IAMA 17 year old who was just declared cancer free after several months of chemotherapy! Ask me anything!

Congrats man! I remember seeing your other AMA and I'm glad to hear that you pulled through! My dad was diagnosed with testicular cancer around 1990. I was only about 5 years old so I didn't really know what was going on. He survived and I can't tell you how thankful I am to have him around to this day. Unfortunately, the chemotherapy and other treatment in general at that time was not as good as it is today and it ended up doing a lot of nerve damage to him, especially in his hands and feet. So he's dealt with chronic pain pretty much the entire time since it happened and it's really taken a toll on him.

I guess my question would be did they tell you anything about possibilities or expectations of long term effects from your treatment? I assume it's improved a great deal in the last 24 years, but is there still the risk of things like long term nerve damage or have they pretty much perfected it to the point where you go back to basically 100%? I hope it's the latter, and congratulations again!

A lot of the side effects really depend on the chemicals you are given, and the amount of chemo you do. In my case, there were about a million possible long term effects, from hearing loss to blindness etc. But so far, since finishing chemo I have had a variety of tests done on my basic senses and such, and all came up as normal! I do believe that chemotherapy has improved a large amount since 20 years ago though!

What symptoms did you have that led to your diagnosis?

The main symptoms were a swollen testicle which in turn was extremely sensitive. Just sitting down in school would feel like I was consistently being kicked in the balls. One of the worst pains I've ever dealt with, and I waited a week to see a doctor like a moron.

I waited a week to see a doctor like a moron.

Don't beat yourself up about it. Something about the balls makes it difficult to tell people about.

When I was 14, I had a testicular torsion... worst pain of my life and I waited way to long, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to tell my mom what was going on.

Good thing you got the treatment you needed before it spread anywhere else. Hope you recover well. I remember I was insecure after the surgery. If that's the case with you, don't worry because it'll change over time as you realize it's not a big deal.

I was a little insecure at first, but I decided it's really not something worth worrying about. And I was very apprehensive about telling my parents initially, but my school was going on a biking trip across the city the next day and I knew there was no way in hell I could do it, so I kind of had no choice. Bike trip might have saved my life.

ha, I waited more like 2,5 months! ^{Oh this isn't a contest?...}, but my pain wasn't as intense as you describe! And even then when there is pain involved with the testicle doctors often dismiss it because tumors down there often don't hurt. Anyhow I'm glad you are doing well!

My doctors last guess was cancer. But I am glad I caught it early. Who knows how much worse the pain would have gotten

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Darn tootin

Your a strong woman. I would have killed myself ;(

Can't tell if you're joking or have no concept of gender

I meant man sorry.....accidentally typed woman

Fair enough haha. But anytime suicide even came into my mind, I just thought how stupid that would be. Why would I give up and go down like that, when I can fight it and be the kid who beat cancer? Suicide is not even an option in a situation like that.

Most 17 yr old males have no concept of their mortality. What's it like being 17 yr old who realizes this?

Honestly it's very weird. It really makes you realize what in life is worth worrying about, and made me change my perspective on positivity completely. The worst part now though is anytime I hear high school kids bitch about their problems, I just wanna say "Did you hear my fucking bitching when I was doing chemo? No, you didn't" but hey that's not my job.

It's not your job but I'm pretty sure you could run a crowdfunding campaign to make it your job. The world would be a better place.

Or you know... be an inspirational speaker on health and wellbeing issues.

I'd be an awful inspirational speaker because it would instantly turn into stand up comedy. All my best hospital stories are made to be told stand up style.

That's a great style of speaking though. There is this thing called "Bright Club" where university researchers talk about their worth via the medium of stand-up. Sounds awful at first, but it actually works really well. It's especially good to hear stand-up around unconventional subjects rather than just the same old formulaic stuff.

If you enjoy stand-up, then I'd thoroughly recommend giving it a try. I'm a big comedy fan and I used to run a show for 2 years at my student union that had a lot of acts go through that are now regularly on BBC shows and even on Conan in the USA.

