CT Scan

I'm done with the scans. It wasn't a tube like I thought. It was a 6 foot donut that they slid me through many times. They also gave me a contrast solution though an IV. A computerized voice would tell me to hold my breath in 10 second intervals about 30 times.

After I was done they gave me the film and a CD. They then asked me to deliver the pics and the CD to Anastasia Shaver in Urology. They said that they wanted me to take this directly there and not to view them, that I wouldn't understand it anyway. I agreed. I then went straight to Kinkos and made a copy of the CD. I can't wait to go home and compare these pics to ones that are good and bad on the internet.

Anastasia thinks she will have the results from the radiologist within 24 hours and will call me when she has them. Dr. Brennan is on vacation this week. My surgery follow up appointment is Tuesday.

So I will wait and try to make sense of these pics on the internet in the meantime.

Back to work.

Fred

I just met a 70 year old man named Fred. I let him know I have a little anxiety about going in the tube. Fred said, "ah shit, any f'n wimp can do this crap" , then walked into his appointment.

Anxiety gone. :)

Waiting

I'm in the waiting room.

A nurse just brought me some contrasting fluid (Barium Sulfate Suspension) to drink. They say it will be an hour before the tests begin.

Misc.

I'm taking a break from one my first real days back to post this. I'm working from one of my accounts, Panera Bread . This feels more normal than yesterday because normally I would never work from home. Too many distractions. Yesterday I got 100 percent caught up with my customers and today I'm getting caught up with my company. I talk to my boss everyday and she has been great.

I signed our family up at Cal Fit this morning and I know that made Brandi's day. We have a really nice gym and pool as part of our HOA but they don't have day care. So, what's one more bill in the name of health?

My mom called the other day asking me what book she could buy for me. I asked her for some books on nutrition while fighting a cancer. She brought me 5 books which was really nice. Brandi and I were talking about making an appointment with a professional nutritionist but now we don't have to. With all this info I'm going to be on a "cancer ninja" diet that I'm putting together at night with Brandi. I'll elaborate more on that later.

CT scans tomorrow and I can't wait.

I get this report that shows dots on a map from where people are logging on to this blog. I was very surprised to see it made it's way across the country. Some states included New York, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Arizona, etc.. I'm going to figure out how to post that map because I want it on my journal. That really fires me up because I would have to think it's made some people get their yearly check ups.

I talked to my friend who has the son dealing with cancer. After the the surgery on his stomach that he is still in pain from, they found cancer on a heart valve. He is starting Chemo soon and we pray for him every night.

Before all this, I was never really a spiritual person. Now, with this situation and some great words with my new friend Sharon, I'm thinking about it more and more.

Back to work.

Normal Day

I'm very excited to enter a very normal day today. No doctors appointments, no tests, no follow up calls to make, and no medicine in my system. I feel great. Today I have a huge list of admin work to do to get caught up on my work, I'm behind from being down for awhile. Normally I would be so irritated to have to spend a whole day doing paperwork and computer stuff, but I'm excited about it today.

Mercy

Mercy has been great. I would recommend them to anyone. Their follow up has been very good. They've returned all my phone calls in a reasonable time frame. I also, couldn't be any more impressed with how the different offices communicate with each other and keep me in the loop at the same time.

Radiation

Based on a clear CAT scan report, I will be starting Radiation Therapy sometime next week. They will schedule my 15 minute treatments in the evening so it won't interfere with my work schedule.

CAT scan

My CAT scan will be on Jan. 31st at 8:30 am at Mercy Downtown.

They will do 5 or 6 scans.
Pelvic. Abdominal. Lungs.

One of each with some traceble fluid they have and one without.

Medication

86 Percocet

68 Vicoden 500 mg 1-2 every 4 to 6 hours as needed for pain

Pathology Report in Hand

I received the hard copy of my Patholgy report. Most of it, you need a PHD to understand. Some things I did undertand read :

Pure Seminoma; typical type

No evidence of Lymphatic or Vascular Invasion

Spermatic Cord Margin and Vas Deferens negative for tumor involvement.

