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AMA, Testicular Cancer

Blogs > Zambrah
Post a Reply
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Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 08 2024 01:09 GMT
#1
I got testicular cancer around the beginning of the year, found out around May, currently dealing with cancer treatment AMA.

*****
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
itsjustatank
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Hong Kong9154 Posts
August 08 2024 02:01 GMT
#2
I have no questions, only that I wish you the best.
Photographer"nosotros estamos backamos" - setsuko
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 08 2024 02:20 GMT
#3
Its going well-ish, chemo has been harsh, but Ive never been in any life threatening danger, just varying forms of discomfort/excruciating pain, and the pain has mostly been limited to the second week of chemo.

I'm currently severely neutropenic, so super threatened by even mild infections due to chemo killing off my immune system real good, so I guess right now is the most at-risk my life has been, but aside from massive fatigue, chemo brain fog, and some mild inflammation in places, I feel pretty alright atm!
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
kAra
Profile Joined September 2004
Germany1374 Posts
August 08 2024 09:06 GMT
#4
also wish you the best of luck fighting this
mada mada dane
Uldridge
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Belgium4768 Posts
August 08 2024 11:05 GMT
#5
I wish you a full recovery.
If you drink coffee: are you still allowed to drink coffee?
Where was/is the tumor located and is it a specific subset of a class of tumors?
How 'permanent' throughout the day is the fatigue?
Taxes are for Terrans
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-08 13:16:34
August 08 2024 13:16 GMT
#6
On August 08 2024 20:05 Uldridge wrote:
I wish you a full recovery.
If you drink coffee: are you still allowed to drink coffee?
Where was/is the tumor located and is it a specific subset of a class of tumors?
How 'permanent' throughout the day is the fatigue?


I will almost assuredly make a full recovery, Testicular Cancer is one of/the most cureable cancers out there!

My tumor was in my left nut, it was a germ cell tumor and was more or less just kind of growing in it, I only noticed there was a problem because leftie grew to the size of ~a large chicken egg and was three times the normal size. Totally painless.

The tumor type was a yolk sac type, this is where I got unlucky, because I have the rarer, more malignant, and aggressive choriocarcinoma brand of testicular cancer, which if left untreated likes to spread to places like the brain! So my tumor type and cancer type were basically some of the worst possible for testicular cancer, luckily even then its still all super treatable in all the same ways as the other less-spread-y types.

The fatigue is like, I feel pretty alright as a baseline, but doing almost anything is like running, it just eats up your energy so hard and so fast that its very difficult to do anything for any length of time. Driving? Makes me tired ~30 minutes in. Walking to the grocery store? I got one of that .3 mile round trip in me per day, knocks me out for a good three hours after. Eating? Weirdly tiring. It all feels better rest, but trying to do very much at once is tough at the moment.

My fatigue is probably going to be a lot worse than an 'average' chemo experience because chemo's killed my immune system harder than average, though. Some people are out there hiking for several miles a day on chemo.
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
wheelsonrent
Profile Joined August 2024
1 Post
Last Edited: 2024-08-08 15:02:44
August 08 2024 14:44 GMT
#7
Bot edit.

User was banned for this post.
micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24680 Posts
August 09 2024 00:14 GMT
#8
First of all total bummer you got stuck with this, but good news that the prognosis is good.

On August 08 2024 22:16 Zambrah wrote:
My tumor was in my left nut, it was a germ cell tumor and was more or less just kind of growing in it, I only noticed there was a problem because leftie grew to the size of ~a large chicken egg and was three times the normal size. Totally painless.

Was there a period of denial where you were noticing the problem but writing it off as not warranting seeing a doctor? Three times seems like a pretty big change from normal!

TotalBiscuit acknowledged his delays in getting his symptoms checked out likely spelled his doom, unfortunately.
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-09 02:16:33
August 09 2024 02:15 GMT
#9
I literally just did not notice til I did, which is part of what scared me enough to go hard and fast for treatment, when I did I went to the ER same day cause there are only so many things testicular changes could be and most of them had lots of pain as a symptom, so I was pretty convinced I had cancer from the get go, it fit the symptoms for cancer and really didn’t fit symptoms for other things lol.

Yeah, cancer definitely spreads, honestly I caught it early and I was still on the edge of having to do three months of chemo and a possible super difficult invasive surgery if it had spread to my lymph nodes, so quick action likely saved me a lot of pain.

My initial oncologist visit estimated I had probably gotten the tumor ~4 months prior, so even another 4 month wait would’ve been a pretty hefty worsening of what I’d have had to do for treatment. Fast actions really important. They removed my left nut all of a week after viewing my ultrasound.

I actually have been doing all of my medical stuff in Maryland, up to an hour and a half away, because I didn’t want to wait the 2+ weeks out that every Northern Virginia urologist was telling me.

Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24680 Posts
August 09 2024 02:19 GMT
#10
When you were getting your ultrasound of that area did they ask you if it was okay to bring in an intern to observe, and she was really hot, making the whole experience super awkward? Cause that totally happened to me, although I didn't end up having any serious medical problems thankfully.
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
Xeofreestyler
Profile Blog Joined June 2005
Belgium6771 Posts
August 09 2024 10:02 GMT
#11
Wishing for a speedy recovery! GL!!
Graphics
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 09 2024 14:02 GMT
#12
On August 09 2024 11:19 micronesia wrote:
When you were getting your ultrasound of that area did they ask you if it was okay to bring in an intern to observe, and she was really hot, making the whole experience super awkward? Cause that totally happened to me, although I didn't end up having any serious medical problems thankfully.


Having been through art school, I am intensely hard to phase in that way thankfully.
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States44323 Posts
August 09 2024 19:20 GMT
#13
No questions from me, just wishing you a speedy recovery
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 09 2024 19:56 GMT
#14
Should be in somewhere around three weeks! May even be cured!
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25307 Posts
August 09 2024 22:12 GMT
#15
Best of luck brother!

I can’t think of many an insightful, or indeed amusing question to ask so I’ll just be rooting for a speedy recovery

Hopefully there is the silver lining that you’ll be more free to post on TL for a bit :p
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 09 2024 23:55 GMT
#16
I have way less energy for actually posting in any of the threads I'd normally post in, lol

Right now I'm at the Fallout Ghoul stage of hairloss which Im trying to relish. Sort of hope I can keep a few patches of strands around til Halloween, because I think it'd be a pretty amusing costume.
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
ZerOCoolSC2
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
8983 Posts
August 10 2024 01:26 GMT
#17
Teste cancer eh? That's tough. I've gotten lucky with only Hodgkin's Lymphoma 2x. Had to go through stem cell transplant (my own) after the second. 3x chemo treatment. It's a fun experience.

Here's to a full recovery m8!
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 10 2024 14:00 GMT
#18
They wanted me on 3x BEP for chemo, but my first oncologist was pretty adamant itd be overkill so I brought that up and they brought me down to 1x BEP, which is great because chemo has caused me some of the worst physical pain in the entirety of my life, I cannot imagine what people who have three cycles have to go through, lol
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
ZerOCoolSC2
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
8983 Posts
August 10 2024 14:16 GMT
#19
Well the first was 6 cycles and that was easy until the last 2. Then I just got really nauseous. The second was 2-3 weeks and the last was just 4 days. But insanely potent. Lost all of my immunizations and vaccines from birth until now so I've been getting all of those again.

Never any pain though. So I got lucky with that I suppose. What's the prognosis on return? Are they thinking you'll be clear or do you have a possible timeline when it could reappear?
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 10 2024 14:58 GMT
#20
No chemo was a 40% recursion rate, post chemo it should be down to like 1%, so should be in a good place, still might need a Retroperitoneal Lymph Node dissection in the future, but the odds will be way way lower since there wasnt any lymph node spread by the time I had caught the cancer which is nice.

My second week of chemo I was in such excruciating pain I had to be put on oxycodone and that only just sort of got me down to from an 8.5/10 down to like a constant 5/10 on the pain scale, lol. Went to the ER for it twice initially before I got the prescription and whatever anti-inflammatories they hit me with through the IV were 10x better than oxycodone...

If I ever do chemo again it will be under condition of hospitalization through the process because I will not sit in an ER waiting room for 3 hours in 8.5/10 pain under any circumstance of my choosing.

I didnt know chemo could obliterate vaccinations and what not, do you know what your chemo regimen was? Like the drugs they used and such
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
ZerOCoolSC2
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
8983 Posts
August 10 2024 22:50 GMT
#21
My first chemo was out patient but the second 2 were rather quick so they just kept me in the hospital for the week I did them. The first one was during 2014 summer in San Diego. I was commuting an hour by the bus plus school plus walking in that heat and humidity. Imagine my comfort levels hahaha.

I don't know the exact mix. It was a cocktail of 4 for the first and then a cocktail of 3 for the second 2. If that helps at all.
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-10 23:59:18
August 10 2024 23:57 GMT
#22
Yeah seems like a week of giga strong stuff and then petering it off for the remaining weeks of a cycle is common, my first week was the full 5 days of chemo and then the following weeks have been once a week, I think the cisplatin from my first week is considered fairly harsh stuff, and the follow up weeks are bleomycin which seem less hellacious.

Looks like Hodgkins Lymphoma has a ton of variations on chemo drugs, looks way less basic and standardized than testicular cancers chemo cycle
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
ZerOCoolSC2
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
8983 Posts
August 11 2024 00:26 GMT
#23
Yeah. If I remembered it, I'd be impressed lol. I went through the VA so it was whwatever they said I needed. It worked for almost 10 years, so I guess sucksex eh?
Zambrah
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States7297 Posts
August 11 2024 00:39 GMT
#24
Chemo is some harsh stuff, I’d be pissed if it didn’t work lol
Incremental change is the Democrat version of Trickle Down economics.
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