I've actually always been really interested in stand up, after finally seeing a live show (Russell Peters, funny guy). I personally just think it's something I'd be good at it. I have absolutely no shame when it comes to personal anecdotes or details, so I've got a lot to say about a lot of things.

Dude...you were saved by a bike trip, which lead to cancer, which lead to surviving cancer, which lead to a life changing experience, which leads to you doing stand up comedy...

Get it? Now do it!

First thing I said to my mom after I got diagnosed was that "the Lance Armstrong joke I made before the bike trip feels far too relevant now". It stopped her crying at least a little bit.

that would work! And it'd be okay because you've had it. If I tried it, it'd be a bit weird and probably offensive! I'd be interested to see how it turned out. Making light of some elements in with all the serious stuff. I remember being really scared when I found a lump down there (turned out to be nothing to worry about). I beat myself up about getting checked for a while until I was drunk one night and told my mum on the phone while at Uni. Next day when I got checked it was a relief even before I heard what the doc had to say.

It might help people talk about it more. What better month than Movember to start!

Well I've got a good joke about when I first found out I'd be missing the first few months of my senior year in high school.

K so my doctor sits me and my parents down, and gives us the basic run down on how my life is gonna change. So yeah I started tearing up a little bit, I got a bit misty eyed, but hey. She told me I'm never gonna be able to go scuba diving. You know what that does to a man? Anyways, with the doctor is this very lurky, uncomfortable feeling woman who's a social worker. I have no interest in working with her socially since I'm 17 and not 4, so I tend to ignore her. But when the doctor leaves, she looks at me crying, brings me a box of Kleenex and sets it down. I was like wow, that actually was pretty nice. Then she gives me this odd look, and says, staring me in the eyes "if you ever need someone to talk to..." she then throws me a business card across the table, "give me a call". Then I wasn't even sad, I was just mad I was getting marketed to by a therapist hungry for clients.

Well, I did go through chemo when I was 17 (4 years ago), and did you see me do an AMA? No, you didn't.

Joking aside, I'm glad you're cancer free.

People keep thinking I'm doing this for attention or something but I'm anonymous so like what. I just wanted to be able to give some insight to others. But glad you're 4 years clear!

I was just making a joke, hope you didn't take it any other way. There's nothing wrong with doing an AMA. Thanks!

Sorry there have actually been a few people already who have said I have no right to do an ama, and that I am a bad person for thinking my story is worth sharing haha. People these days right?

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I had a mixed germ cell tumor, with I believe it was 10 percent of the tumor being malignant. All though there were no confirmed spreading, there were marks on my lungs which is mainly why I had to do the chemo. Turns out the marks are still there, but they are so small the doctors have declared them as dead scar tissue. As for chemo, I surprisingly only puked from it I'd say on about 5 occasions over the 20 days that I actually did chemo on. Worst day ever was a day my dad forgot to give me my proper medication, and I swear to you I have never felt that sick in my life. I thought I was going to die then and there. So just a tip, always take your prescriptions kids.

I'm happy that you are now cancer-free!

My question is, are you sterile now?

I haven't gotten a fertility test yet, and don't plan on it til I feel it's more likely it will be successful. They say infertility is one of the side effects of chemo, but there are people I know even who have had the same situation as I had, and ended up being able to have kids fine. So it really all depends.

The more important question is are your balls still silky smooth?

I wish. After 3 months of not having to shave my pubic hair, it started coming back :(

But you did get to freeze some of that man juice before starting chemo, right?

Yes I did, but the sample was not as strong as we'd hope. So they have it, but it's not a sure bet.

The kids COULD possibly have genetic problems. I would advise against having kids for their own sake.

You realize that's not even somewhat, let alone at all accurate? I'm not talking about fucking my cousin here or anything all it affects is my sperm rate. If it goes back up, I will still be producing the same sperm I ever did.

not to be rude but he is right. the chances of birth issues are increased ~70% when either the sperm or the egg is exposed to radiation. although 70% increase on like .5% is only like .8% so its not really that big of a deal. Just mean you have a slightly higher chance than the average person of the unthinkable happening :(

I didn't go through radiation I went through chemotherapy. But yes I'm sure it does slightly raise the chances, but not enough to be mentioned by any of the many specialists I saw. So his comment was still uncalled for

I'm happy that you happy that I'm glad.

