What would I do different

My wife and I had a conversation with a couple last night that are going through their fight with testicular cancer. He’s already had a lymph node dissection, and is scheduled for an orchiectomy for this Friday. They know he will start chemo thereafter but not exactly sure of the schedule of when everything will start. In speaking with them it reminded me of all the things that I’ve spoken too in this blog and all of the things that I haven’t. So, I’m going to attempt to speak to some of those things over my new few entries. Hopefully, if you’re starting your fight you may have some more information that lets you know what’s coming down the pipe. Now remember that every battle is different and that everyone’s body reacts differently. So my experience may be different than yours but it doesn’t hurt to know the possibilities of what you may experience. The number one thing I would do over, or different, if I had to do it over again would be to ask, no BEG for a port! Now I’m not a person who likes needles to begin with so when my doctor told me that the treatment period was so short that a port would be overkill, I like most people took my doctors word for it. Now don’t get me wrong I love my doctor, but between the effects that took place with my veins and the total number of needles, there were some days that seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. Come November it will be 5 years since my last round of chemo. I’m finally starting to see some veins resurface in my forearms. The veins that used to reside on the inside of my arm at the elbow have been MIA since October 2007. They used to be beautiful veins, I would walk in to get blood drawn and the tech’s face would light up with just how easy their job was going to be. Now, they play, “Rock, Paper, Scissors” to see who has to try and find something that works. For the last almost 5 years the only place that’s been working regularly for blood draws have been my hands. Now I never had a port so I don’t know the pluses and minuses of a port, if you do have experience with one I’d love for you to comment and let us know. What I do know is that if you have a port you won’t have to sit and get stuck 9 times in one sitting letting them dig in your arm with a needle looking for a vein that they can use. The 9 times only happened a few times, but those days really suck! The biggest long term issue with the veins is you will have to continue to do CAT scans and other IV related activities throughout the course of your life, and for people who don’t deal with cancer patients regularly; I’ve found that they aren’t always the most talented at finding and hitting useable veins. If your phlebotomist is under the age of 30 be wary. I’m not saying they aren’t capable but you will want the most experienced person in that office working with you. I was able to stump the best at the offices I’ve visited over the last 5 years. Chemo nurses are typically the best I’ve been around. So for that Thank You!

SLOW COMPUTER

Believe it or not I started writing this post 2 weeks ago. Apparently I do a horrible job of maintaining my Laptop. Between trying to open the computer and getting to this site to write this post it has taken approximately 2 weeks and over 2 hours tonight to get to this point. I recently have had a few people in or around my life have a cancer scare or two. Personally I have been battling a sever sinus infection, bad enough that my general practitioner had me do some blood work to make sure it wasn't something more. Good news is I'm only full of mucus and crusted mucus. Sexy I know! I have a friend who's 9 year old daughter had to have a spot removed from her scalp, we should get her results soon so be praying for her. And there's one more guy that I've recently been told is possibly dealing with a similar situation to what I have over the last 8 years. I'll let you know more as I hear more. In the mean time I'll be getting this shirt for my fellow testicular cancer patient. Gone But Not Forgotten

Race for the Cure in Columbia Testicular Cancer Team

Guest Blogger David Haas

How Weight Management Helps Cancer Patients Everyone wants to live a cancer-free life, right? Unfortunately, for some people, this just isn’t possible. Even the healthiest people can get blindsided with a cancer diagnosis. You may have never smoked, but you could find out that you have lung cancer. You may get regular checkups with your doctor and then find out that you’ve had breast cancer. You just never know. What do you do when you find out you have this horrible disease, though? Many people let it overtake their lives. You don’t have to claim defeat, though. Add exercise to your daily routine and you’ll start feeling better than you ever thought possible. Most people know that being overweight is a huge threat to their health. It’s no different when it comes to cancer patients. In fact, it’s worse to be overweight when you’re battling a disease. The body doesn’t run as efficiently as it can when you’re carrying too much weight and it can’t fight off an illness to the best of its ability. Being overweight or obese raises your risk for disease, makes it harder to fight it off once you have it and raises your chances for the disease coming back once it’s gone. People who achieve and maintain a healthy, lean body mass have much less a risk for cancer than their overweight counterparts. Being in a healthy weight range also lowers your risk for other serious diseases, like diabetes and heart disease. Engaging in regular physical activity is one major step towards monitoring your weight. In order to lose weight, you’ll need to engage in both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training or weight training. Many people skip weight training because they don’t want to gain pounds in the form of muscle, they want to drop weight. However, building muscle can actually help you burn calories more efficiently and help you lose weight in the long run. Replacing fat with muscle isn’t the same thing as gaining weight and many cancer patients actually lose muscle while they’re undergoing treatment. If you’re struggling with cancer or are dealing with treatment for mesothelioma, you’re probably exhausted, both physically and mentally. This disease can be extremely taxing on your body and you may have barely enough energy to go about your daily activities. Even when it feels like you simply can’t exercise, you still should, even if it’s light exercise. In the long run, working out will increase your energy, not zap it.