feel like an old man

[medstud]

hello all, i am a 37 year old, officially diagnosed nov 2, 2008. had my surgical procedure 2 days later (election day). been ok since then, i think. i have been back for 1 appointment. i am scheduled to return on dec 10 to give my decision as to what i would like to do concerning treatment options. all of you reading this, obviously know what those options are. however, i want to get this over and done as quickly as possible. so i believe the best option for that is the surgical removal of the lymphnodes in my abdominal area.

i have read the pros and cons of this. i am not worried about the recovery time involved with this option.

my main trouble with this whole diagnosis is my employment, and the time it takes me away from my position. additionally, will i be able to truely return in the same physical way i was before. this is truely a source of stress for me. additionally, i began to get 'sick' (fever, fatigue, needing to take naps in the afternoon, PAIN) in august and missed quite a bit of work. my clients understand my troubles, but my employer does not. i have since lost my job wich really is one of the most immoral thing that could have been done to me.

also from a support standpoint, i do not have any family to lean on. i count on my girlfriend in many ways. however, she is not fully understanding english (she is from korea) so i am not truely able to explain much about my situation. i am very thankful for this type of forum, and i wish i would have found it much sooner. i did attend a cancer support group meeting but it really did not pertain to me and i became disenchanted with this.

i am very greatful to my physician staff. my doctor is ian thompson (google him, very impressive), located here in san antonio, tx at the cancer therapy and research center which is now a part of the university of texas-san antonio health science center.

anyway, when i go to the doctor on wednesday the 10th, i will request my lab values and so on and display accordingly, as i see others have done this. perhaps then, i will feel like a real 'member of the club'.

i would welcome any comments.

thank for reading this

brad

[Russell's Mom]

It sounds like you are in a good cancer center. That is the best! If I could offer a suggestin...locate and contact one of the social workers at the medical center. They are full of knowledge about support as you are treated. As well, you might research laws in Texas...in California there are laws protecting employment during illness. Hopefully there will be some answers there. Another suggestion if I might...have the doctors or nurses print out your labs and information. It is difficult to take everything in while in the moment. Later you can start taking it in...understanding and a picture starts to form, just like a puzzle would. Good luck to you, Sharon

[ATLfuzzy]

Brad,
I am glad you found us. The fact that your employer let you go during your down time is deplorable. That really stinks.

I am glad you are proactive and on top of your treatment options.

Best to you!

[dadmo]

Brad:
Welcome to the family. I checked out Dr. Thompson, it certainly looks like you're in good hands. All of us here will be glad to discuss your options if you could give us more information. It good to see that you want to work agressivly towards a cure, that attitude will serve you well. The RPLND may not be an option for you. Certain types of tc can travel via the bloodstream which means the RPLND may not be a curative ans seminoma is not treated with an RPLND.
Do you know if there was any indication of spread and if it's an option would you consider surveillance? Can I use that picture of you back an make believe it's me:D?
As you think of things post them and we'll see what we can do to help.

[dadmo]

One more thing, be ready for the 40+ gang to bust your chops a bit.

[jmac]

Brad,

Hang in the there...cancer sucks but its the card we have all been dealt...you will overcome this...I am 45 fighting strong...you can do this...I would check with someone with a legal background, but I am not sure legally should have been let go from your company....

[NYC Russ]

If you were fired because of the cancer, that may be illegal. Texas state law is a bit more lax than others, but there are Federal requirements they still have to meet. The ADA and FMLA are the two that come to mind first. Check out the requirements at http://www.eeoc.gov/ and http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

In the meantime, if you do end up electing the surgery, at the minimum, it will take a few weeks to get back to work. (I ended up needing a bit longer - closer to two months). But once you do, physically, you get a little better each passing day until one day, you're back to "normal". So no need to worry about that part.

Best wishes.

[dns529]

Brad,

Sounds like you work(ed) for a real douche bag. You should make sure you put in place a COBRA plan so as not to lose coverage for your cancer once you find a new job - lapse in ins. coverage can cause that.

I'm an attorney and can sympathize with the stress of this diagnosis impacting your professional obligations. I am 38 and sort of on the upswing of my practice and its been incredibly challenging not to let this dx cause a metail derailment.

I have limited experience in employment law, but my knee jerk reaction is that the ADA likely doesn't apply to cancer in the workplace. FMLA will, but only if your employer is big enough - must employ more than 50 people or so, I think.

