children’s paperback book with over 5.3 million copies sold.

What books have you read lately that you’d love to see on the big screen??

Until next time – stay well and be blessed!

Aaah…the spirit of adventure! Are you ignoring the still, soft voice of your inner spirits? You know the one, the voice that begs and challenges you to escape the comfort zone you’re in and strive for higher ground. None of else, and especially authors should ever permit the walls of complacency to close in around them.

Perhaps you’re at a crossroad in life, contemplating a new path. Even though circumstances are aligning in perfect sync in order to go in that new direction, you fail to seize the opportunity. Why?

I don’t believe any industry is as daunting as the world of publishing. Every day, authors are faced with decisions ranging from penning in a different genre to changing agents or publishing houses. Instead of embracing modification, they hide behind the shield of same-old, same-old. Why?

Maybe, just maybe the ability to embrace our romance, the spirit of adventure is because we fear change.

Let’s face it people, change is the most difficult concept for human beings to accept. It’s even more difficult for writers. Whether the reluctance to engage in our romance is due to procrastination, lack of effort, or fear of the unknown, those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities just might pass us by. Then we’re left to ponder the proverbial, ‘what if’.

I’m not a ‘what if’ individual—never have been. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve delved into some romances in my lifetime that have straight up bombed! Rather than dwell on my lack of success, I focused on the lessons learned, the experience gained. There are some things in life only our romance can teach us.

What romance lies dormant inside of you?