Something I have a call into the doctor because I'm concerned read:

Focal Intratubular Germ Cell Neoplasia present

Wal Mart

We went to Wal Mart tonight to get some diapers and stuff. It was nice to get out of the house. The bad part was I had to ride through the store in one of those Lark type scooter carts. Hailey thought that was pretty funny.

Hospital Wall

I know some people believe that things in your dreams can have a significant meaning. Every night since my surgery I have had this painted wall appear in my dreams. This is the wall that was to the left of my bed in pre op. Becky and Kristy thought is was so funny that this kids mural was next to my bed.

I wanted this random observation to be a part of my journal.

Need a refill

I just took my last Keflex pill and I have one Precocet left.

I'm going to have to go see the doctor tommorow because I still need a half dose every 6 hours. I'll have to go as long as I can today without taking the last one. We're going to the hospital anyway to get the Pathology report in the morning.

Pain is down

Pain is way down. I haven't taken a full dose of the Precocet yet today. I have cut it in half and I feel no pain. I just have to move a little slow.

My dad and Phyllis came by today and took down my Christmas lights. My neighbors will be happy.

Kristy came over for some Rock Band and dinner.

Brandi's mom made us dinner and brought it over for us tonight.

My mom came over to help with the kids this morning while Brandi went to an appointment.

Hailey is having a friend spend the night which is good for her.

I am wore out and taking a nap now. I've been getting tired easily. My body must be using a lot of energy healing.

Pain

My pain has been up and down today. It probably floated between a 2 and a 3. Getting better.

Article I found on my upcoming Radiation Therapy

Radiation Therapy
Seminomas, which are the most common form of testicular tumor, are very sensitive to radiation treatment. In fact, the treatment dosage is only about one-third of that required for prostate cancer, and the treatment cycle is only two weeks.

Radiation is performed after surgery to remove the testicle (orchiectomy). If the tumor was a seminoma, the oncologist may choose "watchful waiting" to see if the cancer returns, or use radiation to treat the lymph nodes along the spine, where 20% of recurrences are located. Even if the cancer comes back, it is still very treatable with either radiation or chemotherapy in the majority of cases. Radiation treatment has an average recurrence rate of about 5%. Radiation can also be used after chemotherapy if any cancer remains.

Other types of testicular cancers are more resistant to radiation, and are more commonly treated with orchiectomy and removal of affected lymph nodes

The Report

I'm going to pick up the actual Pathology Report on Monday. Dr. Brennan kind of caught me off gaurd and was going real fast. I have all my other chart info and I should have that as well, plus I want to make sure I didn't misunderstand anything.

Pathology Report is in.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Brennan. My tumor was confirmed to be cancerous. It is also confirmed to be Seminoma. This is the kind that's the best to have if you have to have it. They need for my body to heal from surgery, then they want to do a cat scan on my abdominal area as well as kidney area. He did say that the bloodwork shows no elevation but bloodwork doesn't show everything. Dr. Brennan told me that anyone who has a testicular tumor removed that is confirmed cancerous, Seminoma or Non-Seminoma, then goes in for the abdominal cat scans. Standard precedure. Also standard precedure will be some radiation treatments to follow a clear cat scan. If the cat scan is not clear than we will start talking in a different direction.

This is the news we wanted. There was a 2 percent chance it would come back benign, but besides that, we got the best news possible. It is Seminoma rather than Non-Seminoma. He added that there was no cancer on the tube that goes to my blood supply, which is great.

You know, I wanted him to say that he had removed the cancer and that they had gotten it all and this is over. The thing is, he doesn't have enough information yet to say that for a fact. They need to run a couple more tests to be able to say such a thing. I get that.

At least I'm not spending the weekend wondering.

