Texas Testicular Cancer Awareness Day

For what seems months I've been hearing ads on the radio for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk For The Cure, taking place a long time from now, in November in Dallas.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation works to find a cure for breast cancer. There is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I was curious if there is a National Testicular Cancer Awareness Month. Or a Week. Or even a Day.

Well, there isn't.

Something called "Get A Grip!" has something called Testicular Cancer Awareness Week the first week of April. But, it's not a "National" week.

So, I'm declaring today, January 17, 2009, Texas Testicular Cancer Awareness Day.

I think I mentioned it before, once or twice on this blog---I remember for sure mentioning it during last summer's Olympics, when much ado was made of swimmer Eric Shanteau's decision to postpone testicular cancer surgery, til after he swam---that I am a 23 year testicular cancer survivor. There are a lot of us. Like Lance Armstrong. He's going to try to win the Tour de France again.

I can see the value of a National Testicular Awareness Day, Week or Month. Back when I had it I did not know such a cancer existed til it was a plotline on TV's St. Elsewhere. I believe the show that focused on testicular cancer aired in early December. At that point in time I'd discovered a lump that I didn't think was right.

Early in the following February, the Seattle P-I ran a story about testicular cancer. From that story I was pretty certain that that was what my lump was. But I felt healthy, I jogged every other day. How could I have cancer?

Well, about 2 weeks after the P-I article I was jogging and I could tell something wasn't right, like the testicle zone felt real heavy.

I made an appointment with a Urologist the next day. He asked a few questions, felt the lump, turned somber, scheduled an operation in 3 days. I was forbidden to drink coffee the morning of the operation, the doctor was real late, they had me on a pre-op drip, I had a miserable coffee withdrawal headache that went away as soon as the anesthetic hit my brain.

I woke up after the surgery to find a nurse holding my hand. I instantly asked if it was cancer. Then a doctor said, okay, I guess we know you're fully alert. I was told it was cancer.

I later learned I had 2 types of testicular cancer, anaplastic seminoma and embryonal cell. I may be spelling those wrong. They are both the most treatable types of testicular cancer. The tumor had a high necrotic factor. Meaning, perhaps, that my immune system was already killing it.

Testicular cancer has one of, if not the highest, cure rates of any cancer.

I'm not going to detail the rest of my medical treatment, because I went the unconventional route and I would not want to influence anyone to go the route I took, even though I, apparently, made the right choice. Knock on wood.

During the period after learning you have cancer you feel sort of in a state of limbo. I went through the stages of adjusting to it real fast. When you face the fact that your time on the planet might be coming to an end sooner than you'd hoped it does tend to change your view of things. The only thought that could get to me, in that period, was the idea that I might not live long enough to see my little nephews grow up. The 4th one had not even been born at that point in time.

Well, I not only got to see them all grow up, I saw the oldest one get married and have a baby of his own.

Are you a man between 12-50, or are you a son, brother, father, mother, spouse, or friend of someone who is? Know this:

There will be 7,920 new cases of Testicular Cancer diagnosed during 2009 and 380 young men will die from the disease because they didn't catch it in time. That is more deaths than women in this age group who will die of breast cancer.

The main thing to be aware of on this Texas Testicular Cancer Awareness Day is early detection gives you the best chance at a good outcome. Do a self-exam at least once a month. If you find a lump that didn't used to be there, get yourself to a doctor immediately.