My Bout with Testicular Cancer
By John Kilgo
It hit like a ton of bricks and it wasn t something that I was prepared for - maybe later in ‎life but not at 32. In one week I went from a normal life to finding out I had testicular ‎cancer and undergoing surgery to remove the infected testicle. There was no time wasted ‎and little preparation for the blow to my psyche. ‎
The week started like any other, I went to work on Monday and something just wasn t ‎right. As it turns out something was more than just wrong. An ultrasound on Tuesday ‎would indicate cancer had invaded my right testicle and my fears were confirmed. ‎Wednesday brought a meeting with the urologist that would remove the testicle and ‎Thursday was surgery. In less than seven days, my life changed.‎
You also have to understand that my medical life was so very charmed before all this. I d ‎never broken a bone, had a cavity, I still have all my wisdom teeth, and I d never had ‎surgery before. To be honest my worst fear was that I d wake up with a tube down my ‎throat like on ER and have to deal with that. To my great comfort there was no tube, just ‎a bandage virtually duct taped to my hip and a missing testicle upon my waking in the ‎recovery room. As I walked out of the hospital that day I realized there was a long road ‎ahead.‎
Before I could begin chemotherapy, I had to bank sperm (in case the drugs left me ‎sterile), undergo breathing tests (since the Bleoymicin can scar your lungs) and have an ‎additional consultation with a radiation oncologist should my condition require radiation ‎as part of treatment. I was lucky since a pure seminoma responds well to chemotherapy ‎and likely would not require radiation. ‎
I had heard the horror stories of chemo, loosing weight, frequent bouts of vomiting, and a ‎generally miserable time. I prepared for all that, but it never came. During the course of ‎my treatment, I never got sick, actually gained weight, and the worst thing that happened ‎was that I perpetually felt tired. It s a difficult feeling to describe, what chemo feels like ‎that is. I used to say, it feels like I m hung over and walking through loose sand all the ‎time. But as I read the description it doesn t make a ton of sense to me either, but that s ‎the way it felt.‎
The bottom line is that I made it through and have been fine ever since. My chemo lasted ‎from October to December and between each cycle I had a CAT and PET scan to judge ‎the progress. All along the way we saw the infected lymph nodes get smaller and the ‎disease gradually die. ‎
You might be asking, so how did he get through? What allowed him to cope? I ll be ‎honest - I gave in to the simple fact that I didn t cause this. I had no hand in causing my ‎disease it s not like lung cancer from smoking of ruining your liver from drinking. Once ‎I came to this realization, my focus shifted to killing the disease and getting it out of my ‎body. While I can t say that I enjoyed the weekly IV sticks and the daily trips to the ‎cancer treatment center, I didn t mind them as much. Beyond the mental shift, my family ‎played a tremendous role in my recovery. For the surgery and the chemo my family was ‎by my side and kept me going. While I could have done virtually all of it on my own, it ‎was very helpful to have someone at the house since I really wasn t working at this time ‎and too much time alone would not have been good. ‎
While this story seems very positive, there are a few aspects of my cancer diagnosis that ‎require some attention. First, I have this feeling that I m not out of the woods yet. I have ‎kept up with all my follow-up visits and have regular CAT and PET scans, blood work, ‎and physical exams. However, there s a voice in the back of my head that every now and ‎again whispers to me - beware…And finally, while my surgical scar has healed and I ve ‎lost the weight I gained during chemo, there are emotional issues that I ve yet to deal ‎with fully.
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Bottom line - testicular cancer is beatable with modern medicine. The thing is if you ‎think there s a problem, get it checked out. Find a doctor you trust and tell them the ‎facts, while we all hope for the best case, you need to be more prepared for the truth than ‎I was. Should the diagnosis be cancer, understand that it s not the end of the world and ‎there are places to turn like the American Cancer Society for advice and a friendly person ‎to talk to who has been where you are now. ‎
I live in South Florida and am married to a lovely woman. I have a passion for Swiss Watches and run a online watch store, www.swisswatchdeal.com in addition to my government job.
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