The
Adventure Begins
6/14/2004
Monday I make an appointment at Shore Medical services in Brick, NJ.
I pick them cause they're in my insurance plan and they are able to
squeeze me in. I'm here to have small lump on my right testicle
checked out. A few months ago I notice it while taking a shower. A
few days after it seemed to shrink in size I convince myself it was
part of the original plumbing.
Three weeks ago while on the road in Sacramento I began to notice
the lump again and this time I was feeling a continuous slight
discomfort. On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being kicked in groin) it
was about a 2. John and I were stuck in Sacramento with a broken
airplane. As usual we found a movie theater and a good Mexican
restaurant. After the movie we headed off to a Mexican restaurant
down the street. Over a margarita I tell him I think I have a
problem with one of "the guys". He of course thought it
was nothing but thought I should have it checked out.
So here I sit waiting to be called in. I have just finished a
mountain of paperwork that a new patient must fill out. I'm brought
in, Carol does my vitals and asks me further questions about my
medical history, family medical background and what I'm in for. I
tell her 5 to 10 but maybe 3 with good behavior. I don't think she
got it. My Dad has/had throat cancer. His mother had breast cancer
and my mom had a malignant mole removed years ago.
As Carol leaves she says doctor Mehra will be right in. I stop her
before she can leave and explain I had made an appointment with Dr.
Armbruster. Carol tells me he's at lunch and it would be sometime to
see him. So I opt for Dr. Mehra. Just before Carol leaves she says
that Dr. Mehra is a woman. Oh just great! So now I'm thinking I
can't back out for two reasons. One, I don't want to wait, and
second I'll look like a weenie that can't handle being seen by a
woman doctor regarding a testicle problem. It didn't take to long to
reconcile with myself I just needed to have this thing looked at and
get some answers.
I couldn't have been happier with Dr. Mehra. Very professional and
she really listened. She called Carol back in when she did the
physical exam on the testicle. I'm sure it's required to have
another person in the room when a female doctor is doing an exam on
a male. This had been the first time I had been naked with two women
since college. All I needed now was a Barry White CD and some
tequila.
With that over with Dr. Mehra said I need to have this looked at by
a Urologist. We looked for one within my health care program. By the
afternoon I had appointments with two Urologists. One for Friday
with a Dr. Chapman and the other for Thursday with Dr. Mahmood.
6/17/2004
2:30pm
I show up at the Doctor's office. Again I'm a new patient so out
comes the pen and mountains of forms. Once again the nurse brings me
back for vitals and questions. Dr. Mahmood comes in and we talk for
a few minutes before the exam. After the exam the tone of the visit
changed rather quickly. Just based on his physical exam he was
confident that I was going to have to have the testicle removed. He
was going to have his gals make an appointment for an ultrasound
today. Followed by blood work.
3:30pm
I walk across the street to Toms River Community Center to check in
with Outpatient Registration. I could tell the lady behind the desk
was suffering from years of battle stress on the registration
front-line. Ya know, that "rode hard and put away wet but I'm
still not taken any bull****" look. So I kept all my answers
short and sweet, never volunteering any other miscellaneous info.
Nor did I dare ask questions. I wanted to keep the good testicle
that she would have undoubtedly removed from my body had I pissed
her off.
Invite the Cooks
So now I'm having doubts that any of this is going to turn out well.
Time to make the phone calls. First was to dear ol' dad. I call him
first since he has been through this crap recently with his throat
cancer. So Dad is invited to meet me at Community Hospital. Of
course it's assumed I have shot myself with my new nailgun. This of
course is totally plausible.
My first comment when dad shows up is "Well, it must run in the
family". He didn't know what I meant. I said he had experience,
I never said he was sharp. To this day I'm still responsible for
setting the clocks on his VCR and wristwatches.
