Yesterday I had a testicular ultrasound done for a small, painless lump I found about a week ago and am currently waiting for the results.  My self-checks in the past have been somewhat irregular (checking every 1-3 months usually), so I'm not 100% sure how long the lump has been there (not to mention the lump is small - pea-sized - so who knows if I missed it in past checks).  Obviously, I'm trying not to freak out too much until I know the results of the ultrasound, but I've been doing research while waiting for the results to come back and every site says early diagnosis is hugely beneficial, but I've been unable to find what exactly "early diagnosis" means.  What time period is considered "early diagnosis?"  Thanks.