Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer at 69

Episode 133

Testicular cancer is often called a young man's disease, typically striking men between 15 and 44. So when Jim Mielziner — a retired air traffic controller and world traveler who's visited 69 countries — discovered a swollen testicle in the shower during a Mediterranean cruise a month before his 69th birthday, cancer was almost the last thing anyone expected. In this warm, funny, and deeply moving episode of It Takes Balls, Jim shares one of the most unusual and complex survival stories the podcast has featured.

Jim recounts feeling no pain at all — just a testicle suddenly the size of a small kiwi — and his initial fear that it was testicular torsion. After the ship's doctor urged him not to wait too long, he saw his urologist (whom he was already seeing for prostate cancer on active surveillance) within five days of returning home and had his left testicle removed. Pathology showed 90% seminoma and 10% teratoma, and he went on surveillance — until suspicious lymph nodes appeared months later. Told he was too old for standard BEP chemotherapy because of bleomycin's toxicity, Jim opted for chemo over an RPLND, reasoning there was no sense cutting through so much tissue to reach two small lymph nodes if chemo might shrink them first.

What followed was harrowing. Jim gained 17 pounds of water weight and was hospitalized during his first round. He had to put his beloved dog down on the first day of his second round. Then, four days after that round, he contracted COVID — landing him in the ICU for 14 days as his magnesium, potassium, and platelets went haywire. A misplaced pair of IVs led to a blood clot, and doctors had to remove an entire vein from his arm. After 14 days in the ICU and 18 in a skilled nursing facility — 32 days away from home — his oncologist, delivered sobering but wonderful news: they'd stop chemo because it had done too much harm, and Jim was in remission.

Now approaching his four-year remission anniversary, Jim credits his wife as the advocate who very likely saved his life — and offers hard-won wisdom to younger patients. His two central messages: always bring an advocate to your appointments, because once you hear the word "cancer," everything else sounds like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon; and don't waste energy worrying about what you can't control. Jim also opens up about his ongoing prostate cancer surveillance, the lingering fatigue he's slowly overcoming (he's proud of his three-quarter-mile daily walks), the joy of his grandchildren, his love of Viking cruises, and his determination to keep exploring the world.

Whether you're newly diagnosed, supporting a loved one, or think you're "too old" to be at risk, Jim's story is a powerful, humor-filled reminder that testicular cancer can strike at any age, that early action matters, and that mindset and support make all the difference.

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