I'm feeling a little less pain than I felt earlier this morning. I plan to start working Monday. I've been doing some stuff here and there but I think it will be good to dive into it next week. I will have to do it from home, of course. I'm lucky to have a job where I can be very productive from a home office.

Can't Wait

I really can't wait for tommorow. That's when I can take a real shower for the first time since surgery.

Incision is hurting

There is no way I'm cutting the Percocet in half tommorow. Pain is a 5 with 3 hrs until I can take it again.

The incision was made exactly 3 inches under my belly button and then over to the right 3 inches. So the surgeon than reached in from that point and........uh..........yeah.

There is a huge dressing on my lower belt line, covering the stitches. I still haven't looked under it. I couldn't tell you if it is one incision or two. I think he probably fixed the hernia with the same incision as the tumor, but I really don't know. I never asked or cared. I just wanted it out.

Same Scale

Today the most pain I felt was a 4. Its getting better. I'm going to try and only take a half dose of the Percocet tommorow at each time.

I've only been out of bed twice today. That's another reason I've had less pain. I'll try and move around a bit more tommorow.

The kids are back now which is breathing some good life into our house. We missed them.

Oh....and we slept like a couple of babies last night, so we are pretty much caught up on rest.

I hope we get the Pathology report back tommorow.

Etc.

Hailey and Evan are at my parents again tonight. We need to get some sleep. That was really nice of them to take the kids for the first two days of recovery.

So, the tumor that was removed has to be soaked (prepared) for 48 hrs. It will then be sliced down and put under the scope. That will be the moment of truth. Anastasia told me today she hopes for the results Friday, but it will probably come back Monday.

I did call Anastasia's office the minute they opened and apologized if I was rude. I did let them know they were wrong at the same time and should have known how to write a perscription right.

I've been in a cloud all day from this medicine and right now is no exception.

On a scale of 1 to 10

My pain is about a 6. Lucky for me its time to take my next dose. I take them at 8am, 2pm, 8pm, 2am.

Hernia

I had a mild hernia that was also repaired during my surgery. The surgeon noticed that at our first appointment and decided to fix it at the same time.

Along with 650 mg of Percocet, I have also been given 500 mg of Keflex to take every 6 hours.

Sleep Struggle

Went to bed at 10PM and woke at 1:30AM, unable to fall back asleep. The pain is starting to kick in. I'm not able to take a full dose of the Percocet until 8:00 AM. Also, I'm getting a little anxiety because I can't stop thinking about the Pathology results. We should have those results in 4 days. It will be fine. I just can't wait to get back to accomplishing our goals and moving through life with a clear head.

Home

We're home. Brandi just made me a turkey and avocado sandwich. It is delicious. First thing I've been aloud to eat since 11:30pm last night. They did give me a cracker and juice after surgery. Gee thanks. I found out they didn't give me Percocet at the hospital. They gave me something called Norko? It is starting to wear off a bit. Now it is time for Percocet which I hear will send me to la la land.



Becky, Kristy, and Brandi,

Thank you all for being with me today. It made all the difference to me to know the three of you weren't worrying because you had each other. I'm positive it must have been a bonding moment.


Good Night again.

Jeeeeez

I went to pick up my prescription for pain. They wouldn't give it to me because Anastasia didn't write it on a tamper proof paper. I called their office and they said I would have to call back tommorow. I told them a few choice words.

Then I called Dr. Kahn and he wrote it for me and all is good. I should probably call Anastasias office and apologize. Nah.

I'm Alive

Its all good. I'm being wheeled out now, 40 minutes after waking up.

No pain. Percocet rocks.

Time to Go

Blackberry needs to get turned off. My blood pressure IS normal. I go to the surgery room in an hour and a half. My next post will be after I wake up.

Good night.

Ready

Hairnet and feet nets are on. For the first time I feel like a patient. I'm ready to go to sleep and get this done.

We're here

We are at the hospital. They checked me in quick. Now they want me to scrub down with a medicated cloth and wear this paper skirt.

