Doug Tracy

Cancer follow-up

2009-01-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

January 10: Had a CT scan on 1/2 and met with my oncologist 1/8. Everything checked out as normal. She now wants me to come back in 8 months (out from every six months). Then after that, she's putting me on a five year return (from the time I was declared cancer free) - so 2012.

Shoulder Improving

2009-01-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

January 10: My shoulder is improving. Using a sling for six weeks. No lifting for two months. Back to meet with the surgeon 1/13. Some of the muscles seem to be getting strained - not sure what that's about since I'm not using them.

Surgery

2008-12-04T06:25:00.000-08:00

December 3: Surgery went well. The tears were fixed and the bone spur was shaved down. He found the bicep tendon was detached. So a 4th incision was made and he re-attached that. In addition to general anesthetic, they did nerve block using nerve in the neck. It can last 6 - 24 hours. I slept throuh the night but was told when this wears off, I need to keep on the pain meds.

Next medical adventure

2008-12-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

December 2: Tomorrow I am going in for surgery on my left shoulder. I have a torn rotator cuff, torn labrum and bone spur pushing on a tendon. Hopefully, this will eliminate the pain I've had since March.

It's arthroscopic surgery unless one of the tears can't be fixed this way and in that case, the surgeon will make a longer incision and make the repair. He expects the surgery to last 1-1/2 - 2 hours and I'll go home after coming out of the anesthetic.

Recovery time is unkown until he sees the extent of the repairs. I'm expecting to be home for a week.

Still good news

2008-05-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

April 16: CT scan and blood tests were normal. No signs of cancer. The contrast dye has made me sick this time and the last, so the doctor wants to go back to a chest xray every other time. So, alternating between a chest xray and CT scan every three months. Each time the tumor marker blood tests are done and a exam by the doctor. Next year it should move to just 2 CT scans per year.

Good news

2007-12-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

December 14: More good news. My quarterly review went without any trace of cancer. Blood tumor marker tests and CT scans were clean. The doctor now will move to a four month testing cycle. So, the next tests are in April 2008. The difference is that she wants to do a CT scan every time instead of alternating with a chest x-ray. This is due to the microscopic cancer cell they found in the surgery. After 2008, the cycle will go to twice a year. After five years, it will go to once a year. I'm feeling well - with a few lingering chemo effects; ringing in the ears and some muscle cramps in my feet. Life is good.

Another good report

2007-09-13T07:50:00.001-07:00

September 12: Met with the Oncologist today and the tumor markers and chest x-ray were clean. Still have ringing in the ears and some numbness in my feet - it's been 8 months since the last chemo treatment. The doctor said it could take 12 - 18 months for these to go away or they may never go away. Next check-up is in December with a CT scan and tumor marker blood tests.

Clean again

2007-09-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

September 5: My colonoscopy was clean - so to speak. No polyps. Next one is ten years out. Next test date is September 7. Blood tumors markers and chest x-ray. Then, meet with the doctor the following Wednesday to review the results.

More good news

2007-06-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

June 13: I met with the Oncologist today to review results of the CT Scan and blood tests from last week. The tumor markers and CT Scan were normal. My cholesteral is higher than it should be and up from a year ago. She said there's no connection between the chemo drugs and an elevation in cholesteral. Just need to work on diet and exercise.

Next steps include a colonoscopy in August (because I'm turing 50) and surveilance with blood tests and chest xrays in September. This will be the longest time not seeing a doctor in the last 8 months!

Relay for Life (post event)

2007-06-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

June 9/10: The event was very inspirational to me. So many people walking to support others who have been touched by cancer. Our team raised over $3,000 and the event brought in over $130,000. It was a great gathering of my work friends, family and other friends. Some of the participants are shown in the photo.
Relay for Life

Relay for life event

2007-05-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

May 21: One of my good friends at work has organized a team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Event. Annette Colombini is the team captain for the event that happens June 9/10. If you are so moved, you can join in the relay or sponsor one of the participants. Relay for Life

The event starts at noon on Saturday, June 9th and ends at 8:00 am June 10th. There are several other teams also participating. I have not attended one of these events before. People who have attended in the past have expressed that the event is very moving (pardon the pun).

