My Story
My story started back in January 2023 when i found a lump on my testicle. I called the GP the following day and booked an appointment. At my appointment i mention that there is a lump and i occasionally get an ache but its nothing more than that. The doctor has a feel and offered medication, said the medication will flush through any infection, i guess this was just to tick off the infection side of it and to come back in a few weeks. A few weeks later i go back to the doctors and said i haven't had any pain or ache but the lump is still there. Again, the doctor has another feel and then says he will refer me to MK hospital to get it checked out though an ultrasound. A few weeks later i get an appointment through for an ultrasound, i go to the hospital. i didn't have to wait that long which was quite good and i sit down with 2 nurses who explain what is going to happen and if i had any questions. I laid on the bed and they put on the gel and start the ultrasound. i was trying to lean forward to see what they were looking at, to see if i could see the lump. The Nurse was clicking and measuring for what seemed a long time. They didn't say anything as to what they were measuring, just that it had to get sent off to get checked and to wait for the results in which the GP will call me when they're in. Two and half weeks later the GP call me to tell me my results are in and everything is okay. Did i want a telephone call with the doctor or did i want a in person appointment, i asked for the in person meeting as i wanted to ask what they were looking for,what they were measuring and i felt that this wasn't worthy of just a call. They said that the wait time to see the doctor was 4 weeks (typical) but i said that's fine, i mean i was just told that everything was okay. i was happy to wait. 4 weeks later i go to the GP, sit down with the doctor and she starts going through the results from the ultrasound. mentioned that i have a benign cyst in my right testicle, this isn't a cause for concern but i should be aware of it. She then reads further down and then the tone in her voice changed, indeed they found the lump but it was being classed as suspicious, they needed further tests to be done to examine what it is. She has another feel of the lump and says she is going to refer me to MK hospital again, this is the first time that cancer was mentioned, it was a possibility as it was suspicious but this time. The wait doesn't seem too long before my new appointment and i sit down with the doctor who again explains the results and what he wants to happen, surgery was mentioned so they could remove it and check what it is. A few more weeks go by and i get another appointment with the doctor and he said that the surgery will happen, they need to get the testicle out and i will hear back with an operation date. We spoke about having a prosthesis put in (fake testicle) what to expect from the surgery. Surgery day and I get called in and a nurse comes over and tells me the operation was successful and there wasn't any complications. I get my discharge papers and go home Recovery was fine and it went well, i was up and walking as much as i could. 3 weeks later i was back at work. About 2 weeks after, so 5 weeks after my surgery, i go to another appointment with my wife and as soon as i walk into his office I'm greeted as normal, by the consultant. Hi, how are you. As soon as bum hits the chair, the consultant said to me "YOU HAVE TESTICULAR CANCER" That hit me hard... i zoned out and was just shocked. i knew it was a suspicious but i was always lead to believe that it still may be a cyst. The doctor is mentioned about being transferred to Churchill Hospital in Oxford as its a really good hospital for cancer treatment. The doctor asks if we have any questions and Amy asks when did you know it was cancer and the doctor said when they received the ultrasound. again, i zoned out and thought why not just say that they think its cancerous but need to do further tests that way if I'm told bad news, i have had time to process instead of getting hit with it now, all in one go. The doctor also mentioned that radiotherapy or chemotherapy will be what they will look to do. Ill have to have a CT scan to see if the cancer has spread anywhere else. i will get a call from oxford to organize an appointment. As soon as i left the hospital i tried my best to hold back the tears. i did a better job than Amy. I called work and family to tell them the bad news. When we got home we sat the kids down and told them that i had cancer, its a difficult conversation to have let alone with children but i wanted them to understand what was happening and i wanted to be as open with it as possible. i didn't want cancer to be difficult topic to talk about. i just explained that i had a bad germ in my body and ill have to have something that