Just before the ultrasound I called mom and told her where I was. I
didn't explain yet what was going on. She thinks I had another
splinter accident. When I was 17 I turned around on our wood deck
and proceeded impale my big toe on a two inch splinter. No one else
was home and I had to drive myself to the hospital using only my
left foot for the gas and brake.
A Girl & KY Jelly : Not Always A Funtime
4:15pm The Ultrasound
Helen, the ultrasound tech, was a nice girl but a little cold. Not a
very good conversationalist. If you've got KY jelly and my "boys"in
your hand, the least you could do is try and get to know me. This
procedure is exactly like the one they do on pregnant women. Except
all we found were tadpoles, no stem on the apple here. You get into
your birthday suit and lay down under a blanket. She smears KY all
over your "boys" and grabs a big white rubber mallet
looking thing. "Hey wait, I'm kinky but I hardly know
you." With one hand she maneuvers the mallet, while the free
hand works a keyboard with the dexterity of a Microsoft programmer.
Once finished she leaves and says I can get dressed. "What, no
cigarette?"
OK so that was quick and easy. Next comes blood work. For me no
sweat, had this been my twin brother, I like to imagine how they
would draw blood from a 240 lb guy in the fetal
position. By the end of all this it's too late to visit Dr. Mahmood
with the results from the ultrasound. This didn't bother me one bit.
He had wanted to remove the testicle tomorrow on Friday. This delay
had bought me one last weekend of my life with all my bits and
pieces.
On the way back from the hospital I called mom to inform her what
was going on. She took it well. She was folding laundry and I
stopped by the Laundromat to help fold clothes with her. At
home I look at the ultrasounds for the first time. There were
actually four masses total. One was located near the surface and was
a solid white.
My twin brother comes home and I tell him the scoop. What's the
first thing he does, checks himself out.
6/18/2004
Friday
This time mom and dad tag along with me back to Dr. Mahmood's
office. Dr. Mahmood puts up the ultrasounds on the light box and
takes a look at them. The Radiologist had faxed over his report to
Dr. Mahmood already. This appointment was simple and to the point.
The testicle was coming out. After that done, most of the questions
would be answered later.
6/21/2004
Monday Game Day
Mom drives me to Shore Outpatient Surgery Center. The clothes come
off and the gown goes on. An IV is started, vitals are taken and the
last of the paperwork is signed. The nurse is especially concerned
that everyone is on the same page with respect to which testicle is
going to be removed. Years ago I lived in Tampa. There was an
incident at Tampa General that made national news. Doctors amputated
the wrong foot of a patient. I was determined not to let that
happen. At home I took a magic marker and on my leg drew an arrow to
my groin and wrote "This One ---->." I'm
wheeled into O.R. and Dr. Mahmood makes his appearance for the first
time. I start to feel woozy and know that I'm going under. I even
mumble "Here we go" then it was lights out.
One second later I'm waking up, groggy, sore, disoriented and in
pain. I am utterly amazed after reading hundreds of posts on the
web, that nobody talks about the pain. There was a lot of it. I
don't know what it is, the doctors make it less than it is, people
posting make less than it is. Why isn't anybody fessing up to the
pain? If you're about to go for this orchiectomy, prepare yourself,
it HURTS. It's going to be swelling, sore muscles, sore skin and
black & blue. My incision was 5 inches long and closed with 16
staples. After standing for only a minute it felt like I was being
jabbed with a red hot knife.
In the recovery room I start to shiver uncontrollably. The nurses
start to pile on the blankets. They help a little. The first attempt
to get up and leave fails. I know I'm about to fall over. I tell the
nurse. She thinks I need to lie down some more and puts the oxygen
hose back in my nose. She says my lips are a little blue. So we wait
another hour and after some cranberry juice and water I feel a
little better.
I make it home by the grace of the left over anesthesia. Later that
day I take the first pain pill and it helps me sleep. That's all I
want. In the middle of the night I have to get up and go to the
bathroom. I have to call for my mother and brother. I need to be
pulled up without letting my waist bend. It's excruciating. Getting
back in bed is no easier. Your muscles have been cut and they are
screaming at you for it.