I have been doing very well lately. Sitting up for long periods of time and lifting some heavy objects are still a challenge but I'm feeling improvement every day. I have to be careful to not try too much.

Cancer free

2007-05-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

May 10: Follow-up with the Oncologist went really well. Tumor markers and chest x-ray results were normal. The doctor declared me cancer free which was really good to hear. She told me that in the tumors that were removed, two different pathologists were able to only find three cancer cells. The cells were so small the type of cancer couldn't be identified. She rates my chance of recurrence at 3%. People are considered "in remission" for testes cancer after two years of normal tests. All other cancer is five years. She wants to be more aggressive with surveilance because of the cells that were found so in six weeks I'll have a CT scan instead of the normal six months.

Back to work

2007-05-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

May 7: I went back to work full time today. Everything went well. I wasn't even tired at the end of the day. It was really good to get back to a normal day and see all the people I work with. So many people that really care about me and my health - it's very uplifting!

I'm still dealing with "peripheral neuropathy". This is a side effect caused by the chemo drugs that effects nerves starting in the hands and feet. It can spread to the legs and arms but I haven't experienced that yet. It's a numbness and tingling sensation that at times recruits the muscles to cramp up. Nothing can be done about it. It's just something I have to deal with. It may or may not go away over time.

More progress

2007-04-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

April 23: I'm making progress with the recovery. I only take Ibuprofen at night and the incision pain is now reduced to feeling like a bad sunburn. My mom and sister visited us this past weekend. We took an outing to the Everett Home and Garden Show. This is only the second time I've been out of the house in four weeks. It went well - I just had a little pain later in the evening from sitting upright in the car and at lunch. Walking doesn't seem to inflict any pain so I'm up to about a mile a day now.

Progress

2007-04-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

April 14: The doctor was very pleased with my progress. I had a follow-up visit with him last Tuesday. He had me switch from Tylenol to Ibuprofen to releive the incision pain. There's about a 3" wide pain path on both sides of the incision. Still no lifting anything heavier than a laptop until six weeks. Yesterday was three weeks post surgery. I was able to tie my shoes for the first time - a real milestone.

The surveillance program starts in early May. I will have a blood tumor marker test, chest x-ray and a check-up with the Oncologist. This will happen every two months for the first two years. I will get a CT scan six months from the surgery date and another one at the year mark. In years 3 and 4, the schedule extends to every four months for the tumor marker/chest x-ray and once a year for the CT scan.

For Nicholas and others

2007-04-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

April 8: Many times during my treatment and experience with cancer, I've gotten into a frame of mind that this is pretty bad for me. But I always catch myself and think about Nicholas. Nicholas is my cousin's 4 year old son who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia a few weeks before my diagnosis. Not all cancers are alike and his treatment is much more intensive than mine and much longer. While I complained about a 12 week chemo cycle, his is about three years. Read Nicholas' blog. My cousin (Nicholas' mother) is raising money for cancer research through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program. She will run in the San Diego Marathon on June 3. She is driven by the hope that some day no parent will ever have to hear what they did. Team in Training

Other worthy cancer research organizations:
American Cancer Society
LiveStrong Foundation

While cancer may not be eliminated in my lifetime, I have hope that it will be brought under more control for Nicholas' generation.

Hospital Experience

2007-04-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

April 7: My stay in the hospital lasted 6 nights. It was the first time I've ever stayed in a hospital. Overall, it went well. But I learned if you need sleep, don't look to get much in a hospital. With every shift change, the techs checked my temperature and blood pressure. In addition to that, they checked blood sugar levels at least once a day and drew blood every morning. The wake up call at about 5:15 am each morning was to have some blood drawn - not a pleasant way to wake-up. I found the hospital to be generally very noisy especially at night. I moved three times during my stay. The first night I was in the intensive care unit. Then, the next afternoon they moved me to the 15th floor where I stayed one night. Finally, bed space opened up on the 17th floor which is where the Urology patients were located and where my doctors wanted me to be. I was lucky enough to get a window spot and had a good view of downtown Seattle and regions south. My first roomate on the 17th floor was recovering from pneomonia and complicated by a weak heart condition. He had a rough night and next morning became unresponsive. The medical emergency team was called to our room and they transported him to intensive care. Never a dull moment. When it came time for me to leave, I was all too happy to get out of there.

