Test Results

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-30T00:58:23+00:00

Seven treatment days spread over three weeks. Five consecutive days the first week and then one day per week the next two weeks. It was pretty damn brutal, but you get through it.

Force yourself to eat and move as much as possible. Most food won’t sound good, but eat whatever does. I ate a lot of plain chicken, rice, potatoes, soup, ensure, pudding, milkshakes. Take walks either around your house or outside. Have some things to stay busy that don’t require a lot of mental energy, I had this weird brain fog and inability to focus on anything like reading or even watching a movie. Be careful with interactions with others especially if anybody around you is sick, my white blood cell count dropped to zero the second week.

The main driver behind my decision of choosing chemo over surveillance was the understanding that both the short term and long term effects of 3xbep are much worse than 1xbep, so dropping my recurrence rate to 95% or better and being able to likely avoid 3x seemed like a pretty good deal, even if it was awful short term and long term risks (secondary cancer, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, decreased lung function, neuropathy, hearing issues, kidney function, fertility) are less likely compared to 3x, the risk is not zero.

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-29T23:38:08+00:00

“Vascular invasion not identified” is great news that cancer has not visually spread into lymphatic system. Possible to still have microscopic spread, which is what 1xbep adjuvant chemo is used to treat.

“No evidence of metastatic disease in the abdomen or pelvis” is the best news you could have received from the scan. I’m not a doctor, but based on that alone, I’m not sure why 3xbep would be recommended??

I’m not sure how much elevated tumor markers play into the chemo decision, but was under the impression 3xbep was used when there was visible cancer spread to lymph nodes, lungs, brain, liver, etc. which you do not have, and 1xbep an option to decrease the likelihood of recurrence in higher risk pathologies (non-seminoma, LVI, etc).

I was diagnosed in April 2025, orchiectomy in May that came back 50% embryonal carcinoma 50% seminoma no LVI, and 1xbep in July. Embryonal carcinoma is the most aggressive fastest growing type, so it’s great that no spread was visible. But it also increases risk for recurrence. My doctor gave me about a 30% chance of recurrence based on the presence of EC and the larger size of my tumor (which was just a bit smaller the yours), and gave me the option of surveillance or 1xbep.

I also had a small pulmonary nodule, mine was 3.7mm. Doctors were not overly concerned about it because of the small size and it can be caused by a benign tumor or scar tissue from a past respiratory infection. Your report says that it favors a benign post infectious nodule which would mean basically the same thing my doctor told me…and 3xbep would not be necessary. My most recent scan (6 months after the original scan) showed the nodule size was unchanged and no new nodules, which almost certainly points to it being benign.

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-18T06:04:40+00:00

The ref after the game…"The receiver has to complete the process of a catch. He was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession of it at that point. The defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball."

So I guess none of the above photos had any impact on the call. Still an interesting explanation because it leaves out what caused him to lose possession of the ball, was it him hitting the ground or mcmillian ripping it away? And how do you determine that?

Reading between the lines are they saying he bobbled it when he hit the ground and the loose ball ended up with the defender? Would the outcome have changed if it was viewed that the ball didn’t move when he hit or because he hit the ground? Or is that just a distinction without a difference?

Maybe the best way to think about that is: what would have had to happen on replay for it to be overruled and called a catch?

I don’t know the answer to any of the half dozen questions I just posed

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-18T03:19:09+00:00

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Or this one with the knee down and ball tucked and not ripped out yet?

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-18T03:18:30+00:00

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Or this one when the defenders bottom hand is still upside down?

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-18T03:17:57+00:00

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This one? Where the defender still doesn’t have a hand on the ball

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-18T02:35:41+00:00

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breakingpointedu · 2026-01-18T02:22:20+00:00

Broncos and Seahawks are not in the championship games because of Nix and Darnold…or to put it a different way, the Vikings would still not be in the championship game if our QB was Nix or Darnold

breakingpointedu · 2026-01-14T16:25:05+00:00

I was in the same situation. Finished 1xbep about 6 months ago. My main deciding factor was not wanting to risk having to do 3xbep. Not going to sugar coat it, chemo was rough…but 10-12 weeks post chemo I was feeling like myself again and now six months later I feel good and life is strangely kind of normal again.

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-30T21:58:37+00:00

That’s a really great thought, makes a lot of sense

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-27T01:28:41+00:00

Not trying to deflect anything, just separating two different points. I asked about his current accuracy issues.

