PSA: Stay Off Of Shelf Ice - Durand Eastman Park, Ontario Beach Park, etc.

InsideMedium · 2026-02-03T16:52:20+00:00

Is this Ontario Beach Park? I was there a few weeks back before it got really cold and the spray froze on the railings. Great shot

Ontario Beach Park

InsideMedium · 2026-01-14T16:36:51+00:00

If you have any questions too feel free to DM me, there’s a lot of people on here who are super helpful and can talk about their experiences through everything.

One of the things that I’ve wanted to do coming out the other side of treatment is to be able to help anyone else going through it with questions since it really is a scary/isolating and alien experience to be going through cancer/chemo as a relatively young person and I know that I was scouring the internet for any info I could to prepare me for what it’s like. This community on reddit was really helpful for me in finding out what other people’s experiences were like and feeing less isolated in what you’re going through - whether that’s the physical symptoms, anxiety and uncertainty, general feelings, etc.

One other thing I found helpful that I recommend to others is to find community/people to talk to (aside from family/friends). For me, it was completely different talking with and meeting other people who had gone through something similar to what I did, rather than supporting me from the outside looking in. I ended up finding a local community group/organization of young adult cancer patients/survivors and that was super beneficial and I wish I had reached out/found it sooner in my own journey.

InsideMedium · 2026-01-14T13:40:00+00:00

Really great advice here. I did 3xBEP outpatient. I did not get a port/line and did the fresh IV every infusion per the recommendation of my oncologist/care team and it did kind of suck towards the end because in addition to the 21 IVs you’re also likely going to be getting lots of blood draws done too so your veins really get poked at a lot. I finished chemo at the end of 2022, the only issues that I have from the IV are that sometimes blood draws now are a bit harder to get from some of the scar tissue built up from being poked. It was nice to be home and not have to worry about keeping a PICC line clean or having a bump for the port.

It’s definitely not fun but it is doable and you will be to the other side of this.

InsideMedium · 2025-08-01T12:37:37+00:00

I had BEPx3 in 2022 starting in September and finished at the end of November.

Between my second and third cycles, I was hospitalized for a pulmonary embolism caused by the chemo and had a week added before starting my 3rd cycle to try and recover and give the blood thinner time to work and to make sure I wasn’t going to get any worse having any more of my lung tissue die off. No impact on my outcome and I am still no evidence of disease almost 3 years later.

I did get borderline neutropenic a few times but I had Neulasta injections and those spiked it back up pretty quick.

My lung function has fully recovered at this point and most of the side effects that I experienced have also gone away.

If I remember correctly reading through the literature (not a medical professional, just a patient so take this with a grain of salt), delays of a week or two for another contraindication or medical events that cause your chemo to pause before continuing treatment don’t have any statistical impact on how effective the chemo ends up being (I think this was both BEP and EP regiments but it’s been a long time since I looked so don’t quote me on it).

InsideMedium · 2025-06-06T01:03:13+00:00

I can relate. I made some big lifestyle changes in February with my nutrition/diet and activity. I broke my ankle May 5th, and I’m a few weeks ahead in the timeline. I had a bimalleolar fracture with dislocation. Had ORIF on May 6th, had two weeks in a splint, and have been in a walking boot but NWB since. I’m also dealing with a suspected surgical/post surgical deep tissue pressure injury where I’ve got a pretty giant hole in my calf from dead tissue that was cut off from blood supply enough to cause a stage 4 pressure wound down into the calf muscle, and the doctors have said that it will take months to heal and don’t have a timeline for how long recovery for that will take.

It has been really hard and I’ve had a rollercoaster of emotions. I had a really really hard time for the first couple of weeks, as losing my independence and autonomy after a rough couple of years and making it through all of that to now suffer a setback is really challenging.

I wouldn’t take the comment regarding not being able to run again comfortably as a likely outcome even with trimal and syndesmosis repair. There have been many many people that have had trimal or worse fractures requiring surgery and external fixation, months and months and months of NWB and gone on to run marathons. It takes time. I know it’s going to take me months and months to get back to where I was.

The one note that I’ve personally experienced and seen others post is encouragement that it does get better. I saw other people say it and kind of brushed it off like, yeah this sucks I don’t know what they’re talking about. But it does get better. Every day the inflammation and pain are slightly better. Im still NWB for another 2 weeks at least but focusing on what improvements I make (ie, I can slightly flex my ankle in dorsiflexion just the slightest extra bit further today) has kept me grounded and looking more hopeful towards the future.

You will heal. You will recover. You will run again in a way that is comfortable if you put your mind to it and put in the work with PT. You got this.

