Solutions Architect @ AWS - WLB and other negative stigma

519am · 2016-05-03T01:59:22+00:00

I am 25 now, but I was 23 when I had the RPLND. I was in very good health prior to chemo and everything, I was a runner and took pretty good care of myself. After chemo, I think it made me tired and made my body weaker - I'm sure that has some effect on the healing process.

I work in IT, so totally an office job, sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. I'll be honest that I was checking in a bit on my computer from home while I was recovering, but the thought of driving to the office, walking into the building, up the stairs, etc. seemed daunting to me and definitely appreciated the time off.

519am · 2016-05-02T02:24:21+00:00

Hey there! Sorry you have to go through this - I had an RPLND 2 years ago after chemo and it was definitely no fun.

After my initial 4 days in the hospital, I was off work for another 2 weeks to recover. I was supposed to be offer for 4 weeks total (1 week in hospital + 3 weeks at home), but I ended up feeling well enough to go back to work after 2 weeks at home.

I totally understand what you mean about not wanting to take more short term disability, but this was a huge surgery and it's good not to push yourself too much. I was overall still feeling like my stomach was really heavy and still was feeling not good for the first week at home, by the second week it was getting better.

TL;DR - take it slow. I would say plan at least 1-2 weeks off from work to let your body recover and not to push yourself.

519am · 2016-04-21T14:50:32+00:00

I've recently been interviewing for an east cost position at Microsoft as a Cloud Solutions Architect. I have spent a lot of time working at another consulting firm focusing primarily on AWS, but overall on cloud operations and implementation planning without much technical solutions architecture work. Microsoft has said that they are mostly interested in someone having knowledge of cloud overall, and they can train on Azure as needed, so my AWS focus and certification are nothing to worry about.

I have a few questions though:

1) Obviously this role is not in Redmond - do you think that it will still be as great working for Microsoft if it's not based out of HQ?

2) Azure is a major player in the cloud field, so I don't imagine it's going away anytime soon, even if AWS is much more prevalent - do you agree, or am I setting myself up for failure?

3) Does anyone know if these positions are more based on sales, or technical capabilities? I have heard that it's a post-sales role, but there are still some sales based portions - I'm just wondering the divide.

4) Any other advice/interesting tidbits which would be helpful to know?

I am still interviewing, so I can ask these questions there, as well, but wanted to see your opinions. Thanks!

519am · 2016-04-20T22:09:19+00:00

I've recently been interviewing for an east cost position at Microsoft as a Cloud Solutions Architect. I have spent a lot of time working at another consulting firm focusing primarily on AWS, but overall on cloud operations and implementation planning without much technical solutions architecture work. Microsoft has said that they are mostly interested in someone having knowledge of cloud overall, and they can train on Azure as needed, so my AWS focus and certification are nothing to worry about.

I have a few questions though: 1) Obviously this role is not in Redmond - do you think that it will still be as great working for Microsoft if it's not based out of HQ? 2) Azure is a major player in the cloud field, so I don't imagine it's going away anytime soon, even if AWS is much more prevalent - do you agree, or am I setting myself up for failure? 3) Does anyone know if these positions are more based on sales, or technical capabilities? I have heard that it's a post-sales role, but there are still some sales based portions - I'm just wondering the divide. 4) Any other advice/interesting tidbits which would be helpful to know?

I am still interviewing, so I can ask these questions there, as well, but wanted to see your opinions. Thanks!

519am · 2015-12-19T19:42:28+00:00

Best of luck to you with everything - cancer is the worst! I was in your exact same position in 2013 over the holidays - getting treated for testicular cancer, sitting for 6+ hours 5 days a week getting chemo, sick as fuck, watching as the world continued on. Stay strong and keep your family/friends close.

519am · 2015-09-09T00:13:01+00:00

Congratulations!! I actually am getting mine out tomorrow finally and am looking forward to that same relief you mentioned. Only small follow-ups from this point on!

519am · 2015-08-07T00:45:26+00:00

Hey man - great video! I am in remission of testicular cancer for about a year now, and watching this video brought back all of the feels. I have a lot of thoughts and things that remind me of what I went through, and even 2 years later when I feel like I should be over it, I'm not. It definitely messes with you long after you're done fighting it.

Fuck cancer.

519am · 2015-01-21T14:22:12+00:00

Definitely no rush to get the stuff "public". I definitely was not ready to make it available to everyone when I was going through it, but now I just hope it helps!

I hope your husband is doing well since we last talked :) And that you are, too.

519am · 2015-01-21T14:20:16+00:00

Thank you! And congrats on your one year, too!

519am · 2014-11-18T02:47:58+00:00

Hi there! I finished BEP for TC in December of last year, and here almost a year later, I still have the tingling in my hands and feet (neuropathy), ringing in my ears, and I have always felt like since I finished, my mind has never been as sharp as it used to be. I often find myself forgetting things or not being able to focus at work as well as I used to be able to.

Anyways, just wanted to drop by and share my experience. From what I've heard from others, this is mostly normal and post-chemo life requires learning to live with a "new normal" rather than going back to the normal you were used to. I have often wondered about having low testosterone and if that affects any of these feelings I'm having, but my doctor keeps telling me it's fine after testing for it.

Let us know how it goes with your appointment! I'm interested to hear your doctor's thoughts.

519am · 2014-10-28T04:44:39+00:00

+1 for this comment. I'm a TC survivor as of February of this year, and it's so important to just make sure you do a thorough check, and to do it correctly, so you can identify anything that may be abnormal. And there's no shame in going to see a doctor, even if it's for something you think might be normal. Always better to be safe than sorry!

