Kyle Trout Reflects on His Journey with Testicular Cancer
“Each day is a step forward in this journey towards healing and renewed strength.”
Only his most intimate friends and family know that Kyle has been battling cancer for the past several months. He hasn’t been hiding it. He just wasn’t advertising it. Since Kyle is now feeling much better and well on his way to recovery after surgery, he wanted to reflect and share his journey with Testicular Cancer.
On October 20, 2023, Kyle felt fine. On October 21st, he woke up with pain in his groin. He didn’t think anything of it and figured he had tweaked something while working out. So, Kyle took it easy that Saturday. On October 22nd, he tried to get out of bed and get dressed for church. His right testicle was about the size of a large lemon, way bigger than it was supposed to be. It was very red, swollen, and painful. His wife, who is a physician, recommended that they go to the hospital. After a couple of hours, a very uncomfortable ultrasound, and some snide comments from nurses who thought Kyle had an STD and was a scummy 20-something male who had cheated on his wife, they gave him broad-spectrum antibiotics and a shot in the rear for the STD that he didn’t have. They diagnosed Kyle with Epididymitis, likely caused by the STD (that he didn’t have).
After four days, Kyle showed no signs of improvement, so he gave the consulting urologist a call, and he prescribed him with another broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat the Epididymitis. On Friday, October 27th, the pain, swelling, and general discomfort had gotten worse, so he called the urologist again. He got Kyle in immediately for another ultrasound. Kyle found this weird, but he went in for the first appointment and got the ultrasound. Kyle went home and went about his day. Friday night, he was beginning to coach his high school football team in the playoffs when he got the call.
Kyle had cancer.
On Monday, the 30th, Kyle had an appointment where his urologist scheduled him for a right radical orchiectomy. He also got a CT with contrast. The urologist said the CT came back fine. Turns out this was not true. He had missed that one of his lymph nodes was slightly (1-2mm) too big.
On November 11th, the orchiectomy occurred. Two weeks later, on November 25th, they met the urologist again. He told Kyle the pathology was not great. He had a 95% Embryonal Carcinoma and 5% Teratoma. The urologist referred him to Dr. Cary at Indiana University. Kyle and his wife reached out to Dr. Cary’s assistant, who was amazing. She walked them through the process and said the longest part would be now; waiting until Dr. Cary could review Kyle’s file and they could meet with him.
On December 11th, they got the call. Dr. Cary wanted to meet them on December 15th. But first, Dr. Cary wanted Kyle to get another CT with contrast. So, he got one the next day across the city. Then they drove to Indy, and Dr. Cary recommended the nerve-sparing Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection or RPLND. Kyle wanted to avoid chemo as much as possible, so he opted for the RPLND. It was scheduled for January 11th.
On January 10th, they went to St. Elmo Steakhouse because after surgery, Kyle would be on a low-fat diet for several weeks. That night, he was throwing up, experiencing diarrhea, sweating, and thinking he was coming down with the flu or something. Kyle woke up early and tried to stomach some juice and oatmeal because the IU rep who called them said he could have a light breakfast. That was wrong information. Kyle was not supposed to have any food or drink at all that day. Luckily, the day before his surgery, they pushed his surgery time back to mid-afternoon. The delay allowed him to lay in bed all day and settle his stomach. Kyle included that part because it felt like Murphy’s Law was happening.
January 11th was an awful day even without needing an RPLND. Kyle and his wife had left something in their car, and the valet had to bring it back. They brought the wrong car. Kyle left his glasses in his hotel room before surgery, and his parents had to go get them. They took him and his wife to his room and didn’t let his parents see him before surgery. It felt like chaos and all his fault.
After he was taken to his pre-surgery prep room, the RPLND got delayed a couple of hours because he had eaten a small breakfast. So, Lauren, his wife, and him just sat around for a couple of hours waiting until he could be cleared. The surgery went well, but it took several hours. Only one nerve could be spared. But the cancer was only in the one lymph node. So, good news. Hoping to be cured, he began recovering as best as he could.
Unfortunately, after the surgery, Kyle encountered his fair share of complications. On February 8th, he developed an infection that required him to take oral antibiotics for a week, which wasn’t too bad. However, two weeks later, on February 22nd, Kyle was hospitalized for another infection and spent four days in the hospital receiving IV antibiotics. During this time, they also discovered a lymphocele in his abdomen that was compressing his inferior vena cava and right kidney. Despite having a drain placed, the lymphocele did not resolve itself, so he had to undergo four rounds of sclerotherapy.
Throughout this entire journey, his primary responsibility has been to rest and heal. This raises the question: who took over his usual responsibilities? His parents and in-laws stepped in to help care for his son, and their church generously provided meals for an extended period. However, everything else fell on his wife’s shoulders. She had to manage cooking, cleaning, childcare when no one else was available, attend work, study for her boards, assist Kyle with whatever he needed, and maintain her own well-being. This has undoubtedly been the most challenging trial their marriage has faced, and unfortunately, the immense strain on spouses like her often goes unnoticed and unacknowledged.
Now, as Kyle continues to recover and pray for a cancer-free future, he’s grateful for the unwavering support of his loved ones, the expertise of his medical team, and the resilience of his wife, who has been his rock through it all. Each day is a step forward in this journey towards healing and renewed strength.