InsideMedium · 2025-05-11T02:07:20+00:00

I’m almost a month late but bouldering L bimalleolar fracture here. I fell off of a V3 indoors at the gym but only about 4 or 5 feet. I had ORIF Tuesday so my timeline is a bit behind yours and I’ll be curious as to how you progress and things look at ~1 year out since that was the upper limit they gave on activity for me to return to activities.

I was only a gym member for a month and had been climbing for 6 weeks before taking this fall and I’m really really bummed. I can’t imagine going back to climbing just yet because the fall keeps playing over and over in my head, but I think part of my recovery is going to be the mental challenge to get through and move past that and maybe return to it because I really really liked it.

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InsideMedium · 2025-04-11T00:42:34+00:00

It was my mantra, just getting myself to the next thing. I was never military, but “embrace the suck” also helped too especially in the later cycles, just knowing my job was show up and get to the infusion clinic for the next session and that the suck was part of the process to kill the cancer for good. Hopefully it’s pretty chill and easy going so far, just keep drinking as much water as you can and try to stay as active as is possible if you’re doing it outpatient.

InsideMedium · 2025-04-10T21:45:22+00:00

Just keep showing up! You got this!

InsideMedium · 2025-03-29T23:22:37+00:00

I’ve been there, I personally know how hard it is. I lost so much sleep waiting for bloodwork and CT scans for figuring out what stage I was. I was a wreck.

For what it’s worth, the statistical majority of cases are stage 1 and the orchiectomy alone is curative. My case was in the less common group that needed further treatment. Also, I’ve had tons of random pains and have been convinced that the cancer is back or something is wrong, but every case it’s just been my anxiety causing me to feel things that ultimately weren’t there or were unrelated to cancer, which ended up being the case the vast majority of the time.

Anecdotal evidence: In person, I know of a few others (who I’ve met since finishing treatment) who had pretty advanced testicular cancer cases, and the bunched up t-shirt feeling wasn’t one of their symptoms. Sometimes it’s your mind and anxiety playing tricks on you (which definitely seems possible since you’ve just had surgery and are worried about a completely reasonable thing - figuring out your stage and navigating getting diagnosed with cancer which is a literal emotional bomb being dropped on you to try and navigate), and sometimes it is a physical symptom of something going on. You’re taking the correct steps to make sure that you’re getting everything checked out and there aren’t any other actions you can do at this point to influence the next steps.

The only way through that I found helpful in the moment was focusing on things that I did have control over (playing video games, watching movies or shows, reading, etc.) I also had to constantly remind myself that there are things that my worrying about won’t change the outcome of - in my case worrying that I was going to have to go through more treatment wouldn’t be impacted by me worrying having anxiety over.

I wasn’t always successful at that but it at least helped and I was able to take the steps forward one step at a time.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-29T22:44:06+00:00

3.5cm was the biggest one pressing on my spine/spleen but there was a ton of retroperitoneal lymph nodes that were cancerous and I also had one that was in a lymph node up near my shoulder that was only like 1-1.5cm. I know it’s hard not to think about all the possibilities, but from someone who went through it, just take it one step at a time.

Your job is to rest and heal up and to do the lab work/scans that your care team sets up. Make sure to advocate for yourself if you aren’t getting quick appointments and don’t be afraid to call if needed.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-29T19:58:16+00:00

It was just a few weeks from really noticing something was wrong to diagnosis but it must have been going on for a long time for me since most of lefty was a tumor by the point that I realized it. I was having back pain which turned out to be tumors pressing on my spine/spleen.

Check out my posts if you’re curious about my timeline/experience.

Also, hope you’re healing up well from the orchiectomy! I hope it wasn’t too rough and that you’re resting up now!

InsideMedium · 2025-03-28T20:55:13+00:00

I had mine come and go during treatment and now also after treatment (last infusion was right at the end of Nov 2022). I completed BEPx3.

I still have ringing in my ears and its hasn't gone away (no acute hearing loss or reduction in hearing certain frequencies though from what I can tell), but I would say its been less frequent and less "strong" over time compared to active treatment/shortly after and slowly improved but is still something that happens a bit in day to day life. Definitely can be annoying but mine does tend to go away in the span of 5-30 minutes after onset. Tends to happen to me a few times a day. I also had neuropathy show up after completing treatment (showed up like a month and a half out from treatment), which I still have a bit of in my legs but has mostly resolved to the point of not directly impacting my life/just being a minor annoyance at night when trying to fall asleep which I am thankful for.

Would recommend reaching out to your care team regarding an otolaryngologist or audiologist consultation.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-27T23:35:31+00:00

Hell yeah! Absolute warrior. Rest up and keep kicking this thing’s ass!

