As mentioned on the home page Davis wanted to bring more awareness to Testicular Cancer. Did you know April is Testicular Cancer Awareness month? A great time to remind all the men in your life ages 15 to 35 of the Cup, Roll and Feel assessment. (Normal testicles will feel soft and move freely inside the scrotum.)
Common Symptoms Include:
A painless lump or swelling on either testicle. It can be tiny or grow very large.
One testicle becoming more firm or feeling different than the other testicle.
Pain or discomfort (with or without swelling) in a testicle or scrotum.
The feeling of heaviness in the scrotum.
Sudden buildup of fluid in the scrotum.
Breast tenderness or growth. Some rare testicular tumors produce hormones that cause breast tenderness or growth of breast tissue (a condition called gynecomastia)
Lower back pain, shortness of breath, chest pain and bloody sputum (phlegm) can be symptoms of advanced testicular cancer.
This is by no means an exhaustive list and many of these symptoms could represent other conditions!
Any lumps or swelling, call your doctor right away.
Davis wrote this with the intention of posting on the website. Here is the post, unaltered:
(reminder: 4 rounds of Chemo was from September to Nov. 16, 2017
- see post September 12 "Today and a year ago..." This is what followed.)
November 30, 2017: Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection (RPLND) Surgery (10.5 cm tumor removal, 1 dozen lymph nodes removed, 1 kidney removed). I have an 11 inch scar from the 7.5 hour surgery).
The surgery went incredibly smoothly for how long it was. I was very high when I came out of it, but am told I was able to actually play a few games with my brother that night. It took a few days for my head to really clear up from all of the medication, so I fortunately don’t really remember much. My recovery from this was slower than expected due to a few complications. I had developed a blood clot in my left arm, which prompted the doctors to put me on blood thinners. They were introduced slowly, ramping up the dosage every day. The issue came when I reached the full dose: I had a brain bleed that cause two seizures. This extended my hospital stay by a few more weeks, bringing it to another 2 weeks in the hospital. The recovery continued well beyond this stay though. I wasn’t allowed to lift anything over 10 lbs for 4 weeks, wasn’t allowed to push anything, open heavy doors, couldn’t sit up without aid, etc. My core was left very weak and I wasn’t expected to make a full recovery for another 6 weeks. It ended up taking longer because of yet another unforeseen complication which landed me back in the hospital in January. More about that in another post.
Another side effect of the surgery: minor nerve damage. This effect typically heals within 6 months, but the consistent chemo schedules I went through have slowed that down. The main thing I’m still experiencing is a numbness in my feet and lower legs. It alternates between actually feeling numb, and the feeling you get when stepping from a hot tub into the snow.
Observations from Davis' family:
Davis was diligent about his physiotherapy and regained his core strength within the time frame expected. By Christmas 2017 he was back to most regular activities (with no lifting). The effects of Chemo slowly diminished allowing Davis to enjoy Christmas and early January living life in the moment and with some normalcy. Less appointments, less tests, better appetite, this was a definite upswing!
Davis - we miss you every moment of every day.