An Ironman Hopefuls Thoughts on Cancer

I'm an athlete. I trained for two years to prepare my body and mind to participate in an Ironman Triathlon. This required discipline. I spent 3 hours a day training, monitoring heart rate, and measuring my performance. I learned how to eat or "fuel" for short or long runs. I learned how to use electrolyte supplements to ease muscle cramps so I could train longer. I hired coaches to help me improve my technique and form with swimming, running and biking. I would concentrate on improving just one or two things in each training session. I focused on improving on what I had done before and shunned any comparisons to others. This was a personal challenge, to improve on my own terms and no one else.

And despite all of this, Testicular cancer manifested in my body. A tumor that ballooned to the size of a basketball that crushed two vertebrae, lumbar 1 and 2. It strangled my stomach so I could not eat more than 2 teaspoons of food at a time and made it hard to breathe. I lost over 60 lbs. and ironically, I looked like I was 6 months pregnant with all of the symptoms, i.e. back ache. I was reduced to sleeping most of the day and kept up at night with dry mouth and a back that ached so badly that I had to muffle my cries in a pillow to not alarm my wife and children.

Death was a looming possibility. All of my efforts seemed to be in vain. I tried many medical devices and healers applied their skills with little effect. Everything that I thought I knew was thrown back into my face in a merciless mockery. I felt guilty for having this sickness. How will my family survive without me? Why did I let this happen? Where is the justice in having this condition? Where art thou God? His answer was simple: "right here. I never left you." I underwent 12 weeks of chemotherapy, you can read about it here. It was harsh, I almost needed a blood transfusion a few times because my white blood cell counts went so low and I had a fever several times. Friends and family prayed for my recovery.

I was comforted and strengthened when I needed it most. My sister Lynell, my brother Mark, my aunt Elma, my cousin Theresa, my nieces Melissa and Leah and my mother came to visit. I had a vision of our family line going back to the patriarchs of old, a wonderful gathering of the family where we sat down for a meal while hearing the stories of our ancestors and afterwards danced together. The witness of the holy ghost was very strong as I related what I saw.

I have made many changes to adapt to living with cancer. I started juicing raw carrots, apples, beets, ginger, turmeric and other mixed greens and fruits. I eat salads with mixed vegetables and nuts as condiments. I drink Peppermint and Essiac tea instead of water. I perform a daily cleansing with a coffee enema. I spend a few hours in quiet meditation and prayer. I write. I work part-time as a technical writer. I walk a mile or two to stretch out my back. Recently, I have been having 3 chiropractic and 2 massage visits a week.

Recovery is coming along well. I track my progress with blood tests, e.g. Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) and Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). I monitor the size and shape of the tumor by laying on my back and pressing down into my abdomen. I feel the lump in my back. The shape and size changes daily. I have my doubts some days. I refused an Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) surgery because I thought the price was too high: a kidney, lymph nodes and probably another round of chemotherapy. I still have the goal to complete an Ironman Triathlon.

Diagnosis Testicular Cancer

I found a strange little bulge in my groin area one day. At first I thought maybe a testicle had somehow migrated up or something weird like that. I visited Dr. Stubbs, my primary care provider about this concern. She referred me to a surgeon in American Fork. Dr. Peterson diagnosed an inguinal hernia. However there were several other symptoms that I described and it caused him a lot of concern. He told me that it sounded like I had more than just a hernia. The hernia was uncomfortable and painful. I hated feeling like a snake was crawling down my leg.

An inguinal hernia occurs when soft tissue, usually part of the membrane lining the abdominal cavity (omentum) or part of the intestine, protrudes through a weak point in the abdominal muscles. My hernia looked like a bulge in the groin area that became more prominent when standing up.  The bulge would disappear when I laid down. I tried to manage the hernia wearing a special support underwear but it seemed to get worse as time went on. I wanted to avoid having the hernia becoming 'incarcerated' which would require emergency surgery. As the hernia progresses, intestines can descend into the hernia and runs the risk of being pinched within the hernia, causing an intestinal obstruction. I visited Dr. Stubbs again when I felt a another bulge in my abdomen, a firmness. She consulted with Dr. Savage and they both agreed that I should get a CT scan. I resisted getting a CT Scan. I kept denying that anything was really wrong.

After the CT scan, I got a call from Dr. Stubbs, the scan revealed a large tumor mass. I had a very difficult time accepting the diagnosis of cancer. Yes, I had a large tumor mass in my abdomen and I had a lot of unexplained sickness and fatigue. When Dr. Stubbs talked to the radiologist, she felt that the best course of action would be to immediately check me into the oncology ward. It was her fear that my life was in jeopardy. However, I felt confused and upset by this course of action. I didn't see how sitting or laying in a hospital bed would make a difference and I'm always wary of hospitals because of the risk of infection, i.e. Staph. I talked to Dr. Stubbs and she related how the situation came across to her. The radiologist was alarmed by the size of the tumor mass and wondered how I could walk. She hoped that I could stay in the hospital a few days and get the tumor removed as soon as possible.

Cancer therapy is much more complicated and requires some analysis to determine what kind of cancer is present and a qualified Oncologist to evaluate the best treatment options. This led me to scheduling a biopsy. A core needle biopsy (CNB) is performed using a hollow needle to withdraw small cylinders (or cores) of tissue from a tissue mass. I was given an anesthesia where I remained awake and aware that there was a needle being stuck in my back but not feeling any pain. The doctor placed the needle into the mass using an x-ray image to guide him. The first biopsy took 5 samples but the test came back with no results because all of the tissue sampled was dead. It left a small bruise in my back and was sore for about a week.

I was upset at the results and a little irrational. I refused to talk to  Dr. Stubbs or the surgeon Dr. Peterson for several weeks. I was upset because of the cost, hassle and trouble this whole process required. I talked to another surgeon and scheduled another core needle biopsy that would take a sample and a doctor would be present to analyze each sample until they got enough live samples. This test required 25 samples and 5 were live samples. They had drawn some fluid which indicated that the tumor had grown so fast that some of the tissue in the core had died and became liquified.