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 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 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 MoreIt was in the fall of 2012 that my life that cancer would turn my life upside down. At the age of 29, with two kids just five and three at the time, I would come face to face with my mortality, fight for my life, and watch the world around me evolve at a time when my life was at a standstill. 5 years later, I am a college graduate, and on to another new journey in life.
Read More"Hey guys! My name is Josh Cooper, I am a stage 2a Pure Seminoma Testicular cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in October of 2012, originally stage 1b. At the time, I was a healthy and happy 24 year old, and thought nothing could go wrong. One day, I noticed my left testicle just felt off. It felt hard, but I didn't find a lump. As the days went on, I searched webmd, and started to worry. With no health insurance, I went to my local urgent care. They originally thought it was an infection, but a few weeks later we did an ultrasound. That day, I got the call the changed my life. I remember sitting in my car, my world crashing around me, when I heard the words "Mr. Cooper, there is a very good chance that you have testicular cancer."
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 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.
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