It’s always difficult to know where to start when writing something that’s hard to talk about.
Guess I should start with apologising to those that are friends and family of mine that are finding out about my news by reading this post. It would have been better to tell you all face to face, but time is not on my side. Plus the PowerPoint presentation I made was pretty graphic, and the movie trailer apparently made people ‘uncomforatable.’
Tuesday night / Wednesday morning I was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
For those that don’t know me, I’m 27 based in South Wales and run my own technology consulting company called Sprink.
Around two weeks ago, I was about to put on a Batman onesie when I discovered I had a lump on my right testicle. Not knowing what to do I immediately woke my fiancé and told her to hold out her hand. Still half asleep she was strangely cooperative. Once she came around a bit, she confirmed it was abnormal, and demanded I see a doctor first thing in the morning. Me, now in shock, shaking all over and suddenly cold, decided I’d leave the Batman antics for another night and get some sleep.
The next morning and after some investigation to find out who my GP was, Helen got me to see the doctor that day, which was both a relief and nerve racking. After seeing the doctor, he didn’t suggest what the issue was and didn’t offer any real advice but told me to expect a letter in the post that could take up to three weeks.
A week went by, and I started to panic a little so decided to see if the local hospital could be of any use. After a short wait, we saw a nurse that suggested we go to Gwent hospital. We made the trip and again waited a little. This time in a room with a man being sick, and another in handcuffs. Time seemed to slow here. After being called, we were told that nothing can be done, and I’d have just to wait for the letter or go back to the GP. A little frustrated we returned home after we felt like we had wasted the day.
Luckily as we returned home, there was a letter addressed to me waiting for our arrival. I had an appointment for Tuesday at 6 pm. Cue choir and bright white light. We were happy to know that we had a date, happier to know we would only have to wait a week. The only thing that stood out was 6 pm? That seemed late. As if they knew something I didn’t and thought it was best to get me in asap… Hmmm?
Tuesday
Tuesday comes around, and we visit the Gwent hospital again and luck was on our side. The hospital that is known to have the worst possible parking facilities, actually only kept us waiting a few minutes before we parked up. With me worrying more about my urine sample spilling in my bag that I also carry my laptop in, we have a short wait in the waiting room with a few old men. Then my name is called. The doctor asked a few quick questions “do you smoke?” “do you drink?” both of which I answer no but always feel like the doctors are thinking ‘yeah right’. Time for the examination and oh boy did he examine me. It wasn’t long, which was a relief because I wasn’t sure how much more I could take of him moving me around like that. After asking me to get dressed again, he leaves the room quite quickly. Turns out he went to see if anyone was still around to do some further tests. He then sits both Helen and I down to chat about what his suspicion is. He immediately starts talking about cancer and having the testicle removed. Clutching at straws, we ask if it could be anything else, and he suggests that it could be a strange cyst but brings the conversation back to cancer quite quickly.
So we start our drive home with the news that I likely have cancer, but will receive a phone call soon to get me in for some more tests. Time to update the siblings and parents. Being one of my sisters Anniversaries we thought we’d spread the cheer and went to tell them the news. “Happy anniversary!!… by the way!”
Wednesday
I slept pretty well. Helen never has a problem sleeping so she was asleep dribbling before I even got to bed. 8:30 am Helen leaves for work as usual. 9 am “Janet” phones me and requests that I return to the hospital as soon as possible. So after picking Helen up from work we return again to the Gwent. This time, the parking demon was not on our side and we had to park on the streets and walk to the hospital. We met Janet who was lovely, and she guided us to the different areas. First up, the ultrasound.
Just a few minutes wait, and my name is called again. Funny how you stomach turns the moment you hear your name. The specialist told me to lay on the bed, then told me without my trousers, figured it was better that way around. He put the ultrasound machine on… I think I need to give it a name… Tommy.. Tommy the tumor. After he scanned Tommy, he confirmed the suspicion and said that it would have to be removed. We kinda expected that.
I went for blood tests, and then chatted about the cheese like system they used, and couldn’t work out a time when cheese was so popular that there needed to be a queue system to manage the amount of people wanting cheese. What happened there?
After an hour in Costa for lunch, we returned to Janet and a specialist to talk about next steps. He further confirmed that the results had shown cancer and then gave me the option to have surgery on Tuesday or Saturday. Before I knew it, we were talking about what time I was arriving on Tuesday! Here come the shakes again. Suddenly it becomes quite real as they start giving me booklets and introducing me to the pre-surgery team. They confirm the entire process one more time. Chop Tommy the tumour testicle off. Do some scans to see if the cancer has spread anywhere else. Test Tommy to see what type of cancer it is, and then work out a post care plan. They tell me I won’t be able to drive for two weeks after surgery but should be up and running in a day or two. I’m not sure they realise how much of a girl I am. I’ll guess I’ll be even worse once they get rid of Tommy.
Now we are sat in a tiny office, and I have another little rant about their system still running Windows XP. SERIOUSLY THOUGH WINDOWS XP! Come on NHS. The nurse then gives me this huge jug and asks me to provide another urine sample. This is awkward! Do have to fill this jug? Will they judge me if I do? Either way I get a good half way and I’m pretty proud of myself. She quickly mentions that I shouldn’t eat after midnight on Monday and don’t drink after 6 am on Tuesday. Hands me a few booklets and asks if I have any questions. Is there any spare testicles going comes to mind but I resist the urge. “No I think that’s it” she reassures me I can call Janet up anytime if something comes up. Fair play NHS! People slag you off but you were awesome when I needed you to be!
So that’s pretty much the story so far. Wednesday night we told friends, saw Fall Out Boy play live and came up with a new nickname for me “fall out balls”… My friends are dicks!… And I wouldn’t change it for all the testicles in the world.
There will hopefully only be one more post about how Tuesday went. However, if it turns out I need further treatment I will keep posting until I beat it!
See you on the other side.
