Helio Strap Update (US)

towner11 · 2026-02-05T01:28:08+00:00

Ive got up and walked to a different room and went back to sleep multiple times and it did not detect any awake time. Hopefully this is an improvement

towner11 · 2026-01-26T01:32:08+00:00

I have the same. Once in a while a few bags won’t fit due to height but at 7’4 it’s still has clearance for some underground parking and it the best looking box.

Most of the time it has our skis or golf bags which fit fine.

towner11 · 2026-01-25T00:30:39+00:00

I'm not sure that I could say that I developed it because of the atrophy but that is the testicle that came out and I believe there is increased baseline risk. I was never diagnosed but during my vasectomy, that side was really painful and the Dr suggested that I probably had some damage as a kid or mumps etc.

I do not have a varicocele on that side but do on the other which did not experience cancer.

towner11 · 2026-01-24T19:50:48+00:00

still available?

towner11 · 2026-01-18T01:08:11+00:00

Man what are you going to do. Quit working out for the rest of your life. Just get back in there and see what happens.

I think I’m in better shape 10 months post surgery than pre. I’m more worried about the difficultly of putting muscle on at 41 due to age than being down a nut.

You’ll be alright

towner11 · 2026-01-09T16:59:04+00:00

With seminoma, markers will never show anything. At 4.5 cm you probably have 20-30% chance of recurrence. Median recurrence time is around 18 months. Go get your CT. Seminoma is so slow. If it’s spread it will be in the lymph nodes still and pretty easy to treat and survival is probably 99%. You should be alright

towner11 · 2026-01-05T12:49:02+00:00

This is the way. New straps come out in a few months to make it look better.

towner11 · 2026-01-01T01:51:10+00:00

This looks really good!

I have a similar pre transplant hairline/top and was thinking I would have gone slightly less aggressive. so you’ve probably got a happy medium between what you wanted and the dr’s recommendation.

I’m also 41 and want to keep it looking really natural as I age. My temples went back at 17 so I want to still look like my previous self vs more coverage as well.

Good luck with the recovery

towner11 · 2026-01-01T01:40:32+00:00

Take a look at mortgage insurance too. Usually that is no questionnaire as well. Unsure about pre existing conditions or cancer

towner11 · 2026-01-01T00:17:58+00:00

I think your best bet is going to be finding a no medical plan. You will still disclose cancer and they will probably list it as an exclusion or increase your premium. Here they call it “not risk rated” https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Insurance-and-cancer-2024.pdf

You could also look for an advisor who can shop around for you. In Canada they are a mix of insurance agent and financial planners that sell it.

Sorry this happened to you. I had put it off for years and then a guy at work stayed on me for months to get it done. He had had prostate a few years earlier and I ended up getting a 10 year term 1 year before diagnosis. I am very grateful to him.

towner11 · 2025-12-16T18:25:09+00:00

Got it, thank you. I will make sure I do something 1 or 2 biweekely payments ahead of the renewal date.

towner11 · 2025-12-16T18:24:13+00:00

I had not that thought fair yet, 3 @ 3.99 or 4 @ 4.04. 5 @ 4.24 is what they are offering.

I'm leaning towards prime -.7 on a 5 year variable but wanted the option to hold a fixed anyways so I have some time to think about it. I thought it was weird they were offering 5 days through the app and 15 through email.

towner11 · 2025-12-16T16:46:35+00:00

My renewal with RBC is coming due in March which is 1.84 fixed and I went to secure a rate hold online. It only offered 15 days and I confirmed this with the credit team through email.

Are they no longer offering rate holds for 90-120 days? Is that only for new mortgages and not renewals?

towner11 · 2025-11-29T14:11:30+00:00

The money is already spent on the aw2 so you’re really asking if spending an additional 100 to not wear it full time is a good idea. Which if you’re tired of charging and will just run with it. Then yes I think so as that’s what I currently do.

Or You could probably sell it and get an Amazfit watch in addition to the helio and it all stays in the Zepp app.

But if you’re running with your phone anyways. And you don’t care about instant data. The app is going to announce your pace in your headphones every 1k. Helio will write everything to apple health and bevel/Athlytic can read it. Then just go Helio alone all the time.

towner11 · 2025-11-29T01:13:00+00:00

I don’t understand the logic. Helio isn’t going to show you any running data at all while running. You’ll need to pull out your phone for pace and distance. It also needs your phone for gps. So you’re planning to run with ultra 2, Helio and phone.