I'm not that happy that you're glad. So Idk what you're talking about.

Congratulations on your good news! We are all taking this life one day at a time. What days are you looking forward to?

Due to complications of the Port I had surgically put in my chest (it's out now) for the chemo, I developed a blood clot in a major artery. Because of this I have to give myself a needle twice a day in the stomach. The day I don't have to stab those fuckers into me anymore will be a very, VERY happy day.

Six whole goddam months...I feel your pain brotha.

I've been on them for about 3 months, most annoying part of the whole process almost. Nothing worse on a Saturday then having to wake up at 8 to give yourself a needle when you just wanna sleep in

I took my second one right before I went to bed so I didn't have to get up so early and take the other one. I also have heavy anxiety when it comes to needles (which didn't really dissipate through the whole experience, oddly enough) so all the drugs I took to get a semi-restful nights sleep helped with the evening shot.

My doctors initially said I had to do both exactly at 8, but I have found that the time doesn't really matter as long as you do both at roughly the same times (am and pm). I was scared of needles before I started getting constant blood tests, but weirdly my fear has come back slightly after a few months of the needles. Now I tend to hesitate a lot more then when I first started doing them, I think it's because I have caused some major bruises at times.

Yeah, the bruising sucks. I'm not telling you to go against your doctors or anything, but mine told me every 12 hours, so I was able to schedule them according to my lifestyle.

12 hours is what I generally shoot for. I've been told an hour or two off schedule isn't a life changing ordeal either. I've even missed one of my needles on probably 3 occasions and had no issues (all though I'm definitely not recommending that). Right now I'm on the Lovenox 100 mg ones, what needles did you have to take?

Are you giving yourself Heparin? I just had surgery a week ago and was given Heparin into my gut in the hospital while I was admitted to prevent clotting. The burn of the Heparin was excruciating, I couldn't imagine having to do that for six months. Congrats on being cancer-free!

It's enoxoparin but I believe it's very similar to heparin! You kind of get used to it after awhile though. I did it in front of a friend though and he was in shock.

I'm glad to hear you're doing well; I still remember the first AMA! Being the same age, I cannot imagine going through something like what you did and I greatly admire your strength. My mother will be starting chemo as well as radiation in a month (Stage 3 Breast Cancer) and I would love to get some insight from someone who has successfully made it through. What could I do for my mom to make the process better/easier for her? What were the biggest challenges for you, and how did you overcome them? What are some things your loved ones did that helped you through? Thank you so much for the help!

This might not help your mom so much depending on her stance, but I really do have to say the only thing that stopped me from puking was good old Mary Jane. I even ended up getting a green card, which I didn't know was a thing in Saskatchewan. Other then that, drink lots of water. Tons of it. You need to flush your system. During chemo, all though it got annoying, having my mom there the whole time was extremely beneficial as she tended to any needs I had (food, drinks, etc). One thing I'd recommend is don't patronize her though. As a fellow cancer experiencer, the main thing that made me feel better about it all was being treated like nothing was wrong with me.

Just to add to that, help around the house. Do laundry, wash the dishes, make dinner etc. She's going to be tired and sick and thing you do to help out will be appreciated. I'm going through chemo for breast cancer so I know :)

I totally agree with this all! The last thing I ever wanted to do was clean or make food. But if she is in the process of doing something herself, let her do it. She will need to still have things she does to make herself feel normal. For me it was going out with my friends on the weekends. Definitely wasn't a good idea but I would have never made it with my sanity otherwise.

Thank you for the help! Water definitely sounds like a good idea. I don't think my mom could ever get used to smoking, but she is open to THC pills, possibly edibles (We're in California so yeah). I've tried to treat her as normally as possible, but it's hard whenever I think about what she's going through. My dad and I will both be there for her as much as possible, hopefully without making her uncomfortable. Thanks for the tips, and congratulations on being cancer-free!

