By now most of you should know that I have Testicular Cancer in my abdomen. Trust me, that sentence is just as strange to write as I am sure it is to read. So, the cancer started in my testicle and traveled to a lymph node that is located between my aorta and vena cava near my lumbar region. This lymph node has since grown and turned into a plum-sized tumor. My flavor of cancer is one of the non-seminoma varieties and has been classified as stage 2c. The good news is that my expected cure rate is between 90% and 95%.
The Diagnosis...
JANUARY
JAN' 18
Toward the middle of January, I started experiencing pain in my abdomen for a couple of hours each night once I lay down for bed. During that time I tried adjusting my diet in an effort to determine the cause of my newfound pain. Ultimately, I wasn't able to identify the cause and ended up spending a few hours each night trying to figure it out.
February
FEB' 18
9
FEB' 18
22
After a few weeks of nightly pain and not having any luck self-diagnosing, the pain stuck around all night and through the next day. That is when I ended up heading to the doctor. After scans, blood tests, ultrasounds, and many other types of examinations (it got weird), the plum-sized tumor was discovered. The doctors were able to get a biopsy of the tumor quickly and discovered that it is testicular cancer. It is the same kind of cancer that Lance Armstrong had, as a matter of fact.
So, after two weeks of tests, a surgery, and a biopsy the team of doctors had enough information to give us a treatment plan. The plan will include around nine weeks of chemotherapy and a potential operation to remove anything that is left of the tumor. There is even a chance that the tumor will be reduced to scar tissue simply through chemo and if that is the case, surgery may not be necessary. While the chemo schedule is going to be intense at times, it will be worth it!
Note that Ashley has written a nice little blog post outlining the treatment plan in more detail. Click here if you are interested in the details.