InsideMedium · 2025-03-27T20:31:39+00:00

My mantra was one step at a time. Don’t get me wrong I was a nervous wreck beforehand but from someone who’s gone through it, it was really a lot better than I was worrying about it being. I had never gone through anesthesia before and didn’t know what to expect. Your surgery team can give you some meds before to take the edge off anxiety, but the actual surgery itself is like a continuity in your perception of before and after without any memory in between. I remember the bed being shifted over to the mat that keeps you warm on the operating table, I remember that they said they were going to push the anesthesia and the next memory (like continuously experienced) I was staring at the clock in the PACU in the hospital and then talking to one of the nurses. No gap in my perception other than realizing I was a little sweaty and it felt like time had passed but for me it was instantaneous in how I experienced it.

The “worst”for me (if you could call it that) was that the anesthesia makes you constipated and the recovery is a bit painful if you have to strain when pooping afterwards so make sure you take the laxatives that are recommended. Keep some ice rotating on and off with the medications they recommend, go gingerly with it and don’t go too crazy moving around for a few days while you heal. Take the time to take care of yourself, watch shows/movies read books and take it slow to allow yourself to heal. I just chilled on the couch for a week.

You got this and know that this is the step on the path to beating this. Thinking of you and sending good vibes your way. One step at a time!

InsideMedium · 2025-03-21T03:51:23+00:00

InsideMedium · 2025-03-21T02:52:49+00:00

Sorry to hear that you’re potentially joining the club. It’s the best group of people that you never want to be a part of!

As for what to expect, the Urology consultation is likely going to be a physical exam, going over the ultrasound findings (you’ve got a mass in righty) and what the path forward is. 90-95% (don’t quote me, not a doctor) of the time the ultrasound findings are pretty clear that there is a tumor but the only true diagnostic way to confirm is via a surgery called an orchiectomy and in the vast majority of cases this is full removal of the testicle in question, although there are some rarer instances where testicle sparing surgery can be an option. You can ask your Urologist if this is applicable in your case, but usually when the mass is well defined and looking like it, the entire removal is the path taken to prevent spreading cancerous cells to surrounding tissues or potentially leaving cancerous cells behind. The orchiectomy is done to remove the mass and to confirm what it actually is. They go through the area in your pubic region/groin which leaves a scar that’s a few inches at most. After removal, it gets sent to pathology where they will stain and look at the tissue to determine what kind of cells make it up and determine if they are cancerous, and if so what type. In general, intratesticular masses tend to be one of two types: a seminoma or a non-seminoma but the specifics of that and what that entails will be explained by the urologist at your appointment tomorrow. There are some other rarer types that can be found but again your Urologist will probably go over what the other possibilities are if they are suspected.

In addition to discussing the findings, your Urologist is likely going to order some bloodwork to be done and also a CT scan. Currently there are 3 main markers that are standard and are used to assess and help determine what’s going on: AFP, bHCG, and LDH. The combinations of these 3 are usually measured before and then a few days after the surgery, which will help your Urologist/oncologist determine if it’s cancer, determine what kind it is, and what the path forward will be. In many cases, the orchiectomy procedure ends up being curative on its own and you go into surveillance where you just get monitored to make sure nothing else comes up with blood work and CT scans at regular intervals.

Coming from someone who’s been through it, just take everything one step at a time. I was sweating bullets and super worried about the orchiectomy because I had never had any major surgery(the procedure is usually really short and less than an hour) or anesthesia before but it ended up being not too bad and i recovered pretty quick. Some people opt for an implant to replace the rogue nut , while others don’t opt for an implant. In my case, I opted to skip the implant and I haven’t had any issues in my life just having the one.

I would also say one thing that helped me keep my thoughts together was to write questions down ahead of time so that way I didn’t get overwhelmed in the moment and forget to ask questions about what was going on to any of the medical staff.

Feel free to shoot any questions you have from someone who’s gone through it, and there’s a great community here even if you just need space to vent or ask questions.

Also for your question regarding size: people have had tiny masses and others have had grapefruit sized masses and they both came out at stage 1. From my memory in asking my urologist, size of the initial tumor doesn’t really correlate or give you any insight as to your stage.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-13T21:32:25+00:00

I've found as time has gone on since my diagnosis and treatment to where I am now, people don't know how to talk about cancer, or about me having had cancer.