Thank you again! And a vape is a great alternative to smoking, but edibles are also a good idea. I used to bring thc lollipops to any surgeries I had xD. And I know it's hard to treat people the same with something like cancer, but honestly when I'd go out nothing would make me feel worse then everyone asking me how I'm doing, or how things are going. I know that sounds awful, but it just reminded me of what I was going through, and made me feel like an outcast. Like a dying person. And that's the worst.

This might sound silly, but I am genuinely interested in your thoughts about "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. What did you think about it? As you are a teen who had cancer, I am interested to see if you enjoyed the book at all or if it was in bad taste. I am kind of on the fence for the most part and I don't know if I could recommend it to teens with cancer or cancer free like yourself.

Otherwise, congrats!

I honestly chose to avoid the book as well as the movie on purpose. I had the movie summarized to me (albeit by a drunken girl) and I just didn't think I could handle it. Seeing a love story through the connection of two people going through chemo or what not just sounded to far and away from what I actually experienced, which was doing chemo in a room with my mother only. 50/50 though I found to be extremely accurate in how the protagonist handled the whole situation. One of my favourite movies of all time, even before I got diagnosed.

Hello, well done and congratulations. Chemo is a bitch.

Did you have the BEP regime? Will you have any folllow up treatment? Whats your management plan like?

I'm not exactly sure what the BEP regime is so I'm not sure if I had it. As for follow up treatment, unless there are any changes in my future CT Scans (one every 3 months) then I am absolutely done with all forms of treatment. The only thing I still have to do is one medication on weekends, and injections twice a day.

BEP is Bleomycin, Etopicide, and Cisplatin. Judging by the rounds you described, it definitely sounds like it could be it. I had three rounds myself. Finished up in August.

Yes that is it! The P through me off tbh. But yes 6 hours a day. Luckily for my last two rounds, I had a pick line with two ends, allowing me to cut the time in half. Made it a lot more tolerable.

http://m.macmillan.org.uk/article/name/cancerinformation-cancertreatment-treatmenttypes-chemotherapy-combinationregimen-bep

This is what I had for ball cancer.

Glad to hear you're almost free of medication. How long will you do the scans for? I did one every six months for two years then one a year till the five year mark.

I assume I will be doing it for around 5 years but could be less or far more. I really won't know for a year or two, but at the moment it's just once every 3 months.

Good luck, and I hope you don't experience any recurrence?

I thought remission was the lack of active cancer cells in your body? I've always been led to believe remission was a good thing.

Sorry mate, 4am here. I meant to say recurrence. >.>

Haha made me question everything my doctors have told me. But yes let's hope not.

You shouldn't believe things a random stranger on the internet says over what your doctor says anyway. =p

You'd be surprised how often my doctors were wrong. There were times where I'd have to make them check something after they said I was fine, only to find a problem.

That's not a reason to trust them less than a random internet stranger. I'm not saying to trust in them completely, but believe me, had you been in my hands and not your doctors, you'd be dead as I tried to figure out how much chemo to give you on google. =p

I'm sorry to crush your spirits but I was being sarcastic about losing faith in my doctors. Big thing I learned was that the Internet likes to lie. A lot.

I did an AMA several months ago about having an artificial heart (LVAD). On the 15th of October I finally had a heart transplant (I haven't done an AMA on the recent transplant) and I was surprised at how fast I recovered because of my age (20).

I am only a couple years older than you and we have totally different health conditions but we both beat the odds. A tip from me would be to keep your mind and body busy to avoid getting depressed. I hope you do well because of your age and that you don't face any new complications.

My question: Do you feel that the chemo affected your mind? If not, what do you feel it affected the most?

The only way it affected my mind was in the way I think about things and handle problems. Chemo to me is living hell. It's like being put in solitary confinement almost. You have a lot of time to think and reflect. Really all I think chemo legitimately affected was my hair growth (which is finally starting to come back). And that's all only temporary thank God.