Staples removed

2007-04-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

April 2: I had the staples removed and despite what I heard from other people, it really hurt! They were left in a little too long and the skin started growing over some of them. 10 days was too long. But it's done now. They put strapping tape type sutures to hold the incision together. Recovery is going okay but it's really slow. I tried eliminating the pain pills but it's too soon. Sherry and I walk 2 - 3 times per day just down the block and back. Walking doesn't seem to bother me as much as getting up and down from sitting or laying. Patience is the key.

Incision

2007-03-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

My apologies if this is too graphic. The incision is about 13" long plus the jog around my belly button. They used 40 metal staples. Looks like someone stopped at the hardware store before the surgery. They are really long and heavy gauge. One doctor called it a "trophy scar". Every doctor and nurse that examined me commented on it. But they were also quick to comment that it appeared to be healing really well. No ab crunches for awhile.

HOME

2007-03-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

March 28: I was released this afternoon and now I'm home on the road to recovery. One of my doctors put it this way: "After we take out everything we put into you, we no longer have a reason to keep you here." The passing tests were: can you pass gas?, can you pass urine without the catheter?, can you eat solid food without any nausea? It feels really good to get home. I was trying to beat the 7 - 8 day expected hospital stay by a few days and ended up spending 6 days there. We received results of the biopsy and they did find some microscopic cancer cells in the largest tumor but they were so small they couldn't tell what kind they were. In general, this is good news. It means no more chemo and a regimen of surveilliance.

They will take out the staples on Monday and then there's a follow-up visit a week or so later to see how the incision is healing. I am feeling pretty good but definitely need to keep up with the pain medication. I let it lapse last night and was in a lot of pain this morning when I woke up. Can't be tough here. Need to keep the pain in control. I'll write more about my hospital experience in the coming days. I'm really happy to be home.

Progress

2007-03-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

March 27: Doug continues to improve. He is sitting, walking, and now is free of the irritating tube that was down his nose, throat and into his stomach. This allow him to enjoy the freedom of getting in and out of bed without calling for help. The Doctor is very happy with his progress. Tomorrow he hopes to be put on food (though it will be liquid only). He has not eaten a meal since last Thursday morning. One more step towards going home.

Surgery

2007-03-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

March 23: Surgery went well; they removed all tumors. It was completed in 6 hours. I will be spending the night in the intensive care unit and will be transferred to a regular hospital room tomorrow.

Getting ready

2007-03-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

March 19: I completed my pre-anethesia clinic last Friday. This consisted of an EKG, blood draw and answering some general health questions. It also included meeting with a different Urologist than the one who's doing the surgery. I think this is a check and balance step on the part of the hospital. I can't eat any solid foods past breakfast the day before surgery. Then, I have a self-service kit to make sure my intestinal tract is empty. Not looking forward to that procedure but all necessary. Anxiety is building and I'm finding myself working to make sure I have everything done that I won't be able to do for awhile.

Surgery

2007-02-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

February 9: I was finally given the surgery date: March 23rd. A bit further out than I would like but the doctor wants my white blood cell count to be higher. This gives me more time to recover from the chemo treatment. Some of the details of the surgery are a little different than we heard. The doctor expects it to take between 6 - 9 hours. He also told me to expect to be in the hospital for 7 - 8 days. After that, full physical recovery could take up to 6 weeks. I was expecting the recovery time but the surgery time and days in the hospital are double what I was prepared for. It's still sinking in but I'm ready for this next step.