Getting Closer

We just left my parents and are on the way to the hospital. Check in is at 10:00am. At this moment, I'm still calm. Brandi is calm as well. I never would have guessed that. I'm really proud of her.

update

We're on our way to drop off Evan at my parents.

Today is the Day

Well I guess the day I've been preparing for is here. If you were to take my blood pressure right now, I'm sure it would be normal. I'm cool, calm, collected, and ready. It's on.

Time to take Hailey to school.

I've learned how to post on this thing from my blackberry, which is cool!

A Walk in the Park

Brandi and I are as ready for this surgery as anyone could be. We spent some time alone last night when we went and saw Juno. My parents are watching the kids overnight tommorow. Brandi will have the support of my sisters Becky and Kristy during the operation. I'm renting some movies tonight that I'll watch while I'm laid up for a couple days.

I'm not scared of the surgery. I am more scared of getting the IV put in while I'm awake than the surgery while I'm asleep. My biggest fear is waking up after the surgery. I've been hearing stories of people waking up from the drugs, acting like crazy people, cussing and yelling. Most people would probably be praying that they dont find that the cancer has spread, but my fear is waking up cussing out the doctor that just helped me. I think the reason I have no real fear going into tommorow is because I have all the confidence in the world in modern medicine and the doctors that will be performing the operation. It's a walk in the park. At least that's how I feel at this exact moment. I'm sure the day after the surgery I'll be squeelin like a pig because of the pain. Brandi seems to think their going to have me doped up for a couple days. We'll see.

SO much fun....

Last night was awesome. I'm not sure what was more fun, playing poker until 4 am, tripling my money, or our rounds of Rock Band in between. What I do know is that it won't be fun if Brandi comes home before the house is clean......

Computer is Here

I am happy to report my computer is back. My wife and boss will be happy that my expense account will be caught up.

Friday

3 days then surgery. Today my second opinion let me know that he agreed with me having surgery and agreed to also be a second opinion if and when further treatment is needed. I also got the name of a doctor at USF that is suppose to be one of the best. His name is Dr. Ming. If it comes out that there is more operations needed, I'm giving this guy a call. The guy I worked with, whos son has Testicular Cancer told me about Dr. Ming. They didn't use him because they didn't want to wait. He had surgery on his stomach Wednesday. I inquired to see how he's doing. They said they found a couple spots and removed them but things look positive. He's in a lot of pain as of last night. I hope that this is the end of his hard times and he is cancer free.

If you ( my friends son) are reading this and I think you might be, I hope you know my family has thought about you everyday. I wish you would ask your dad for my phone number and we could meet when your up to it. ____________________________________________________________________

Still no laptop but it will be here tommorow for sure. I have some people coming over tommorow night which should be fun. If anyone wants to play Texas Holdem tommorow night, give me a call. I have 2 openings left. The guys I play poker with most like changing games each hand but tommorow night is all Holdem.

So glad the weekend is here.

A New Day

Well, yesterday was kind of a bummer. All my team from work was in LA in trainings and I was home with a crashed laptop. My work laptop has been the best distraction and a replacement will be to my home today I hope. Yesterday was the first time that this situation has caused me to miss something, which really put it in my face a bit. Also, yesterday was Day 2 of me kicking coffee. My normal drink is 4 shots of espresso on ice. Lance Armstrong says in his book that his doctors told him to stop drinking coffee the minute they found the mass, so I did the same. So, I'll take that down day from yesterday and PUNT IT.

Today is a new day and I feel great. Since this blog is serving as my journal, It wouldn't be complete without mentioning a few things. First, my wife Brandi, couldn't be any better for me. She has been great and I love her. Second, I'm in the best shape that I've been in for years and my diet has never been healthier, this is also a credit to Brandi. I've been working out every night after the kids go to bed since Jan. 1st , before this B.S. came to surface. So, I'm ready for whatever.

On to my day.............