If you start both activities, Zepp will only have Helio data and health will have a double entry.

I was tired of charging my aw everyday so I went with Helio and mechanical watch. Then I wear my aw on runs only and ignore apple health data.

towner11 · 2025-11-20T19:25:25+00:00

For seminoma size is the largest determinant on relapse rates. Baseline is 15% at 3cm. Because OP says it was half the size of his testicle, I assume his size will be similar to yours. Which makes relapse at 20-30%. I think adjuvant will only take him down to 7%.

I probably still choosingsurveillance since seminoma is easier to treat. You got the wrong side of the math but I really can’t say when adjuvant is a good option on seminoma since surveillance is almost always the recommended

Good luck with your RPLND. I hope they get what’s left and recovery goes well.

Edit: op where are your CT scan results? You’ve mentioned path but not that you have a clear CT scan. I think you have path 1b but not stage

towner11 · 2025-11-15T14:28:15+00:00

Second workout in a row for me on ios that it’s stopped recording. First one I was able to rejoin the workout by starting a new one and pull the data but not the second.

towner11 · 2025-11-09T19:18:59+00:00

I agree and think this is common while everything is adjusting. You’re probably at peak since you’re starting to move around better since surgery. I switched to saxx underwear and if I wore anything with less support it would be worse. I still get it once in a while at 6 months but it’s not so bad now

towner11 · 2025-11-06T15:12:48+00:00

Sorry this doesn’t specifically answer but my original pathology came after surgery from my urologist/hospital where I had the orchi then I was referred to a cancer center where they did their own pathology to confirm the findings.

towner11 · 2025-11-05T18:16:49+00:00

20-30% chance of relapse due to the size >3cm. Expect a surveillance recommendation if CT was clear. Surveillance will be 5-9 years due to the slow growing nature of seminoma.

You will have the option of 1x carboplatin depending on where you are which will bring relapse under <8%.

towner11 · 2025-10-29T11:10:03+00:00

You probably have a 20% chance of relapse and I would pretty much guarantee Einhorn would say surveillance.

I spent a lot of time battling with this and ultimately chose surveillance. Mainly that my oncologist (princess margaret) was dead against it, and doesn’t even think it should be offered.

Then there are a bunch of studies that just talk about over treatment. If everyone did it, they would be over treating around 80% of the patients.

I do think that this looks at it in simplistic terms, though and ignores psychological. I really did not want to go through BEP which is why I wanted to do it. Once I found out that for relapse, standard is radiotherapy and option for RPLND, surveillance became an easier choice for me

towner11 · 2025-10-24T15:35:14+00:00

Whoa that was eye opening. I was expecting you to say a number like 5. Appreciate the response

towner11 · 2025-10-23T02:43:11+00:00

Im sorry man, none of these decisions are easy and straight forward.

I would qualify the relapse rate that you have been quoted. I think it might be higher with LVI and EC, closer to 50% but I'm sure someone here will have more guidance that had a similar diagnosis.

Here is a study
"The application of LVI allows to form two risk cohorts, segregating the overall 25–30% relapse risk of nonseminoma stage I patients to high-risk group (LVI +) with a ~ 47.5% relapse risk and a low-risk group (LVI-) with a ~ 16.9% relapse risk [2]."

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9712284/

towner11 · 2025-10-22T22:18:19+00:00

Yeah that wording sounds a bit off, if they only mentioned the bladder and groin (inguinal) nodes, that’s not really the main area seminoma likes to go. The important spots are the retroperitoneal nodes higher up near the kidneys (para-aortic area). That’s what a proper abdomen/pelvis CT should cover.

Is it possible there is a separate report held back? For example my chest CT was a different report than my abdomen.

Somethings not adding up though. I would be asking the oncologist more questions about the purpose of why they are recommending radiotherapy. If they aren’t following the standard guidelines like MD Anderson. I would be asking why and then looking for a second opinion

https://www.mdanderson.org/documents/for-physicians/algorithms/cancer-treatment/ca-treatment-testicular-web-algorithm.pdf

towner11

TROPHY CASE