is to be able to save that last sip of beer for later... And also, I had testicular cancer.

Everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, but how many know that Movember is Men's health awareness month? I used to be the stereotypical man and not go to the doctor unless I was inches from death. That all changed, thanks to my wife. When we were dating, she encouraged me to see doctors regularly. I fought back. When we got engaged, she said she would need me around if we got married, so I started to see them. When we got married, she basically made it a condition of marriage, and I was good about it, for a while. Then, I got lazy.

We had a child, and I started seeing my doctor regularly... then I got lazy. Next came our 2nd child, and I was still lazy. I would get better, see the doctor regularly, then stop again. It was an inconvenience to go.

June 2019 - I felt a lump on a testicle. I made an appointment for a month out to see my doctor, but called every day to see if there were any cancellations. After 1 week, July 1st, I got in to see my doctor. He gave me an exam and said his level of worry was 3 or 4 out of 10, but it warranted getting an ultrasound. 1 week later, July 8th, I got in to get the imaging done. During the exam, the technician was friendly and making small talk while she was examining my right testicle. When she started getting images of my left testicle, she was silent. I figured that wasn’t a good sign.

My doctor called that night to tell me the results were abnormal, his level of worry was a 6 or 7 now, and suggested I see a urologist. He sent the images to the urologist that night. At 7:30 the next morning, the urologist’s office called and said they could get me in if I could make it there in 30 minutes, so I sped away. He told me that I had a mass on top of the testicle, and one inside, so a biopsy was out of the question. He wanted it removed, as soon as possible. Jen didn’t get back in town for two more days, and I would need her help recovering, so I said I would talk to her and get the surgery scheduled.

Two days later, July 11th, I met Jen at the airport at 6 AM to tell her face to face I needed a surgery scheduled. It was hard to talk about it, and I was a bit scared. I had never been under general anesthesia before, and was afraid of either waking up during the surgery, or never waking up. But it had to be done. We scheduled the surgery for one week later, July 18th and told our immediate families. I made it through with no complications, and was told no lifting or exercise for 6 weeks. The incision was just below the belt line, so every time I bent over, lifted my leg, or twisted, it hurt. The waist band of pants would run on it and irritate it when I walked. But it beats the alternative.

The biopsy came back, and the testicle was cancerous. There were 3 types of cancer, with the most prevalent being Teratoma. Good news: I wasn’t going to go through radiation or chemo, because Teratoma is resistant. Bad news: if it spreads, it would need to be surgically removed. Good news: the biopsy didn’t show any sign of it spreading. Bad news: if it spreads, it usually spreads to lymph nodes.

I went through a follow up CT scan looking for enlarged lymph nodes, and bloodwork looking at tumor markers. After waiting 2 weeks for the results, I spoke with the urologist, and he told me everything came back clear. He then wanted to talk about next steps. He suggested a Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND), which is removing the lymph nodes from around the aorta and vena cava. What should have been a great night of celebrating being cancer-free turned into a horrible night of dreading a major surgery removing tissue from my two largest blood vessels.

I scheduled an appointment with the surgeon to discuss, but he was booked a month out. A month of waiting for answers, and not telling friends or extended family what was going on. Telling them, to us, meant more questions to which we could only reply “We don’t know what’s next”. Finally, we met with the surgeon. The guidelines had changed, and for someone with no signs of it spreading, and no other risk factors, the RPLND was no longer recommended. Finally, some relief and knowledge of what comes next. I’ll be getting CT scans, bloodwork, and chest X-Rays for life, initially every couple of months, but eventually down to once a year. But it beats the alternative.

My early detection means it hasn’t spread yet. I am now more committed than ever to being more healthy, raising awareness, and keeping men from dying too young. I will be changing my diet and exercise, committing to moving 60 miles in the next month – 60 miles for the 60 men we lose to suicide each and every hour, and engaging people to talk about a subject that is uncomfortable and hits close to home. It will be inconvenient at times, and it will be a major lifestyle change. But it beats the alternative.