Paul Coughlin is a testicular cancer survivor in Tennessee. Paul talks about catching his testicular cancer because of his girlfriend's studies, feeling grateful for being stage 1B, having orchiectomy and 1xBEP, the importance of peer-to-peer support like the r/testicularcancer subreddit, and more!
Tom Willner is a man of many talents living in Georgia. Tom talks about being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1999; having an orchiectomy, RPLND, lung surgery, and chemo after nodes showed up late in his lungs; writing and performing a musical about testicular cancer; being a musician with cisplatin-induced hearing impairment; having 3 children using his banked sperm; and more!
Af Marseh is a testicular cancer survivor from England. Af talks about catching his cancer while working 7,000 km away from home at the Rio Olympics in 2016, receiving BEP chemotherapy after orchiectomy, support from his network and beyond, writing his book, and more!
Dr. Helen Bernie is a board certified, fellowship trained urologist and the Director of Sexual and Reproductive Medicine at Indiana University. Dr. Bernie talks about what testosterone is, various types of testosterone replacement therapy and their pros and cons, men's health clinics, testosterone ranges, and much more!
Brian Sluga talks about being diagnosed with testicular cancer over 40 years ago, having his orchiectomy and lymph nodes removed in his torso, getting a lymphangiogram, the life he’s lived in the last 4 decades, going back to school later in life, writing about his TC, and more!
My husband at 36 had no medical problems, in fact he often refused to go in for even a regular check up. I feel many men do the same, thinking they will "get better" on their own. I am a RN with 9 years nursing experience and did not drag him in until he was hobbled over like a 90 year old man.
Read MoreThis is the incredible story of Toni Brown and her son, Alexander, and his year long fight against testicular cancer starting in January 2014. Alex was a student in his final year of Geology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, when he collapsed in one of his classes after having strange flu-like symptoms for a few days...
Read MoreI was a prisoner of my past. My prison warden was someone called “I used to”. “I used to” would remind me of my previous accomplishments lifting humongous weights, running long distances, and various feats of acrobatics. The warden was quick to steal the joy out of my life and pull the rug out from under me whenever I attempted to regain the strength I was so proud of having before. I spent many days feeling sorry for myself and lamenting the things I could no longer do until one day I decided I was done with the suffering.
Read MoreWe all went through different experiences on our paths to being survivors. But we are all linked through one common thought. The memory remains.
Read MoreCancer. The bastard disease of humankind that kills without hesitation, without prejudice. It is one of the most dreaded words in the medical world, especially if you are a patient. Cancer will turn a world upside down, backwards, and inside out. And more than likely, cancer will be what kills me in the end. That’s a depressing thought to have I know. It’s one of those things that is just ingrained in my mind, and something that contributes to daily anxiety. Let me break it down for you.
Read MoreIt has been a year since my first blog for TCAF, and I finally feel ready to openly talk about why it took so long to write this. This time last year was extremely hard for me. Four months out from Nate’s RPLND, life had slowly begun returning back to normal and the realities of what that meant were hitting hard. Not only were we recovering from everything we had been through during our cancer journey, but we were suddenly facing a new challenge... infertility.
Read MoreHello! I’m Chris Osborn a two-time late stage testicular cancer survivor, I’ve been through 4xEP, 1xBEP, 1xVIP, and 2xHDC with stem cell transplant, and RPLND. I am also a type 1 diabetic. I joined TCAF Ambassadors to help others going through testicular cancer, I have some unique medical conditions and I hope I can pass the knowledge I have acquired over the past few years to anyone who needs it! Here is a brief history of my experience with testicular cancer.
Read MoreIn November of 2016, myself and a representative with the Emerald Coast Beard and Mustache Alliance (ECBMA) put on a few events to raise money for Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation, and the "Go Nuts for No Shave November" campaign.
Read MoreHi, I am Carl Russell. I am 48 years old and a lifelong resident of the Great State of Texas. I am a son, brother, spouse and father to my family. I am a military veteran with 8 years active duty in the U.S. Army, of which 9 months was spent in Southwest Asia to support Operation Desert Shield, Storm and Provide Comfort. I have lived a great life, but nothing prepared me for the day I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer.
Read MoreWhen I was finishing chemo, I was given Ambien to help me sleep. It didn't work, but the side effects of 'violent and suicidal thoughts' sure did.I don't think I've ever really talked about this publicly, but reading about Chris Cornell's death and what his wife is saying about his taking Ativan, which is some powerful stuff made me see the connection.