Next Step

2007-02-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

February 6: I had a full day of tests. Blood draw, CT Scan and hearing test. The hearing test indicated some hearing loss in the higher frequencies. But not enough loss in the conversation range to warrant hearing aids. The Oncologist later told me that the ringing may get worse before it gets better. She also told me it may be up to 18 months before the ringing lessens and it may be with me the rest of my life. The blood test - tumor markers were negative. The CT Scan still showed at least three tumors that haven't shrunk much since the last CT Scan done one month ago. Because of the teratoma element in the original tumor (that's not treatable by chemo), I need to have the surgery. An exact date hasn't been decided but should be by tomorrow. My white blood count is still low and the surgeon wants to let some more time for my body to recover from the chemo. The surgery will happen in the next 3 - 5 weeks.

Sea of yellow support

2007-01-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

January 30: My co-workers at Fluke and Fluke Networks suprised me with a show of support by wearing yellow Live Strong shirts today. This really lit up my day! Support from people I work with, friends and family has helped me get through my situation. This was overwhelming!

Post treatment

2007-01-27T15:24:00.000-08:00

January 14 - January 27: Each day has been progressively better than the day before. I still have ringing in my ears and it doesn't seem to be getting better. The muscle pain in my lower left leg and foot comes and goes. I can't walk for more than about 5 minutes before it starts to tighten. Hopefully these two lingering problems will go away soon. Other than that I'm feeling so much better than I have in the last 6 weeks. 1-1/2 weeks to go before the tests and meeting with the doctors.

Cycle 4, last treatment days

2007-01-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

January 10 - 13: The treatment has gone really well. And now it's over which feels really good. I'm experiencing a lot of fatigue, constant ringing in my ears plus some stomach queasiness. But for the most part it just feels good to be done with the four cycles of chemo treatment. Now, the waiting period until February 6th to find out whether surgery is the next step or not.

Cycle 4, Day 1

2007-01-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

January 9: Treatment went well today. I had a high enough white blood cell count to do the treatment. We met with the doctor and she had the results of the CT Scan from last Friday. The tumors are shrinking - some went down about 40% and another one about 50%. This was good news. It means the chemo treatment is working. Surgery still sounds like it will happen though. The tumors would have to shrink away to nothing and even then, she thinks because of the number of tumors that surgery would still be necessary. But she wants to consult with the surgeon after this cycle is over. So, after this cycle is completed (four more days of treatment plus 16 more recovering) on February 6th I go in for another tumor marker blood test, CT Scan, hearing test and consult with both the Oncologist and the Surgeon. At that time, they'll review the latest scan and markers and we'll talk about surgery.

Continuing on

2007-01-04T04:36:00.000-08:00

Dec. 26 - Jan 4: It's been going okay. There are good days and not so good days. I'm continuing to have a fair amount of muscle pain in my left calf and foot. Walking up stairs is a challenge. There's more fatigue after this last cycle compared to after the first two cycles. Tomorrow, I get a CT scan. This will be the first one since November 2nd - before treatment started. I'll get the results of that next Tuesday when I meet with the doctor at the beginning of the last cycle. I'm hoping that the scan will reveal shrinking tumors.

Post treatment

2006-12-26T06:57:00.000-08:00

December 24 - 25: Leg cramps started early this time with my left calf and foot letting off some pretty intense pain. So, I've been trying to load up on the potassium (bananas and other foods). Other than that issue, things are going really well.

Cycle 3, last day

2006-12-24T05:10:00.000-08:00

December 23: Treatment went well again today. We were done in a little less than five hours. I iced the veins when I got home as they were fairly swollen and that seemed to help calm them down. Just a shot left to do on Sunday and then some time off.

Cycle 3, day 4

2006-12-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

December 22: This was another good day of treatment. Only hitch was they had trouble getting the port into the vein. So, they went back to the arm used for the first three days and found another vein. After that, it went well. I was there about five hours. Later that evening, I was very tired but that seems to happen on each cycle about the fourth day of treatment. One more day of treatment and a shot on Sunday.