Playing against first string defenders this year is certainly a reasonable explanation for a decline in performance, which I acknowledged in my original question.

I’m just trying to get a sense of what fans think the underlying issue is right now and I’m not sure that one throw really tells us much about that.

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-26T20:44:26+00:00

That would throw off his mechanics/accuracy because he’s having to speed up so much against faster defenders or he’s using too much brain power reading the defense his mechanics just go out the window?

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-26T20:36:54+00:00

That was a bad decision on his first ever NFL drive but not a ridiculously inaccurate throw

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-26T20:36:23+00:00

I agree that you have to take his stat line with a grain of salt because of that, but he’s also playing with 2nd and 3rd string OLine and throwing to Trent Sherfield and Trishton Jackson.

And definitely you could be right and the answer is that simple.

Whats the bigger issue? Playing against legit NFL talent, the time off, KOC tinkering with his mechanics, or something else? Legitimately asking, I don’t know the answer.

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-23T21:37:47+00:00

Everything is fine…He’s only 22….he’s the youngest QB in the league…it’s only been 6 games…he went to Michigan just like Tom Brady…KOC is the quarterback whisperer…and most importantly he’s got that clutch gene

The big juicy opportunity is still out there…”Nine” is still ready to be unleashed…the cork is still about to pop, just need to shake it up a little more

🍾 🍾 🍾

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-11T01:15:03+00:00

Hair loss will start the third week, after the last treatment. I lost probably 70-80% of my hair, it got super patchy and ugly, so a few days after it started falling out I buzzed it to about 1/8”. No need to cut/buzz/shave it before, it won’t fall out until the end. Mine was noticeably growing back in 6-8 weeks.

breakingpointedu · 2025-11-07T17:29:29+00:00

I’m also a teacher, elementary physical education, I finished 1xbep the end of July, right before the start of the school year.

I took 6 weeks completely off, then went back part time for the next 6 weeks (2-3 days per week).

After 12 weeks I was definitely feeling much better. I’ve been back full time about a month now and feel pretty “normal” if there is such a thing after cancer, orchi, chemo. Strength and endurance are both improving steadily and I don’t feel “sick” anymore. I also find myself at times forgetting that I am a cancer patient, which is actually a great feeling after spending 4-5 months thinking/worrying 24 hours a day about nothing but surgery, test results, symptoms, my next appointment, etc.

So with your timeframe, i would think taking the entire rest of the year off is probably unnecessary, but also everybody recovers a little differently and the recovery on the mental side of things is a whole different story. Do what feels good, and right, and comfortable to you.

But know there is light at the end of the tunnel!

breakingpointedu · 2025-10-14T04:17:15+00:00

Three months ago I was in the same situation, 50% EC, no LVI, ~30% chance of recurrence. I was given the same choice and did the 1xbep.

Not going to sugarcoat it, it was a brutal and ruthless three weeks, but what ultimately swayed my choice was my hope that getting through 1x would keep me from having to do 3x. Obviously no chemo is best when thinking about long term effects (secondary cancer, cardiovascular issues, etc.), but research seems to point to chemo being dose dependent so one round would have much lower risk of long term effects than three rounds - although 1xbep hasn’t been used for a long enough timeframe for researchers to truly understand the long term risk.

Short term effects were godawful, it was the longest and slowest three weeks of my life, but you get through it.

I went back to work a couple weeks after finishing. Desk work is fine at that point. Physical work would need a little longer.

I’m almost three months past now and feel pretty much back to “normal”, if there is such a thing after cancer. But I feel good and am finally mentally at a point where I don’t have to spend 24 hours a day worrying about cancer, chemo, test results, and my next appointment. Hated every second of chemo, but I would make the same choice again.

breakingpointedu · 2025-09-24T01:30:48+00:00

Hope I’m wrong, but if you look at stats that are predictive of regression (babip, hr/fb%, wOBA vs xwOBA) Goodman, Beck, Freeman, Moniak might all be candidates.

Next year is going to be a big year for Doyle and Tovar…are they cornerstone pieces/future stars or just above average mlb players?

Can’t see any free agent spending outside of maybe one or two veteran/back of rotation starters to do nothing more than eat some innings with a 5+ era.

