I don't know how I missed this and owe you guys an update. The biopsy came back 2-3 weeks after the surgery. He successfully removed the 3 suspect lymph nodes with one pushing 3 cm. All 3 came back positive for seminoma. He also removed 10 adjacent lymph nodes that came back negative which was great news. My next appointment was set for a 4 month followup.

I thought about updating but the superstitious side of me didn't want to jinx anything leading up to meeting with my surgical oncologist on May 7th. After meeting with him I learned that there were 2 spots on my CT scan, one he thought was fluid from the surgery and one other lymph node at 1cm he deemed suspicious. He ordered a PET scan to confirm since a biopsy in this area was too risky to get an approval.

I was lucky enough to get out on a guys trip to the Buffalo River for a 4 night float camping trip with the PET scan looming when I got back. As much as I had those negative thoughts intruding I still had a great time to get away from electronics, notifications , traffic,etc...if you haven't been on this river I highly recommend it in the late Spring time. Highs were in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 50s at night. The only stress on the trip was navigating DFW rush hour with 2 12 ft kayaks in the back of my truck.

After the much needed R&R I met with my doctors and confirmed that the "suspicious" lymph node but up like Clark Griswold's house on Christmas. Joy to the world, the cancer is there!

Within the following week I was setup to get my chest port installed/surgically implemented June 15th. Huge shout-out to Dr Oxner class of 97 who did my port placement at St. David's North Austin. I now feel like a cyborg with the quarter sized port under my collar bone with a catheter in my jugular. Took a few days to get used to but more familiar as the days pass.

I just started my chemo treatment /infusion this Monday. I am scheduled for 4 separate infusions 5 days on with 2 weeks off so should finish up by the end of summer. I am currently on day 3 and the only issue I have is nonstop hiccups, not sure if it is the anti nausea or the chemo. Hindsight I wouldn't change any of my decisions knowing another surgery would just be kicking the can down the road to chemo as it will come back since you can't retrieve microscopic cancer where chemo is 95% effective.

If you made it this far through my rambling then pecking on my phone which I am sure is full of typos but you get the jest. I'll leave you with a few photos of the mighty Buffalo .

07-18 Update

Just wrapped up day 10 of 20 and have reached the halfway point of my 4 x EP treatment. I am lucky that the heartburn meds my oncologist prescribed helped tremendously this round with little to no issues. Hoping that the second half goes as smoothly and F Cancer.