Blood Test / CT Scan Results

So this last week has been a very long week for me. I only worked 3 days but it felt like eternity. I am guessing it was due to my upcoming doctors appointment today. I got the results of my CT scan and bloodwork back. The results are about what I expected but the doctor was able to clarify some things for me. The doctor ordered blood tests of my Alpha Fetoprotien and hCG levels. My AFP results were 5.4 ng/mL. Now, I dont know what that means but the reference level where it should be is less than 8.1 ng/mL. So my AFP is good. My hCG is less than 2.0 mIU/mL and the reference level is less than 10 mIU/mL. The tumor marker found in my blood is 2.6 ng/mL and the normal range is 6.1ng/mL. So bloodwork looks really good and the oncologist sounds positive that I am in good shape. The CT scan revealed a very small nodule on my right lung but he was not concerned about it. Its 5mm in size which is too small to biopsy. With my tumor markers as low as they are, it doesnt seem to indicate that there are any new tumors about to pop up and thus the cancer has not spread anywhere. Thats what we want to hear !!! To be sure, I am going to do a PET scan tomorrow. The CT scan results were a little bit limited due to the fatty tissue (beer gut) causing the beam to not read 100% accurately. Nice !!! Another reason to get into shape so modern medicine will not fail me. The doctor gave me 2 choices. One was to do 2 rounds of chemotherapy or to observe and monitor with quarterly blood tests and CT scans. I am electing to go the surveillance route. So my official diagnosis is Stage 1B testicular cancer and the tumor is classified as pT2 which means that the tumor is limited to the testis and epididymis. That is about as good as I could have hoped for. This feels like the best course of action to prevent any future complications with infertility and to not subject my body to the rigors and side effects of chemotherapy. Hopefully the PET scan will not reveal anything that was not seen on the CT scan. I will post an entry once I get more info. Thanks for the support and the love shown. I hope that other men will take action if they find anything out of the ordinary and not wait to seek treatment. Please spread the word about my blog and story to others who may find it useful. Thanks again for the love and support.

CT Scan

So the last 20 hours have been a stomach's worst nightmare !!! I had to drink 2 450 mL Barium Sulfate suspension "smoothies". The instructions were to drink the first one 1 hour prior to bed the night before your test and the 2nd one 1 hour before the test. The first one I had was banana flavored. Not too bad. I has able to manage it in about 3 drinks. The effects on my stomach were not so good. I was up for about 3 hours last night with major indigestion. I didnt have a big dinner and have been eating sensibly so I am blaming the drink. This morning, I drank the 2nd one. Mixed Berries. It was AWFUL !!!!! I almost spit it up a few times. It was the worst. I went to the appt and was very surprised to learn about the procedure. I guess I should have done my research or asked questions to better prepare myself. First off, I had to wear a hospital gown. Was not ready for that. Nothing like sitting in a cold, drafty waiting room wearing a gown with total strangers sitting around you. Luckily, my wait was not very long. I went in the the CT room to see this huge donut looking machine. I laid on the table and the testing began. I was moved through this opening where I guess pictures were taken of my chest, pelvis and abdomen to look for abnormalities associated with cancer. The entire procedure took about 20 minutes or so. The iodine that they injected me with left a terrible taste in my mouth and a very strange feeling in my hands. Its only temporary so no long term effects. Anyhow, looking forward to a restful weekend and spending some holiday time with the family. I am doing some bloodwork/tests next Tuesday and will probably put a post up after that. So, enjoy the weekend and be safe.