Cycle 3, day 3

2006-12-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

December 21: Another good day of treatment. Not much to report. We were there just about five hours which is the average. We were lucky to get a bigger room this time but had to sacrifice the windows. Sunny blue skies when we went in and heavy rain when we left. Only two more days this week.

Cycle 3, day 2

2006-12-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

December 20: Treatment went well today. We were done in about five hours. I'm feeling fine at this point. It's usually about 3 - 4 days after the treatment ends that it hits me. The doctor tells me that is when the cancel cells are killed and the body is getting rid of them. So, three more days this week and a Nuelasta shot on Sunday. Then I'm good until the CT scan on Jan. 5th and the last cycle Jan 9 - 13th.

Cycle 3, day 1

2006-12-20T05:57:00.000-08:00

December 19: This ended up being a long (6 hour) day in treatment. Everything went well, just slow. They took the tumor marker blood draw and one of the markers they were watching was normal. We met with the doctor and talked about some of the side effects of the chemo and other drugs. She thinks the muscle pain is from the chemo and suggested eating foods high in potassium and magnisum or using supplements. She wants me to get another Nuelasta shot on Sunday to keep the white blood cell count up when the chemo is in my body at full strength. A CT scan was also scheduled for Jan. 5th to see if and by how much the tumors are shrinking. Part of what added to the length of the day was one of the nurses started the hydration at half the correct rate. We realized this about 30 - 45 minutes afterward and flagged another nurse to change it. I'm finding that we need to watch everything that's going on and ask a lot of questions.

Halfway

2006-12-19T05:07:00.000-08:00

December 18: This marks the halfway point in the 12 week treatment schedule. The past week, I've been feeling fairly well - just a slight cold. I had a blood draw to check the white blood cell count. It has to be high enough to start the next cycle. Late in the day I heard from the nurse that it was at 7,500 which is well over the 4,500 minimum. So, that means that I'll be on schedule to start the third treatment cycle. Good news is always welcome!

Cycle 2 post treatment

2006-12-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

December 5 - 10: It's been going pretty well this week. The last four days brought a lot of ear ringing - maybe it's the right season - but feels more like a torture treatment. Saturday brought a new issue that I didn't expect. Back pain and muscle spasms to an intense degree. These are on the list of many side effects of the chemo treatment. Sunday, the pain had eased considerably.

The shot

2006-12-05T05:18:00.000-08:00

December 4: Today I received a shot of Neulasta which helps the bone marrow produce more white blood cells. It works over a longer period of time than the Neupoen shot I received last week - which was designed to get me through the treatment. Out of curiousity I searched the internet for the cost of the Neulasta shot. Average price for one shot came up around $3,000. I'm very thankful for insurance. Still feeling good - just a little tired.

Cycle 2, Days 5 - 6

2006-12-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

December 2 - 3: Treatment went really well for the last two days of this cycle. There are less patients on Saturday and Sunday so the nurses can get the treatment going sooner. Sunday was a new record at 4 hours and 22 minutes! The self-portrait shown is the IV set-up. He's my walking buddy when I need to use the rest room. They don't allow me to walk up and down the hallway as some of the chemo drugs can be caustic if the bag ruptured. So, I'm confined to the room for the duration. So far, no back pain from sitting for 4 - 5 hours - which is nice.

Cycle 2, Day 4

2006-12-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

December 1: Treatment went well today for the most part. The nurse forgot to open the valve on the first hydration bag so the saline solution went in instead. The delay was made up later by increasing the flow and I was done in five hours. No travel problems today as the weather has gotten warmer. Not looking forward to two more days - but after that, I'll be halfway through the treatments.

Cycle 2, Day 3

2006-11-30T21:13:00.000-08:00

November 30: This was one of the best treatment days I've had. Everything was ready and my vein gladly accepted everything pumped into it. They place a port (see photo) in a forearm vein and leave it in for three days. That speeds up the process on the days it's already in place. So, I was done in 4-1/2 hours - a new record. Nice to have a good day follow a bad one. The steroids have also been cut down to reduce the jittery feeling. This is really helping me to sleep through the night.