Bla

Nothing to report today. My results from my 2nd opinion will be ready in the morning. I will hear from them, they say.

Wednesday

Just another Wednesday today. Wake up. Work. Come home. I am looking forward to learning more from my second opinion tommorow at Sutter.

Well, "American Idol" has sure cheered this family up a bit. We love that show! Can't get enough of it. Another great generator of positve energy is our new Rock Band game for the xbox360. Brandi plays guitar, Hailey's on the mic, and I do drums. Evan runs dancing. We have been setting aside time from 7-8pm every night to play. Sooooooo cool. I'm glad Rebecca and Devin turned us on to that.

Today I received a journal I ordered from http://www.livestrong.com/ . It's pretty cool. A third of it organizes all my appointments, chart info, exams, etc. The next third is motivational reading. The final third is a journal. Hats off to those people for creating that.

Finally, many thanks for the nice comments, emails, phonecalls, and visits we have received. A bigger thanks to all the people that passed it on and perhaps encouraged someone to make an appointment! That, of course, is the point of me talking about my testicles to anyone and everyone.

Cheers

Surgery Scheduled

Today I was so lucky to be slammed at work and not have to think about this a whole lot. I did make "follow up" calls to see if my surgery has been scheduled. I harrassed them until they scheduled it. My surgery is next Tuesday at noon. I have to be there at 10:00a.m. My surgeons name is Dr. Brennan and the Nurse Practicioner from Urology is Anastasia Shaver, who will also be present. Dr. Brennans assistant, Kerri, let me know that I need to have some blood work done before the operation. I went this afternoon and it's done.

I also started the ball rolling on getting a second opinion from the doctor that Kristy and Alicia told me about. My original doctor has sent all my labwork results, ultrasound reports, and charts to this Sutter doctor. I will be seeing him Thursday. I'm told it will be a couple days before I hear anything and I need to follow up. It will be nice to have a second opinion as well when treatment options become an issue next week after my tumor is sent to a Pathologist.

Today I got a call from my boss and her boss. They are so awesome. They told me to let them know if there is anything they could do. I could tell they meant it. They also excused me from going to LA this week so I can focus on this stuff here and make the appointment at Sutter. I love my job at Edward Don!

Finally for today........ Know that this is no battle. This is a minor speed bump that my family will hit at 90 mph and skip right over. Honestly I'm not that worried about it. If they would of found it a year from now, I would be really worried. Even then, the cure rate is really high.

Thank God I went in for that physical.

What's New?

Well........It's Monday and I've told my story so far about 50 times since I found that I had Testicular Cancer, last Friday. I thought creating a blog could save me a lot of time rather than repeating myself over and over again. It will also end the uncomfortable silence I hear when I answer the question, " What's new Russ? ".

About a month ago I was working with a colleague when I noticed that he was down in the dumps. I asked him what was wrong. He then explained that his son was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. I immediately picked up the phone (in the middle of our sales call) and made myself a physical exam appointment. At that appointment which was about a month ago, my doctor said he noticed one of my testicles was enlarged. He said he thought it was fine but wanted to get an ultrasound to be safe.

My ultrasound was no bueno! I was immediately scheduled to have blood work done and referred to a Urologist. The Urologist recommended surgery because they believe I have an early stage of a type of Testicular Cancer called Seminoma. This is good news in a way because the other type of Testicular Cancer is very bad news. They will not know for 100 percent fact that it's Seminoma until the mass is removed and sent to a Pathologist. I am now waiting for a surgery date, which will be next week. Also, with the help of my wife, sister Kristy and longtime friend Alicia, I have learned a lot about my condition as well as gained confidence in the Urology department at Mercy. Kristy and Alicia have also given me a referral as well if I become unhappy with these people.

So really that's it. I have told my work and family and let everyone know that this is not a private matter at all. The more people that hear about this, the better. I want everyone to be aware and to have the men in their lives get their balls checked.

I will update page on a regular basis until I am healthy.