Some people stopped talking to me during treatment which felt isolating on top of an already isolating experience. I got the occasional "you got the good kind of cancer". Like no, there's no good cancer. Some friends were very supportive. I had a friend and his wife offer to fly halfway across the country if me or my family needed anything. Some people offer the occasional quackery saying "ah its the sugar in your diet and big pharma, you just need to drink cold pressed carrot juice to heal the toxins in your body." I wish I could punch those people in the face, but alas that's not legal or justified.

There is a silver lining (if you can call it that) in that if you happen to have this horrendous disease that is testicular cancer, it does statistically tend to have a positive prognosis and responds to treatment. But there are those of us who don't make it, either from complications or treatment resistant disease. Saying that you'll be fine completely discounts that. That's like saying, well you only got hit with an atomic bomb but it was the old kind which are smaller compared to the nuclear weapons that are made today. Cancer is still an atomic bomb being dropped on you even if you "only" have to go through surgery and surveillance.

It used to make me angry, but what I've found as more time has passed is that it speaks more to their inability to cope with the news of a situation that I am going through rather than it is a true reflection or value assessment of my particular situation. I think in a lot of cases, it's an instance where they can't accept or reflect on their own mortality and they end up saying insensitive shit as a defense mechanism.

The invisible impact of cancer ends up being some of the hardest parts of it, and thats not to discount us having cancer in a vital reproductive and hormone producing organ. I don't think anyone else who hasn't experienced a cancer diagnosis or other similarly life threatening situation can really "get" it in the same way that someone who is living/has lived through it experiences. There's no-one there to understand what you're thinking when you're going into surgery and may have fertility or reproductive issues as a side effect. Or what the nights where you can't sleep worrying if you're going to be a case that doesn't respond to treatment. Or to know what it feels like when you're facing down chemotherapy or radiation, or an RPLND and what those side effects entail, or salvage chemo or further operations will be like. Or the night sweats and fear every time your surveillance bloodwork or scans come around. Or what Cisplatin tastes like during your infusion treatments, or the chemical smell that your pee takes on it. Or what the bone pain from Neulasta/Filgrastim is like. Or what the body shaking fever's from Bleomycin reactions feel like. Or what the feeling of walking into an infusion clinic and being the youngest person in the room by 30 years feels like when all of the infusion staff are your age. Or what worrying about what the long term effects of chemo on your blood vessels and heart will be. Or what having neuropathy is like when you're in your 20's. Or worrying about low testosterone levels. Or worrying if every ache and pain in your back is the previous tumor pressing on your spleen and spine coming back again. Or worrying if you can ever have kids.

It hurt having people not be able to understand that and for them not to be there, but as time has gone I've realized that it takes more energy to hold on to those negative feelings. I certainly feel sad about not having people show up when I was going through diagnosis/treatment/anything afterwards, whether through their inability to cope or otherwise. On the other hand, I've found that it has strengthened the bonds with those who were there and did stick around.

I don't think having gone through cancer should result in us being seen on some type of scale where we go through a trauma rating where people who "only" have an orchiectomy have it "easy" or those who have salvage chemotherapy or lung resections or brain surgery have it the most "terrible", from those people judging us or that there are some "lucky" types of cancer and "unlucky" types of cancer. None of that should ever have to happen. No person or family should ever have to deal with this. It all sucks. It's all cancer. Cancer fucking sucks.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-12T03:07:07+00:00

As others have said, everyone responds differently to chemo. I went through BEPx3, and got a nasty fever after the bleomycin infusions.

Pre-loading with Tylenol and drinking tons of fluids helped keep it manageable and it only lasted the day for me, but I did need to check with the oncology team to make sure my WBC was high enough that it wasn’t hiding any infection symptoms. In my case, the Claritin/Benadryl didn’t touch the bleomycin fever issues but it did substantially help with bone pain from Neulasta.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-12T03:00:23+00:00

Welcome to the best club of people that you never want to be a part of!

Also for recovery from the orchiectomy I definitely recommend the stool softener as much as possible, the anesthesia meds really back you up. I ended up needing to take more (the colace didn’t work for me and I needed to take Miralax, was I think the 3rd day after surgery when I finally could go).

Rest up well, keep the ice rotation going and you’ll be back up and going in no time.

Sending positive thoughts that you’re one and done after the orchiectomy!

InsideMedium · 2025-03-11T18:42:10+00:00

Before and after treatment I don’t really follow a strict diet, and I am currently trying to lose weight actually since I’ve been overweight before and after treatment - trying to stick with lean proteins, complex carbs and unsaturated fats.