Cycle 2, Day 2

2006-11-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

November 29: This was a long day. Blood work was done to see if the white blood cell counts were up. The lab took almost an hour and during this time, they can't even order the chemo from the pharmacy. They finally started the first hydration bag to get something going. The count doubled from the shot to 2,200 which was good enough to restart treatment. So, after 6 hours we finally went home. Sherry came with me as school was canceled again due to the road conditions. It was very nice to have the company but I lost once again at cribbage!

2nd cycle, Day 1

2006-11-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

November 28: This did not go well. They took some blood and discovered that my white blood cell count was too low to administer the chemo treatment today. Normal range is about 5,000 - 10,000 and I came in at around 1,100. The doctor prescribed a shot of Neupogen (G-CSF, or granulocyte colony stimulating factor) which stimulates the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells. So, treatment is moved out a day this week. Wednesday - Sunday. Now, I'm more susceptable to getting an infection. But the shot should help. The doctor also wants me to get another white blood cell booster shot next Monday after the treatment. This after braving the iced over roads to Seattle! Actually, there was much less traffic than normal because people stayed home. We got there in about 40 minutes.

Gone

2006-11-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

November 27:
I lost so much hair the day after Thanksgiving that it seemed best to have the rest shaved off. Otherwise, I looked like an extra in a horror movie . Shannon did the clipping. Now, I need to wear a hat most of the time. Two reasons: 1) so I don't scare anyone and 2) to keep my head warm.

Tomorrow I start the second cycle. Five days of treatment and then 16 days off. Then, I'll be halfway through the treatment. I expect to have a hearing test this week due to the ringing in my ears (now stopped). I also expect to have a CT scan after this cycle to see if the chemo treatment is shrinking the tumors. If not, the dosage or type of drug will be adjusted. I'm hoping the steroids can be modified this time so I don't feel like I'm living outside my body. Either way, I'm ready for round two.

New look

2006-11-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

November 24: I'm just about out of hair on the top and will have it shaved later today. It's amazing how fast the hair fell out - and still continues to fall out. We named the cats. There were several pair names considered: Bert and Ernie, Mutt and Jeff... But we settled on Marco and Polo. They're the adventurous type and calling them both at once is easier with this combination. Marco is the one with white spots and Polo is the dark tabby. (see picture below)

Beginning of the end

2006-11-22T04:33:00.000-08:00

November 21: It's been two weeks since the start of chemo treatments. Prior to today, I hadn't noticed any hair loss. Today was very different. It's the beginning of the end of my hair as I know it. Handfuls of hair are coming out. It's not coming out in clumps but when I run my hand through my hair, my hand is covered with hair. Even knowing this effect was coming didn't make it any less traumatic. I expect it to be gone by the time I start the next treatment cycle on Tuesday, November 28th.

Major distraction

2006-11-19T05:46:00.000-08:00

November 18: Since our 20 year old cat passed away a week after my diagnosis, Sherry and I have talked about getting a kitten. Our dog Wendy, the greatest Golden Retreiver and dog in the history of dogs, passed away in June 2005. Going from having several animals to none is quite a shock. So we've been looking at the cat rescue web sites and called on some of the ones we liked. PAWS (Progresseve Animal Welfare Society) utilitzes foster homes for their kittens. They operate a store front in Greenwood in North Seattle. We visited Cat City yesterday, filled out the paperwork and completed the screening interview. They bring just a few kittens in from the foster homes for the day so that people aren't looking at hundreds of cats and making "beauty contest" decisions. There were two male kittens about 2 months old in the storefront window. We were planning to adopt one female kitten. The kittens were cute and very interactive with humans. An hour and a half later, we were walking down the street each holding a cat carrier.

After we got home, I don't think I've been ever entertained for so long as I can remember. Never noticed any ringing in the ears!