Tuesday - D+1
Just pain pain pain. All I manage is lying in bed. I avoid solid
foods except for some watermelon. I can't imagine how much it's
going to hurt when I have to do a #2. I make it throughout the day
taking just two pain pills. The prescription allows for one every
four hours. I want to avoid them because they make you constipated.
The nurses told me before I left to get a stool softener. Oh, the
fun.
Wednesday - D+2
A tiny better. I manage a walk to the kitchen, about 20 feet. Later
that day the event comes that I have been dreading. It went better
than I thought. My neighbor brought over a toilet seat extension
that raises the height of the seat. Now I was truly on my throne.
Get one of these, it's a must have. The pain was still severe
but I was becoming used to it. Later in the evening I managed my
first shower and afterwards removed the dressing per my instruction
sheet. I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't comprehend why such a
small body part needed to come through such a large incision. I was
mad! Things also started to turn black and blue. I mean EVERYTHING!
But you have trust the people that spent years at medical school.
Thursday D+3
THE EMAIL.
Today I manage to relocate to the big comfy chair in the living
room. I can manage no more than 5 minutes of standing before the
"hot knife" of pain returns to the groin. With my laptop
in hand I check my emails. I can't believe my eyes. My dad has sent
me an email asking me to email this girl in North Carolina. She is a
sales person for This End Up and she's 33 yrs old and funny
according to my dad. He wants me to send a hello email with a pic.
I'm laid up in bed with TC, 16 staples in my groin, stool softener
and a toilet seat extender and my dad is trying to fix me up with a
girl. All I could do was stare, then I started a little laugh. Big
mistake!
Friday D+4
I have my second big date with the toilet seat extender. The problem
is I was in the middle of a phone call with my insurance company
going over the short term disability application when nature called.
If that guy only knew. So while I'm doing my business, this guy's
doing his. But after we're done (I'm not) he just wants to gab away
on the phone when he learns I'm a pilot. "Wow, what type of
plane do you fly? Where do you fly? Ever been scared? blah blah
blah"
Well that's the long and so-so story. As of 6 days after the op I
know that the tumor was malignant, the full pathology report is not
back yet. The blood test came out well. They say the results
indicate that it hasn't spread. We'll know this Monday when the full
pathology report is in and I get a CAT scan after the staples are
out.
Some funny miscellaneous stuff that was said or brought up over the last two weeks:
New nickname from friends - "T1" or "Testy"
They say I look like I lost weight - yeah about 10 grams.
I'll be walkin in circles from being lopsided.
Put in a metal one with a ball. Like a cowbell, people will know
you're nearby.
6/30/2004 Wednesday D+9 Days
"Gentlemen - Start your CAT Scans!"
Ok so now we are up to the CAT Scan. My Urologists has ordered a
scan on my pelvis, abdomen and chest, with and without contrast.
Yesterday I trek back to Community ( the same place I had the
Ultrasound done) to schedule the CT. There they give me a bottle of
what LOOKS like milk. What I get is a big bottle of Barium Sulfate.
Yumm. I'm to drink this stuff 2 hours before the scan, show up at
the hospital and drink another one 1 hour prior.
OK so now your wondering what is Barium Sulfate? Well here it is
below straight from their website.
Barium Sulfate Suspension
Brand Name; Lafayette
Description; Butterscotch-vanilla flavored, 2.2% w/w barium sulfate
suspension. Ready-to-use.
Features and Benefits; Exceptional flavor greatly enhances patient
acceptance. Fast transit time in G.I. tract reduces patient
preparation time. Ready-to-use formulation eliminates mixing and
measuring. Indications and Applications Opacification of the
gastrointestinal tract for computed tomography (CT) examinations.
Got it?! OK, now let me break it down for you in human terms.
Barium Sulfate Suspension - A.K.A - CRAP
Brand Name; Drink This Stupid
Description; A pathetic attempt to create a placebo taste effect of
butterscotch in the poor shmuck's mouth that has to drink this crap.
