Because Inquiring Minds (seem) to Want to Know...

Ok, I've been thinking about this post for a while.  From various half-asked questions and comments, I am guessing that there are those of you out there that would like some more particulars about various aspects of TC, chemo etc.  So here we go, we'll start with the juicier tidbits.  If discussion of intimate body parts and functions disturbs you, blur your eyes and scroll down to the cuddly teddy bear and continue thereafter.

For the original surgery to remove the testicular tumor, the urologist makes a slice in the groin, basically in the pubes about where your underwear band rests.  The cut is not made in the scrotum because the surgeon doesn't want to risk disturbing and thereby possibly spreading the tumor.  In my mind's eye, I then see the surgeon reeling in the errant testicle by the cords, but I didn't ask and don't like to dwell on that level of detail!

After the surgery, for 99%+ of all TC conquerors you still have one good, working testicle.  Problem is the bad one was stealing more than it's fair share of blood in its attempt to take over your body, so chances are the good one has possibly shrunk and hasn't been pulling its weight for awhile.  Good news is (here's a thankful shout out to the ever resourceful and thoughtful Mother Nature) once the bad one has been removed, your brain realizes something's wrong and it's time for the remaining boy to kick up both testosterone and sperm production.  So for the vast majority of men, after a few months, sperm and testosterone production tend to kick up to fairly normal levels.  Bottom line, I shouldn't need testosterone supplements and the sperm is doing just fine thank you very much.  Although, apparently during chemo, the sperm is toxic, therefore condoms are certainly a man's (and a woman's) best friend.

Let's talk hair.  As shown in previous posts, the stuff on your head starts coming out in clumps, so I took the initiative and shaved it all off. It keeps trying to come back, but I am fairly certain it would look horrific so I shave it off every week or so.  Facial hair has thinned too, I couldn't grow a decent mustache or beard at this point.

On to other bodily hair.  My eyebrows, eye lashes and arm hair seems mostly unaffected.  Chest and underarm hair has thinned maybe by 50%.  Pubes and upper leg hair by 70% or so.  It's lower legs are an odd story.  The inside of the calves is mostly unchanged, outside though the hair is completely worn off.  Maybe it's from rubbing against my pants or something.

Chemo time.  Because I will have a total of 20 days of chemo treatments, and the drugs are so caustic they burn the veins, I opted to have a port implanted in my chest.  Here's what it looks like before being implanted:

That circle-shaped part is about the size of a Hershey's Kiss with the top bit off (it all comes back to chocolate with me).  The port is implanted just under the skin and the catheter runs directly into a vein near the heart.

Here's what my port looks like today (complete with shaved chest from when they implanted it):

That bruised-looking area under the scar is where the port sits under the skin.  There's a slight lump under the skin, but that's really the only indication that it's there. When I go in for chemo the nurse sanitizes the lump with alcohol, sprays it with a coolant and jabs a needle like this into the port:

Frankly, it doesn't hurt much and I never feel it when they take it out.  I love having the port.  It saves the nurse from searching for a vein each time I go in and it frees up my arms and hands from having tubes in them while I am in chemo.  Maybe psychologically it helps too because I can't really see it when going through chemo. I really just see a tube going into my chest and that's it.

I hope that this helps answer some niggling questions that have been out there.  I will soon post on what an average chemo day is like.  Drop a line if you'd like a specific topic/question addressed.  Thank you all for your love and support!