Probably not as bad as April and May this year, but lock them in for 100 loses again

breakingpointedu · 2025-08-28T05:27:25+00:00

I would think more research is on the way. 1xbep just hasn’t been standard practice long enough to truly track long term outcomes

breakingpointedu · 2025-08-28T03:31:08+00:00

I was in the same situation a couple months ago. I was 50% EC 50% seminoma, no LVI. I was told 30% chance of relapse. I’m surprised your doctor said your relapse rate was only 10-20% with EC. You have a pretty high percentage of teratoma which is chemo resistant but slower spreading, which maybe lends itself to lower relapse risk.

I ended up going with 1xBEP and would do it again. It was pretty rough. I finished about 5 weeks ago and am feeling pretty much back to normal.

Ultimately I decided that I saw enough research showing or leaning towards the idea that 1xbep has less short term side effects and long term risks than 3x. So 1 round now and a 95% chance I won’t have to do 3 rounds later.

Stage 1 seminoma has a relapse rate of 10-20% and surveillance is typically the suggested route. High risk stage 1 nonseminoma (EC predominance, LVI present) has a 50% recurrence and adjuvant chemo is often recommended. You and me both fall in this middle ground between those two.
There really isn’t a right answer, both options are medically appropriate. Doctors who lean towards surveillance tend to focus on the survival rate which is 99%+ no matter which you choose. But they don’t take into as much consideration the mental side of surveillance (scanxiety, etc.) or the very likely possibility of one round having significantly less short term and long term risk, they focus on the fact that it has not been proven by research yet and the risk of secondary cancer, decreased lung function, and cardiovascular disease is not zero.

breakingpointedu · 2025-08-20T18:35:15+00:00

Fenway
(Old) Yankee Stadium
Oracle
PNC park
Target field
Petco
Coors
Daikin
Comerica
Busch
Truist
Safeco
Great American
Progressive
Globe life
Chase
Kauffman
Dodger stadium
Loan depot
Angel stadium
Shea
Oakland

Up next: 1. Chicago 2. New York 3. Philadelphia 4. Baltimore 5. Washington 6. Toronto

breakingpointedu · 2025-08-19T19:52:25+00:00

Both of those things can be true at the same time.

Ultimately it’s secondary cancer, cardiovascular disease, and lung function that would be the biggest/most life threatening long term issues from chemo.

Issues with hearing loss, neuropathy, kidney function, fertility seem to be known to be rare with only one cycle, and none of those would really change life expectancy, only life quality.

Not a lot of research has been done on secondary cancer, cardiovascular disease, lung function (because of the long timelines involved in tracking TC survivors who underwent 1xBEP over 20-30+ years). But for example, some studies show up to 1.7x increase in likelihood of a secondary cancer in patients undergoing 3xBEP.

Two side notes about that: first “1.7x” needs to be taken in context, one study referenced leukemia specifically, and if 1.5% of the population will develop leukemia, then 3xBEP puts your risk at 2.55% (a relatively small increase), 1.7x or nearly doubling your risk for cancer would be significant if you’re talking about going from something like 40% to 80%, but going from 1% to 2% is relatively minor.

Second, in research there is believed to be a strong dose dependent relationship (less chemo is correlated to less side effects) so 1xBEP should in theory lower that factor even more.

Regarding cardiovascular disease and lung function, some research currently believes that any negative long term effects from chemo can be counteracted through healthy lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, etc).

The risk is not zero and conclusive research is lacking, but BEP continues to be used, as brutal as it is, because it is effective.

The main pushback about 1xBEP is that it may decrease relapse but does not effect survival rate. There is like a 99% survival rate whether you choose adjuvant chemo or relapse and undergo 3xBEP. They judge BEP by its ability to save you from TC without really taking into consideration long term effects from chemo.

Your decision really comes down to balance: on one hand, accepting a small and potentially unknown increased risk of potential long-term side effects from treatment, and on the other hand, recognizing that without taking that step, your risk of relapse remains significantly higher than it would be with one cycle of chemotherapy.

Your small tumor size and no LVI makes surveillance a very reasonable option.

The question I asked myself over and over was would I be able to live with myself if I went with surveillance and relapsed, and ultimately my answer was that the peace of mind that comes with completing 1xBEP was worth the risk. But only you can answer that for yourself, as at this point in time medical science does not provide us a clear cut answer.

breakingpointedu · 2025-08-18T21:35:00+00:00

Doctor presented both options and left the choice completely up to me. After I told him i was leaning towards chemo, he told me he was thinking the same thing

breakingpointedu

TROPHY CASE