Features and Benefits; Exceptional flavor of ground up chalk,
sweet-N-lo with a hint of Elmer’s white glue. Don't stray far from
toilet. Toilet paper won't be necessary for the entire day.
This stuff should be called EZ-FLO. So I drudge through the second
bottle while in the waiting room. All around me are people cringing
each time I take a swig. I have a sneaking suspicion they're right
there with me in my suffering.
I'm led from the waiting room by the CT Tech. She walks ahead of me
opening each set of double doors along the way. Every time we come
to a set of doors I stretch my arms out and yell, "Open
Sesame!" Then I comment to her, "Want to see that
again?" I repeat this through all three sets of double doors.
She wasn't laughing.
I hook up to an IV that has the contrast solution in it. The tech
leaves me alone stretched out on the table. I can see all around me
very well. This CT Scan is much more roomier than the MRI I had done
back in 2000. So all of a sudden I hear this whirring sound and I'm
tellin ya, it was exactly like a jet engine starting up. I see
through the panel edges pieces of the scanner rotating around me.
The table moves me in and I notice a red laser dot on my chest. Just
like a sniper rifle. I look up and see where the beam is coming
from. Smack dab next to it was a label, "Don't look into laser
light". I swear I'm not making that up. Who puts a sign
like that NEXT to the laser emitter. D'OH. I pick up the copies of
the CT and head home. This night I pack for a stay in Hoboken with
friends after my visit at SLOAN in NYC.
7/01/2002 D+10 days.
My parents and I drive from the Jersey Shore to the Atlantic
Highlands to catch a ferry to the city. From 34th St. we catch a cab
uptown to SLOAN. We locate the office very easily. I have everything
with me. The ultrasounds, CT Scans, Pathology, Blood work & and
all associated reports, except the reports from the CT scans.
However, later that morning they would be faxed to SLOAN from
Community.
I check in. At SLOAN you get a credit-card-like ID card. OH boy, now
I'm an official member of the club. I wonder when my fan mail will
start rolling in. We meet with an assistant to Dr. Sheinfeld and I
am asked a plethora of questions by him. A lot about the history of
this. He asks about back pain. The light bulb went on. The pain in
my testicle started June 1st. In the last week of April and the 1st
week of May I had experienced some good amount of lower back pain. I
thought I had pulled some muscles while loading some passenger
luggage.
Dr. Sheinfeld comes in and we start talking. Within a few minutes it
went from him describing how TC works, to "this is what has
happened to you". "This is what we found". The cancer
has spread to your lymph nodes. Stage 2B. TOTAL SHOCK. I was absolutely
expecting to hear that I was fine, have lunch in the city & head
off to Hoboken.
We ask a gazillions questions. We then get sent to Dr. Bosl, SLOAN'S
Department of Medicine Chairman. His specialty, Oncology. We then
get into everything. Too much to say here. I'm told because of the
size of tumors in the nodes, after chemo, I will most likely (95%)
require a RPLND operation. This sends me into outer orbit. We break
for lunch at 1 pm. I can see mom is a wreck on the inside. I see her
cry only once in the waiting room. She feels bad for me and I only
feel bad for her, not myself.
I'm to be given 4 cycles. 5 Days on (3 hrs), 14 days off. The chemo
is Cisplatin & Etopside. Two other drugs orally to combat nausea
and vomiting and other side effects. Instead of a morning trip to
the city, we don't leave until 4:30 pm. I've been up since 6 am. I'm
totally exhausted mentally. I say goodbye to mom and dad. They head
back the ferry while I take the train to Hoboken. I needed to get
out of the house just for two days. My mom has been caring for me
like an angel and she needed a break as well.
In Hoboken I meet with great friends, Damien and Sarah. That night
we go to a friend's Doggy Birthday party. I needed it. Woof Woof.
To be continued... |