Steriod hangover

2006-11-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

November 16 - 17: The steroids given to protect the blood cell count have a profound effect. Even though I've been tapering down on the steroids from day five to day nine, the residual amounts are mood altering. Increased appetite, the jitters and not feeling like I'm the same person from time to time are just some of the things I'm experiencing. Staying asleep at night has improved with an additional dose of Lorazepam. The ringing in the ears is now non-stop. I've determined this would be a good torture treatment. Still, in general, I am feeling really good.

Cycle 1 post treatment

2006-11-16T04:50:00.000-08:00

November 12 - 15: I have gone back to work and feel very good for the most part. Steroids are still giving the jittery effect which also causing me to have trouble sleeping at night. In the last few days, I've noticed some ringing in my ears and slight hearing loss which is another side effect of one of the chemo drugs. But I am suprised and delighted about how I feel right now. I fully expected to be missing days of work from fatigue. It's actually been the opposite with a lack of feeling tired. My appetite and hair are still intact!

Treatment days 2 - 5

2006-11-16T04:35:00.000-08:00

November 8 - 11: Treatment continued as planned. Basically, five hours on an IV waiting for fluids to drip into the veins. I feel okay through it all, just a little tired. Anti-nausea medication is working fine - I feel like eating most anything. Steriods to keep up blood cell counts deliver a side effect of being wired. They keep a permanent IV catheter in my inside forearm for easier access. But the limit is three days so on Thursday one came out and a new one was inserted on Friday.

First treatment day

2006-11-16T04:33:00.000-08:00

November 7: Today was the first day of chemo treatment. It started with a echo cardiogram for a baseline on how my heart is functioning. It's a sort of ultrasound in moving pictures of the heart. They look at overall size, how valves are functioning and valve wall thickness. I joked to the tech that it was a good sign so see it pumping on the screen.

Then, to the treatment room for blood draw to get a baseline on red and white blood cell and platlets. Video on chemo. Talk from the nurse about chemo and what side affects to watch for.

They started by pumping fluids to make sure my kidneys are up for the drugs. And early-on, I consumed quite a few anti-nausea pills in prep for the two chemo drugs. Without fanfare, they started the first chemo drug, etoposide along with the fluids. When that was done, they put on the Cisplatin. This one requires a lot of fluids so we waited for about an hour and a half for that one and the remaining fluids to get pumped in.

After that the day was topped off by a hearing test. Quite an extensive set of tests. These chemo drugs can degrade hearing so they wanted a baseline and then they'll test in another few weeks and in a few months.

Longest day and move to treatment

2006-11-15T04:55:00.002-08:00

November 2nd: Met with the Urologist/Ocologist and he reviewed my files and pathology reports. He didn’t have access to the CT Scan which I brought with me on a disk. We discussed the staging and RPLND was the best option. He said he does about 20 per year and felt comfortable with the high and difficult location. Then, he took the disk to review with an Medical Oncologist. When he came back in the room, he informed us that the large tumor was 2.2 cm and there were at least three of four more adjacent to than one with one crossing over the Aorta to the right side. New category: Stage 11B. With this category, chemotherapy is the first treatment. More tests to get a baseline. Blood tumor markers and CT Scan of pelvis, abdomen and full lungs were done. Then, met with the Medical Oncologist. She recommended four cycles of chemotherapy using EP drugs.

Search treatment providers

2006-11-15T04:55:00.001-08:00

November 1st: The doctor called back to say his colleague would be out of town until the next week and that I should start looking for other opinions/treatment locally. I called Virginia Mason and got an appointment for the next day. Time is of the essence to prevent further spreading.

Better news but more uncertainty

2006-11-15T04:54:00.002-08:00

October 30th: Met with the doctor and the results showed that the marker went down to 2.5. Best news yet. But this marker is not full evidence that the other tumor is benign or not carrying the taritoma. The doctor said he put my case before some local colleagues and they weren’t in consensus about which treatment. Some thought that doing the RPLND could miss anything that’s spread to the lungs. Others thought the RPLND was the best course of action. He said he would call an expert at MD Anderson in Houston to see what they recommended.