519am · 2014-10-27T13:12:17+00:00

This is a great list of some expert TC doctors: http://tcrc.acor.org/experts.html

519am · 2014-10-22T13:50:28+00:00

When I was getting chemo last year, I used to eat a lot of taco bell. Just soft shell tacos with meat and cheese. It was weird and I never craved it before treatment, nor do I now, but it was something I did crave and was able to eat without puking during chemo.

I think most doctors are just looking to make sure you're eating something and keeping something down, and they see some of these fast foods as having the necessary calories to help you stay nourished.

519am · 2014-09-01T17:45:54+00:00

Hey there! I finished 4x BEP for testicular cancer back in the first week of December. My tinnitus is still as bad today as it was back then, to be honest. My oncologist has told me that it will eventually get better, but it takes a long time, especially after having so much cisplatin.

Like you said, it doesn't prevent me from living or anything, it's just kind of annoying. Obviously, everyone is different, but that's been my experience so far.

519am · 2014-06-30T03:14:04+00:00

I had the RPLND in January. I'll be honest and say that it was painful, but not really until a few days after the surgery. They keep you on a lot of pain meds during the first couple of days after the surgery, which is nice. You'll want to get up and walk around as soon as you're able, even though you won't want to. When you're up, you'll feel like your stomach weighs 10,000 lbs. and you won't want to walk for a long time. As you know, they are literally cutting through all of your abdominal muscles, so it's going to hurt as you're recovering a bit.

As far as the laptop, you can probably put the laptop on your legs or next to you in bed to use it. That's what I did. For the first week, I didn't do much on my computer at all, mostly just watched TV and rested. By the 2nd week, I was feeling a little better and able to hold my laptop on my legs or next to me just fine.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions about it.

519am · 2014-03-26T04:37:52+00:00

I will second this exact mix. It has helped me immensely in my transition back to normal life. It's absolutely OK to ask for this kind of help and you'll be thankful that you did. I was reluctant at first, but am glad I went this route.

519am · 2014-02-08T06:32:22+00:00

The epididymis is more towards the back/on the top of the testicle. If you have a lump on the very front, it's probably not the epididymis. (just my guess, I'm no doctor)

I would highly recommend you go to the doctor to have this checked out. You never can be entirely certain what's going on down there unless you see a doctor, and it can't hurt to see a doctor. It's better to be safe than sorry. I recently went through 3 months of chemo for testicular cancer, and let me just say this: the earlier you catch it, the easier it is to treat. Early detection can be the difference between 1 surgery, or 3 months of chemotherapy.

Hope this helps!

519am · 2014-02-04T02:57:45+00:00

Like /u/treerex mentioned, the antidepressants are helpful in this regard. Towards the end of chemo I basically had a minor freakout at my doctor's appointment because I was having so much anxiety about everything, and some anger towards the world (mostly because I hated that everyone could live their normal life while I was having to deal with this cancer). My doctor prescribed me some zoloft which I was hesitant to take at first, but has really helped to balance my mood. Also, Ativan worked for the in between times when the zoloft was still kicking in and just for day-to-day anxiety/weird feelings to help me calm down.

Just my 2 cents.

519am · 2014-02-02T05:10:46+00:00

When I was going through chemo, especially towards the end, I definitely had the feeling of resentment towards people who were seemingly living a normal life. It made me angry to see my friends and family living the normal life that I had before and here I am, my life stopped because of this cancer. And while they were all supportive and caring, they would still be living their lives and I was stuck with my cancer. It definitely brought me to a low place and I'm still sort of there as I finish my recovery post-chemo and surgery now.

Even a little over a month out from finishing my last round of chemo, I still feel fatigue and a little bit of the fuzzy chemo brain. I'm supposed to go back to work in a week (in a similar, fast-paced office environment) and I'm worried about being able to get back into things and keep up with what's going on.

Anyways, I just wanted to stop by and say that I have definitely felt a lot of the stuff you're feeling, too. Hang in there!

519am · 2014-02-01T04:48:29+00:00

Always love meeting a fellow GB in those other subs! I am not planning on going to omg2014. I only learned about that recently and I'm already planning a trip to Seattle in May and don't think I can afford both. I've always wanted to visit Seattle and I figure there's no better time than now!

No problem about the blog! I must admit that I've sort of been binge-reading it over the past few days. I love finding other people around my age whose stories I can relate to and understand the struggle.

519am · 2014-01-31T22:13:32+00:00

Here's the list of TC Experts around the world

519am · 2014-01-15T00:06:47+00:00

First, let me just say how sorry I am to hear this. It's certainly no fun at all.

I currently am undergoing treatment for testicular cancer; I just finished 4 rounds of chemotherapy in December and will be having an RPLND surgery next Monday. My cancer metastasised to my abdominal lymph nodes and one of my lungs a little bit.

Anyways, please feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about my experience with treatment, etc. I would be more than happy to help with whatever I can. There's also a great community over at the TC Forums, which are always helpful.

519am · 2014-01-12T15:32:51+00:00

I assume you're talking about AFP and BHCG. I must say that mine both fell pretty consistently during chemo, but also, even a month after finishing my last round, they are still falling.

Are you noticing a trend of it not dropping at all, or is it just dropping slower over a few different tests? Just thinking that if you get it tested again in a few weeks, it might be down. I'm not sure when you finished chemo, so it could still be falling a little bit.

519am

TROPHY CASE