Read MoreTCAF Ambassador John Armijo shares his perspective of getting his life back after testicular cancer through his movie work, and on recovering from the extreme fatigue, neuropathy, and PTSD that followed chemotherapy. "In my quickly-going-insane mind, I had already died and was in Hell. I couldn't leave the house due to low immunities and had lost everything in my mind, from the ability to sleep and eat, and now my sanity was next on the checklist before I ultimately lost my life. A bit exaggerated in retrospect, but very real to me at the time."
Read MoreWhat follows was the agreed upon and, finally accepted, treatment plan following my one round of 2nd line/salvage chemo. After growth was detected in a nodule in my right lung, i was again in a place of facing cancer and, perhaps even more-so than when initially diagnosed, denial of this fact. A lot of questions arose; questions that gave way to fear, anger, despair… I would be stuck in these places of either serene acceptance and willingness to meet it (cancer) head-on, or I would find myself wrapped up in my bed, midday crying such great amounts of tears. It was between these great emotional outpourings that I would feel calm and (an) acceptance.
Read Morethe following day, yesterday morning, while driving back from an appointment, i lost complete mobility in my left arm. unsure if this was a seizure, a stroke... a clotting issue, my sister took me to the ER. as most of my ER stories go, they did a number of tests, the first of which, after vitals, was a CT scan of the head. what they discovered explained the loss of mobility/motor function in my left arm -- a 3.2cm lesion located on the back rear (right) lobe in and around parietal and occipital lobe.
Read MoreEditor's Note: Jeremiah Ray was diagnosed with advanced stage testicular cancer in 2016, only to face a recurrence of his cancer six months later. Jeremiah is starting high dose chemotherapy, and is sharing his HDC journey with us.
To me, a stem cell transplant is still a mystery. I understand it on the theoretical level, but it still seems like some sort of sorcery.
Read MoreThe day after each scan, I breathe a sigh of relief, pat myself on the back for dodging the bullet yet again, then put my blinders on and resume living. But, I also flip the hourglass over again and push it to the back of my mind. Knowing that while I can bury all the fears FOR NOW, in a few months time I'll have to stare down that barrel again.
Read MoreI get asked a lot about how to support people going through chemotherapy, so I thought I would share a short story about the best thing my sister did while supporting me through the process of chemotherapy. She was someone I could count on to listen and helped me feel comfortable enough to dump all my complaints on. The act of listening is one of the most compassionate things you can do yet it is often taken for granted.
Read MoreI was diagnosed as Stage 1A, with a Malignant Mixed Germ Cell Tumor, Non- Seminoma that consisted of 30% Teratoma, 30% Yolk Sac Tumor, 20% Seminoma, and 20% Embryonal Carcinoma. My initial AFP level was 1,151 and my HCG level was 4.6. The pathology of my right testicle indicated that there was no vascular invasion outside of the tumor. After repeated blood tests over several weeks, my Oncologist told me that my AFP levels had not decreased to normal levels in the time they should have, and that I needed to undergo 3XBEP for treatment and assurance that no cancer would return. I agreed with his treatment because he’s the doctor and he should know what I need to do to cure my cancer, right? Wrong!
Read MoreAfter being treated with several rounds of antibiotics for what was thought to be in an infection in one of my testicles, I had an exploratory surgery to see what was going on. That was when I had an orchiectomy and was diagnosed with testicular cancer. We decided to go the aggressive route with the RPLND surgery and a triple round of chemo that I now understand was the exact regimen that Dr. Einhorn proposed. We then monitored Beta HCG and Alpha feta protein for follow-up. I was clean for two years until I started having the same symptoms again in the other testicle, and sure enough the markers followed and I had a second primary testicular cancer!
Read MoreAs a junior in college at age 21, I always thought the toughest challenge I'd face was whether I had enough time to brush my teeth before an 8AM Friday Digital Comm Systems class. I remember waking up on a Saturday morning with a piercing pain in my lower right abdomen and knew something wasn't right. It took me a week before I realized I had a problem and went to the doctor.
Read Moreit seems that, regardless of where my searching lead, one name kept appearing: Dr. Lawrence Einhorn. Why? Because he changed the game – no, seriously! Before Dr. Einhorn, a testicular cancer diagnosis was, essentially, a death sentence. He revolutionized how it was treated and, today, oncologist jokingly reassure patients, “if you had to choose one type of cancer to get, testicular cancer is it!” Yes, it’s a strange thing to say. But testicular cancer boasts such amazingly high cure rates, in large part, to Dr. Einhorn.
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Fennec Pharmaceuticals joins to talk about ototoxicity (hearing loss) caused by the chemotherapy drug Cisplatin.