This post is fairly direct about the treatment of testicular cancer. If you don't care to read about the gory details, don't read this post.
A few days ago I was at my oncologist's office. He said three words that I've been waiting for for 10 years. "You are cured."
10 years ago I found a lump in my left testicle in a routine check. All guys should be checking themselves - especially young men. Testicular cancer is a young man's disease. It was found on a weekend, which means I had to wait a few days before being able to see the doctor. It was nerve wracking because I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. The first doctor's visit I was misdiagnosed - and left unsure of myself. In just a few days, the tumour doubled in size. I headed back to the doctor and insisted on a second opinion. Luckily I ended up talking with one of the Physician Assistants at the clinic who listened and sent me onto a urologist.
I jumped online and found http://tcrc.acor.org/support_links.html - a site that hasn't changed since I first found it, but is full of GREAT information. The forums have been updated significantly since I hung on them.
The urologist confimed I needed to have one of my boys removed and it was determined I had 100% embroynal carcinoma. In my case, it was early stage disease. Good news for me. Bad news, my bladder completely shut down and I had to have a foley catheter inserted. It was painful, humiliating, and miserable.
I had the option of three treatments after I was diagnosed. 1) Simply observing obsessively through blood tests and radiological tests to see if the cancer returned somewhere else in my body. 2) Having Radical lymph node dissection. 3) Having prophylactic Chemotherapy. I opted for the Chemo - I didn't really want to be laid up in the hospital after extremely painful surgery for months.
I was to undergo BEP - Bleomycin, Etopiside, and Platinol - an extremely toxic cocktail of chemicals.
Because the regimen is so aggressive - chemo 6 days every two weeks - it was recommended that I have a Groshong Catheter installed. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. The chemo could be onboarded without my ever needing a single IV. It was put in by a surgeon in a very short period of time. I asked that I not be put under general anesthesia - so they heavily sedated me. I remember chatting at the doctor for a while in the operating room. I had to keep it super clean, but I could shower with it.
My oncologist recommended that I start immediately on Zofran - an anti-nausea agent. At home, I was taking it orally. At the doctor's office they also gave it to me through the catheter in my chest. Late in my treatment, the Zofran wasn't doing the job on its own and they tried me on compazine which totally messed with me. I turned all jittery, feeling like I was going to crawl out of my skin. They had to sedate me on that occasion. HUGE recommendation - once you start chemo, don't eat foods that you really like. Your sense of taste starts changing and in combination with nausea you may never eat some foods ever again.
I had a glass of wine at dinner most nights - the doctor said that anything that would stimulate my appetite was a good idea. I mostly ate highly bland foods like poached chicken and rice.
My chemo regimen had me in the doctor's office pretty much all day on the days I was being treated. Bringing things to do was critical. I had work to do on a laptop and that helped to distract me. Wearing very loose comfortable clothing helped a lot. Sweats are you friend.
The chemo affected my hearing - just as hair falls out of your head - the little hairs in your ears that conduct sound to the inner ear fall out. They don't grow back. I also ended up with tinnitus - a constant ringing in my ears. Finally I ended up with mild neuropathy in my finger tips.
Once my chemo therapy was completed, I moved into observation. I can't tell you the number of chest x-rays and CT scans I had - but I can say that for the first few years I was having a chest x-ray once a year and a CT scan once a year - so pictures taken twice each year. This was in conjunction to lots of blood tests to track tumour markers - hormones given off by the presence of a tumour. This tapered to a CT scan each year and then ultimately to a CT scan every two years and a chest x-ray every two years. The first few years of this phase of my treatment, I was paranoid and scared every time I came up close to my appointment. This got considerably better after about 5 years of remission but has never gone completely away. In the back of my mind I've always worried about the disease coming back.
This year I had my CT scan and went into the doctor's office. This is my 10 year survival anniversary and the message I got from the doctor was, "you are cured". I will still be headed to his office each year for an appointment, but no more CT scans or chest x-rays. At this point, we monitor for related complications due to lots of radiology and the chemo itself.
Having cancer changes you. It alters your perception of the world. It makes you more patient and brings everything into a different perspective. I like the change it made to my personality and while I wish I had never had cancer, I don't regret it either.
So, this weekend I will (once again) raise a glass to my medical care givers. Thanks for saving my life. You truly rock.
Lemon Photograph
Photo Credit: Adrian Midgley
Licensed under the Creative Commons