More tests

2006-11-15T04:54:00.001-08:00

October 27th: Blood draw for the tumor maker.

Bad news defined

2006-11-15T04:53:00.002-08:00

October 18: Meet with the doctor to review the CT scan. We looked at a 1.94 cm tumor located higher than usual up behind the Aorta and in front of the left kidney near the renal veins and arteries leading into the kidney.

New category based on this evidence: Stage 11A, pt2, NX. Still need to get the results of the upcoming blood tumor marker test in a few weeks to see if this other tumor is emitting Alfa-Fetoprotein levels. But the doctor is very concerned about doing a RPLND that high and feels that there may be undetectable cancer spread into the lungs. The RPLND will only remove lymph nodes outside of the lungs. But we are still strongly considering the RPLND. The doctor also tells us he’s leaving the practice and the state at the end of December and therefore didn’t want to be doing the RPLND. Our news for the day seemed to be going from bad to worse. We discussed traveling to the MD Anderson Cancer center in Houston for the surgery. But still needed the tumor marker for the next treatment step options.

Bad news coming

2006-11-15T04:53:00.001-08:00

October 17: Call the doctor to see if the results were back and they scheduled an appointment for the following day. I knew at this point the results weren’t good.

Tests

2006-11-15T04:52:00.004-08:00

October 10: Abdomen, pelvic and lower lung CT scan to look for metastatic tumors in the lymph nodes in the retro perineum. Then wait for the results.

Pathology results

2006-11-15T04:52:00.003-08:00

October 9: The Urologist reviewed the pathology results of the small masses. One mass about 1.5 cm was seminoma (see types) and the other mass about 2.9 cm non-seminoma with some immature taritoma. Now the Urologist was “eating a little crow”. The blood tumor marker Alfa-Fetoprotein level was 26. Anything over 6 indicates evidence of cancer. Other markers came back negative which ruled out possible brain invasion and other types of carcinomas. CT scan was scheduled for the next day. Next blood marker tests were scheduled for four weeks out (to see if the levels go down after removal of the initial tumors). Cancer category identified at this point: Stage 1B, pT2 (see staging). Treatment options were discussed pending results of the CT scan. Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection (RPLND) and/or Chemotherapy. The doctor thought the RPLND was likely.

Surgery

2006-11-15T04:52:00.001-08:00

October 4: Surgical removal of the testicle (left radical orchiectomy) It was about a one hour procedure with an hour of recovery from the anesthetic and then home for recovery. The recovery went well. Just some pain standing up and sitting down for a few days.

Day before surgery

2006-11-15T04:51:00.001-08:00

October 3: The meeting was very short with the Urologist. Emergency surgery was scheduled for the next day. He told my wife and I that men my age who get testicular cancer usually have a seminoma type cancer which isn’t as fast spreading and threatening as non-seminoma.

The day I found out

2006-11-15T04:49:00.000-08:00

October 2nd: I went in for the ultrasound test and knew something was wrong when the technician brought the radiologist back in the room. He told me they discovered two masses in my left testicle. I told him that I now proved my doctor wrong about being too old for this type of cancer. Then, he told me that he had already scheduled an appointment in an hour and half with my original primary care doctor to go over a plan of action.

Back at my doctor’s office, he met with me and “ate some crow” about the statement of being too old. From there, he had me do a panel of blood tests and a chest x-ray. After those, he told me the testicle would need to be removed and arranged an appointment with a Urologist for the following day. The doctor called later in the day to report that the chest x-ray didn’t show any cancer evidence.

The beginning

2006-11-15T04:48:00.000-08:00

A few weeks following my 49th birthday – around the end of September 2006, I felt a pain in my left testicle. I visited my doctor a few days after onset of the pain on September 28th and he asked me if I did any research on the internet about it. I told him I found out it could be testicular cancer but he informed me that I’m too old for that. (see statistics) He thought it might be an infection. An antibiotic was prescribed and an appointment for an ultrasound was scheduled.