More questions, fewer answers

So today has been a long day. I woke up around 7:00 AM and got ready to go to work. I told myself I could do it and I would give it a 100% effort. After showering and getting ready, I was already sore. I didn't take any pain med because I cant drive while taking it and didn't figure I would be able to do any work either. So, on no pain meds, I made my way to work. The whole time I was thinking about my appointment with my urologist Dr. Winkle to go over the surgery results. So I was able to work from 9 until around noon. The pain from sitting down was hurting my incision and staples were not feeling well. My employer was very understanding and let me go home. That was probably the best thing for me. I ate a small lunch and hung out alone for the afternoon. I went to my appointment and met with Dr. Winkle. He looked at my incision and staples and decided it would be ok to remove them. Got to say..... not a pleasant experience. I think I made it worse from being so tense. I think I left a permanent hand mark on that table. After removing my staples, the doctor came back in and talked about my surgery. He said that the tumor was completely isolated to the testicle and had not spread to any other part that he could see. That was a bit of good news. He did say that the type of tumor that it is, a nonseminomatous germ cell tumor, was not the one he was hoping for. Apparently this type of tumor, is more common and requires a little more treatment to ensure that the cancer is not laying dormant in another part of my body. Not the news I was hoping for. The recommendation is to have a chest, pelvis and abdomen CT and an array of blood work. Once those tests are complete, then the oncologist will make a recommendation. That could be anywhere from just an observation period to a round of chemo/radiation to knock out whatever may be in there. The doctor did say that it looked like my tumor markers were slightly elevated but could be due to the surgery just happening. The oncologist said that testicular cancer was a curable illness and that my prognosis was good.  It appears that everything was caught early enough that hopefully this will not be a drawn out fight. There are questions of future fertility due to treatments that can render a man sterile. So now the discussion of family planning will begin shortly. So as you can see, a lot of unanswered questions and fewer answers than I was hoping for. I am trying to remain strong and going to use my new-found disease as an outlet to help other men in my same situation. The urologist recommended checking out the LiveStrong Foundation. He said there is a lot of good information on there. I will check it out and let you all know what I think. So, it looks like I am now officially a cancer patient. I was hoping that it would have worked out differently but I feel confident based on what I have read and been told that I will come out of this just fine. I will continue to workout and eat more sensibly. I will also start incorporating more "cancer-friendly" foods into my diet to help fight this disease on a natural level as well. My intention with this blog is to continue providing medical updates as to my condition and use this as a therapeutic outlet for my thoughts/feelings so that others with these same thoughts or issues confronting them can find some comfort in what I am writing and they can know that it is coming from real life experience. Please pass along this blog and encourage others to follow so they can benefit from the information that is provided. Thanks and much love to everyone.

Recovery Update

Well, my recovery has been moving along the way my doctor anticipated. I get to meet with him tomorrow to discuss the biopsy results and talk about a further course of treatment if needed. I am praying that this is all that will be needed. I will post something up tomorrow after my appointment so everyone knows whats going on. I did get to take my bandage off last night and had a shower. Someone said it would be the best shower I have ever had. I would say that it was close to the top for sure. I have about 20 staples along an 6-8 inch incision. It will end up being a nasty scar. I am still taking some pain meds. I think the meds are making me really groggy in the mornings. I am having the hardest time waking up and becoming aware of my surroundings. Maybe thats effects from the anesthesia.I find myself zoning out from time to time. Like I am daydreaming. That should be fun at work tomorrow. I am kinda curious to see how I will be able to manage at work tomorrow. Its a lot different being able to sit back in my comfy chair with my feet propped up and trying to deal with customers. Hopefully I will be functional tomorrow before going to the doctor appointment.

Why Now ??

So from reading my previous posts, you should know what has been going on and where I am right now. The question you may be asking yourself is "Why ??" A close friend of mine asked me last night, "Why did you wait so long ??" That is kind of the whole point of my writing this blog so others will not wait so long. I was scared to know the truth, scared to go get advice, scared of what would come next. I don't want others to be scared. I want my story to inspire men or ANYONE who needs medical treatment to seek it immediately. I was stubborn and embarrassed to ask for help and probably waited a lot longer than I should have. I didn't want to say anything because I was afraid of scaring my wife. I know she is going to hate reading that but she has enough on her plate to not have to worry about me. I am blessed to have her in my life and she has made this all easier on me. But she shouldn't have to worry about me. And I think that has been the biggest thing I have learned in this whole experience. That the people who love you are going to worry, but they are also going to show you the love and support to make you feel better, to not be scared and make it easier for you to go through what you are going through. Because they are with you.

End of The Weekend

Evening all...... had a great time this afternoon with the family. Nice to hang out and play some cards to take my mind off of things. I spoke to the on-call doctor today and he said I had to leave my bandage on for a few days and I cant shower or get it wet at all. Thats not really very cool. Hopefully Melissa wont kick me out of bed or go sleep at her sisters house !!! Anyhow, I will be happy to get this off. I want to check out the scar !! The meds I am on are working pretty well. Still just taking 1 pill at 4-5 hour intervals. I am concerned about trying to go back to work this week. Lots of stuff to sort through. I will work on doing that in the next 2 days while I am home alone.

Good Sunday Morning

I thought I would give everyone an update from last night and this morning so far. My pain continues to be all localized to the incision the doctors made. I haven't tried to mess with the bandage or look at the staples but I assure you, they are there. We had a nice evening last night. Melissa picked up some Olive Garden and we watched a movie. I have been maintaining a 4-5 hour pace with my pain medication. I have only been taking 1 pill per time. I am thankful my pain has not been that bad. It hurts if I sit still for too long. I have been propping my legs up on the ottoman and that has felt nice. Almost like laying down which is what I was told to do. I went a little long last night without pain meds and when I woke up, the pain was much more evident. We are having some family over this afternoon for a little get together. I am looking forward to that. Its always nice when they are around. Very fun to hang out with. Anyhow, I hope everyone is well today and please pass the word about my blog to people in my situation or may find it useful. I am going to stat experimenting with pictures and video on here soon so it will have a much more interactive feel. Until later, Peace, love and much happiness.....