Editor'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.
Read MoreCancer has impacted my life in so many ways; the emotion roller coaster; the fear of losing my son; the rose colored glasses that were ripped from my face; survivor guilt; PSTD; depression, anxiety; and gratefulness beyond belief. I have gone through the trenches with people I only met through the internet, sharing a common bond that none of us really want to share. My new-normal life's passion is to speak to other about their cancer or caregiver journey and I so through several non-profits. I have also returned to college in order to earn my bachelors then master's to change professions and counsel cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. It's an eight year plan and I'm in year four.
Read MoreHello everyone. My name is Ricky. I'm a native of southeast Louisiana. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 45 on Oct. 3rd, 2012 at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans after feeling heaviness and some pain for a few weeks. A few days later on Oct. 8th, I had Orchiectomy surgery on my right testicle with a prosthetic implanted at Tulane Medical Center. The path report revealed stage 1b non-seminoma with LVI. The tumor was composed of 95% seminoma, 5% immature teratoma with malignant transformation to PNET. Due to my family's concern, I had a 2nd opinion for treatment options at MD Anderson in Houston. Starting December 10th, 2012, I received 1xBEP chemo regimen inpatient at MD Anderson. I had a pretty rough time after chemo for a couple of years, but I'm doing much better now. On Oct. 8th, 2017, this day will mark 5 years in remission for me. Both my parents died of cancer before I was 25, so when cancer invaded my body, I was truly terrified. My testicular cancer diagnosis changed me forever.
Read MoreI know many of you already through my prior work with Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation doing education for the foundation. I'm the father of Justin Muriett who was a late stage (3C) diagnosis when he was 19 years old. He already had multiple mets when diagnosed including a retroperitoneal mass, a spinal mass, and small lung mets. Justin went through chemo, an RPLND, Radiation, and also physical and occupational therapy after losing leg function due to the spinal tumor. During radiation, Justin was actually terminally diagnosed by Dr. Einhorn in Indiana, due to the fact that he had a malignant transformation of his tumor to a more aggressive PET tumor.
Read MoreIt all started with a backache in 1992. I had an upper GI after an emergency room visit, and my life got complicated quickly. Now there was no talk of testicular cancer at this point. I had a retroperitoneal tumor near my pancreas and the surgery was exploratory. I get operated on and wake up with tubes everywhere and thinking I had just been stuck with a bad ginsu knife. I had a scar from my sternum down below my belly button and was quite freaked out. Six weeks of recovery and an appointment withmy surgeonsaying "hey Jim you have a seminoma (12 x 5 cm from the report) " I had no idea what significance a "seminoma" was, nor much of anything about testicular cancer.
Read MoreMy 19 year old son was diagnosed with stage 4 choriocarcinoma 3 years ago and nearly lost his life to this disease a day later. Everything happened so fast that we really didn't have any choices. Adam was so sick and we just had to go with the protocol that his oncologist and medical team decided on for him. Luckily we had an amazing oncologist and urologist, not to mention the brain surgeon that saved his life. Even if we had choices I wouldn't have known which way to go. Our family and friends were an amazing support system but we had no one that knew anything about Testicular Cancer. All we had was the information we could find on the internet.
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