It sounds to me that the bigger issue here is how you, regardless of your employment, are able to handle this moving forward. If the orchiectomy surgery caused enough of an impact to put your employment in jeopardy, then you must assume that RPLND or chemo will be even worse. It was tough for me to accept that fact - since I have always viewed myself as invincible. Since you have choices in your treatment options, I am assuming you are in a low stage. I faced the same choices and it was really tough to decide. One thing that you need to factor in is that there is no "quick fix' for this. Regardless of which choice you take, you will be on surveillance for a long time. I chose surveillance even though i have a higher chance of relapse. Figured that it would be better to just have treatment if i needed it - since there was no real improvement on my surviability chances. However, the appeal of the added peice of mind from the surgery and benefit of just getting it out of the way was significant - but I had a type that tends to skip the nodes, so in the end the complication rate (27%) and severity of the complications (retrograde ejact, leaking lymph fluid, infection, bowel obstructions) wasn't worth it to me.

You need to make the best choice for you and, unfortunately, there is no right or wrong answer. Just remember, which ever route you go, it is the beginning of this journey, not the end.

[dmann999]

Please contact Lance Armstrong Foundation. They have experts to deal with just this issued. I did and Brendan is committed to help.... Good Luck Here is his email to me.

By way of introduction here is our mission statement....we handle insurance issues, debt issues brought on by a diagnosis, and employment concerns/discrimination.

Patient Advocate Foundation
Mission Statement
Patient Advocate Foundation is a national non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability relative to their diagnosis of life threatening or debilitating diseases.


Brendan Bietry
CA Case Management Supervisor
Senior Case Manager
Patient Advocate Foundation
3405 Kenyon St. ste. 412
San Diego, CA 92110
(800) 532-5274 ext. 2102
(619) 226-6550 fax
brendanb@patientadvocate.org
Patient Advocate Foundation will be closed for a winter holiday break from December 24, 2008 through January 5, 2009. We wish you and your family a joyous and safe holiday season.

[medstud]

wow, i wake up this morning and check this site out, and i see replies. thanks guys. thus far, most have been encouraging. one note about the employment situation. the mention of COBRA was used. this would be great, but as a fitness trainer, in the company i work for, WELLBRIDGE, we are not really afforded benefits, so we have to seek our own personal health insurance, which most of us do not, and i did not. luckily, i was able to obtain this from the community hosptial at a very low, bare minimum rate. also, this has allowed me to see the best physicians in the area/state.

FMLA, is available, if i had worked 1250 hours for the last year (nov 08 going back to nov 07) which, because i began getting sick in august, this was not the case as i missed a lot of time before i was diagnosed. anyhow, FMLA is only good for 12 weeks. my company does offer leave for those who dont qualify for FMLA, but it is 6 weeks. i am up on my time as wee speak, this will be my last week of official leave. afterwards, i am terminated with the 'option to reapply for reemployment'. i have spoken to a powerful labor attorney and he is interested. also, the ADA option sounds good and i will check into that. i am also looking into disability, hope this goes through.

as for the RPLND, it is non-seminoma, that is why it is an option, and has indeed invaded further, per ct, and i am classified as stage II. i will see the doc wednesday armed with a list of questions, and will get the lab results, radiology reports, and so on, and will post for all to look at for possible advice. i think this is best for me, as i want to get this garbage out of my system as quickly as possible. when i found out, i wanted it done the next day!!! however, being 37, i do feel as if it may take me a bit longer to recover, but being is good shape may help out.

lastly, i have been in contact with patient advocate organization. they have sent me info via email and snail mail. looks like a good resource.


thanks to all. keep the information coming, i am soaking it up like a sponge


brad

[dadmo]

Brad:
With stage II you will most likely be looking at chemo.

[Fed]

Hey Brad,

I'm in a crunch for time, and I'm out of town, but I do have a few moments to welcome you here despite us not wanting any new members. The job situation sucks, and I'm sorry you have to deal with this. The important thing, though, is that you are making an effort to try and figure things out. As far as your Dx, the choice of electing RPLND or chemo rides on the details of your pathology report (i.e. what kind of non-seminoma cells you had and in what proportion) and on the size and location of the nodes by CT. If you have something that may spread quickly, that is chemosensitive, and is located off typical node landing zones, then chemo is the likely choice. If you have a large teratoma component, then an RPLND would be better. With that collection of data, it will be easier to figure things out.

Fed

[medstud]

thanks fed for your advice.. i will wait till wednesday when i see the doc, and the numbers to make any decisions.

[petep]

hi - i'm 44 now - had my sugery 3 years ago dec 7th...then 3xbep...no problems running/swimming etc...

keep us posted on your pathology, all results...

hate to say welcome...but welcome....lots of good folks here...

pete