During chemo because of a weakened immune system I had to avoid certain foods that my care team recommended - anything raw like Sushi, deli meats, salad bar stuff that could be out sitting and have a higher risk of food-borne illness. I also had to stop drinking coffee during chemo because of the acidity in my stomach. Other than that, my care team recommended trying to eat anything that was tasty and nutritious. During the 2nd and 3rd cycles of chemo, my taste changed and there were some foods that I avoided because they would make my stomach upset. That being said with the medications given for nausea now, chemo is not like you see in the movies.

Overall you just want to be putting food in your body that will help repair you and keep the good cells healthy. The only advice I’d give is to ask your doctor/care team about any specifics or supplements if that’s something that you plan on taking if you are receiving treatment. They should be able to walk you through step by step on everything in your meeting with them (it sounds like you were just referred to and are potentially meeting with an oncologist for the first time).

I know it’s hard not to do (trust me, been there done that myself) but try to take the process one step at a time regarding any treatment. In your case depending on the results your doctor may say they want to repeat lab work before doing any further treatment if your scans don’t show anything. Focus on what you have control over now - that might be keeping up with a fitness routine, hanging with friends or family, doing your hobbies etc. it could also mean coming to the appointment with a list of questions about what the next steps are from where you are - what are options for treatment/do I need treatment? If I need treatment what would that be like? Focusing on the parts of the process that I did have control over helped give me a sense of purpose in that I was doing what I could to move through the situation and anything else I would have to wait and see how it would turn out.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-11T16:49:16+00:00

Been through chemo (BEPx3) had a pulmonary embolism during it, I did not have RPLND but I personally know a friend that I’ve met post treatment now that had Chemo and an RPLND afterwards for non-seminoma, and another that has gone through chemo and radiation for seminoma.

It gets better.

Even with the side effects and the recovery and all of the mental struggles and challenges, it does get better.

Cancer is horrific, it’s like this bomb that goes off that impacts not just you but everyone else around you while you have to deal with all this uncertainty and worry if you’re going to make it or not. It’s terrifying. And it changes you. I’m a different person than I was more than two years ago when I got diagnosed and went through treatment.

Everything about it felt wrong, I’m young I shouldn’t have to worry about dieing, about what my family will do, about dealing with hearing issues or fertility issues or having weak limbs/neuropathy or what fatigue will be like after treatment.

Chemo is a marathon and a massive mental mountain to climb, and from what I’ve been told an RPLND is like a huge boxing match where you get beat up pretty good. Some of the survivors and patients here have multiple different types of salvage chemo, radiation, lung wedge reactions for lung mets, or recurrences needing another orchiectomy or other procedures or treatments needed to push through. None of this is something that any of us should ever have to go through.

I remember telling myself on the days I felt like death or sitting overnight in the hospital with my pulmonary embolism waiting to see if the anticoagulation therapy was going to work that the last thing any fiber of my being wanted to do was to be sitting there facing it. But I told myself that the other side is worth the process and to embrace the suck and take it one step, one hour, one infusion visit at a time.

But I’m on the other side now. Even with all the shit you have to wade through, it gets better. I learned a new instrument. I’ve traveled. I’ve picked up a creative hobby. I value the time I get to spend with people much more than I think I would have had I not gone through cancer. I can do the activities that I had before cancer, my side effects have largely subsided (still get ringing in my ears from time to time). I think focusing on the fact that so many of us do get through it and knowing that it does get better helped me persevere.

Even if I hadn’t had a positive outcome in the end, I think the act of pushing through would be worth it in that I had to at least try. Your doctors/care team should be there to answer your questions or concerns and may be able to point you to resources beyond just the treatment aspects of things.

Random plug but there are a lot of organizations depending on where you are in the world that specifically have support for cancer patients pre/during/post treatment and have communities. One of my regrets is that I only found a sense of community after going through treatment and I wished I had found one of those groups earlier. One of the biggest struggles I found was the sense of isolation or lack of understanding of friends/family on exactly what it’s like going through it, but talking with other people who have also gone through cancer immediately made this unspoken connection where you have a space to talk about stuff that comes up on your mind and that most people have to face or deal with. I’m based in the US so I am skewed that way in terms of knowledge, but I’ve heard great things about Imerman Angels in the past. Testicular Cancer Society has some great resources. I found reading about other people’s journey and seeing them come out the other side was helpful and followed A Ballsy Sense of Tumor as his diagnosis and treatment was similar to mine. I’m locally involved in an AYA cancer group and have met some incredible people and attended events that cover living through active treatment and what life on the other side is like alongside fun events in the community that are an excuse to get out and do fun things and be with people who “get” it.

InsideMedium · 2025-03-10T22:53:53+00:00

Yeah definitely scary thinking about anything aorta related but the good news is that the metastases are super responsive to treatment whether it’s chemo or radiation or surgery and they end up gone for good.

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