will make it go away, i may get poorly, i may get sick, i may lose my hair and my head may look really round but i will be okay. A few days letter have a letter come through giving me a date for a CT scan, nervously i go, and have it done. I get a call from Oxford with a appointment date and i eagerly wait. i just want to get this sorted. Appointment date comes and i am sat in the waiting room and everyone around me is going through Cancer. It hit me like a truck. it just got more real. I get called in and the consultant is asking questions, talks about the CT scan results and it came back and was told that the cancer has spread and it had spread to my lymph nodes in my abdomen. He then said that it was classed as Stage 2 testicular Cancer. The route they would go down is chemotherapy and they would give me 3 rounds and it would be BEP chemotherapy. He then listed what that was, what to expect. "First cycle i would have good and bad days, the bad days ill be able to get up and go downstairs, cycle 2 will be worse and by cycle 3, you'll be begging us not to give you anymore treatment." i had to sign a consent form for the chemo. he said they will give me a start date, due to the high volume the wait could be between 4 and 6 weeks. i thought that will give me plenty of time to sort things out at home. HOWEVER!!! 5 days after my appointment, so on a Friday i get a call telling me that i start chemo on the following Monday!! Monday comes by and i have to go to Oxford, and walk into the cancer ward. Give name, date of birth and weight and they tell you where to go. Amy is allowed to sit with me and keep me company but when i go back Tuesday I'm all on my own. its a totally different vibe when your sat in a ward and everyone is having chemo. My chemo consisted of 3 cycles. each cycle lasting 21 days, was classed as intense and accumulative, so got worse each cycle. Cycle 1 as a whole was tough, the amount of medication i had to take was first 5 days of the cycle i had to take about 15 tablets, these varied and after the 5 days it went down to about 6 a day for when i needed to take them. drinking water was also very challenging, between cycle 1 and cycle 2 i notices small clumps of hair on my pillow, when i grabbed a small amount of hair, i was able to pull it out. I booked an appointment at my hairdressers and i got them to shave it all off. beard included. My hairdresser was touched and thought i was brave about coming in and shaving it all off. cycle 2 was bad, really struggled with appetite, taking on any liquid, sleep and sickness, even though i was taking tablets for anti sickness. mentally i was struggling but wanted to take each day as it came. Cycle 3, they said it was accumulative, and wow, they weren't lying. the WORST I've ever felt. struggled to get up in the morning, had terrible acid reflux, which the hospital gave me MORE tablets to take. i was determined to try and get each day out the was, after all i only had 21 days left of the cycle. 2nd week in i got ill, really ill. The day started as normal, wake up and went downstairs to lay on the sofa. just trying to relax and i got to lunchtime i have this massive headache come on, i drink some water even though i had struggled throughout the treatment and i decide to try and take an afternoon powernap, to see if that helped. i go to bed and end up sleeping 8 hours. i woke up and Amy came in to see me, asked if i was okay and checked my temperature,. it showed 38.8, checked it again and it showed the same. I get to the hospital and get seen straight away, this time my temp has rose to 38.9. i am told to wait away from everyone as my immune system was suppressed. They find me a bed and i wait there. Few hours later, I'm moved to a ward where i spend the night and then i am moved to another side room. I have different doctors coming in to check on me. later that afternoon, One doctor comes in and tells me that the bloods that i had taken have come back and they're not good. he tells me i have got neutropenic sepsis. I didn't know at the time exactly HOW dangerous having sepsis was. i was in hospital for a week, i had loads of medicine through a cannula, i struggled to sleep and i really struggled mentally. i missed my last chemo session as i was in hospital so that got pushed back another week as they wanted my blood results to be normal... for someone on chemo. I have my last ever injection at oxford and i was so happy that ive finished my treatment. a few weeks after i have a letter through saying i need another CT scan, this is to see if the chemo has done its job. . i see someone different this time, who asks me how I'm doing and quickly we talk about the CT results. he mentions the results are good and THE CANCER HAS GONE!! i should go and enjoy my life. 7th June 2023 i got diagnosed with Cancer and i got the all clear 20th November 2023 :-)