Congrats man, great to hear! I just beat cancer last year too at the age of 16. Did you notice that there was some food you now have trouble eating because of thought association from eating it after a hard day of Chemo?

I don't know if Robin's Donuts will ever be the same for me, but other then that I don't think so. My taste buds were way off during the months of chemo, so things I used to love are just starting to taste good again. It's a great feeling.

Hopefully this wears off after a couple of years :)

They are already starting to get better! Things are slowly tasting better.

How much do you think you've grown and matured from this? What is the biggest difference between you before diagnosis and you now?

I think the emotional growth is unbelievable. I went through things I never thought I'd have to, and I made sure not to give up hope, as hard as it gets sometimes. The main difference in myself I think is my outlook on things. I used to be known as a very negative kid, but there's no way I would have made it this far without being positive. A lot of people actually commented on how well I handled everything. In my mind, the more I acted like nothing was wrong, the closer to the truth it would be.

What's your favourite Pokémon?

Most difficult question I've gotten yet. I'm a big Mewtwo guy, all though Squirtle will always have a place in my heart.

Congratulations, and all the best for your future!

Are there any health- / lifestyle-choices you follow that are supposed to be beneficial in your situation?
Do you plan to continue following these choices now that you're cancer free?

Beneficial, not so much. A lot of detrimental choices though I'm sure. A good diet is impossible during chemo, and exercise is physically impossible. So I'm just trying to ease myself into the normal life in that sense.

How amazing is modern medicine and the doctors and nurses that practice it?

I liked I'd say about a quarter of the nurses and doctors I saw, if that. Lots were amazing, but some just either don't know what the hell they are doing, or are just awful to associate with. The medicine is pretty impressive though.

Congratulations! Cancer is a bitch! She took my sister.

What nickname have you been given? Lance Armstrong?

I made sure to make every single one testicle joke I could think of before my friends simply in an effort to avoid a longterm nickname. It somehow worked. Now I just need to work on getting rid of my old nickname, The Predator xD

Well done :D Pardon my ignorance but how does it feel when you are hooked up to the chemicals?

Fucking annoying. The noises they make will forever haunt me. Plus it's like having an anchor tied to you. Going to the bathroom becomes the ultimate test of endurance.

1. Have you watched Breaking Bad? If not, I would highly recommend that you do.
2. Now that you are free, what's that one thing you are looking forward to doing?

(Thanks for answering :D )

I only got up to season 4 :'( and now that I'm free, I need to start working on getting everything in my life back to normal. Then I have to work on making my life more then normal. More then what it was before everything is my goal. Not the same person, shouldn't be the same life.

Congrats, that's awesome. How do you plan on celebrating?

I've just been doing the normal teenage partying you know? I'm still working on getting my body back to normal and stuff, such as my diet, getting into shape, as well as my immune system is still below average. After everything is back to normal fully, trust me I'll be celebrating harder then anyone before me.

Good for you man, you beat cancer live it up

Thanks man. It's really something I'm proud of honestly.

Hopefully this isn't too personal, but does jacking off feel any different? Do you have less cum now?

Nah I'm still shootin straight don't worry.

I'm glad to hear you came through on top. That's some scary shit. As someone who's spent a good deal of time in the hospital for something that was potentially crippling but not at all life threatening, I can only imagine how liberated you must feel.

So, what's next? How are you planning on celebrating and what are you going to do with the life before you?

With only being 17, I've still got the whole world ahead of me! And I've been through some things that almost no one else has, so I just hope I find a way to take advantage of it all!

If you see me will you high five me?

Even if I don't see you I'll high five you

I'm quite unique so you'll know me when you see me. I'm out of shape and Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes. So the first white guy that high fives me out of the blue I'll know it's you.

Your physical description makes me worry that you're not in Canada like I am. All though that might sound racist, it's just the truth.

I'm in California where theres more mexicans then you can shake a stick at. Then again I'm unsure if any Hispanics would survive your barren northern lands.

Once again this might sound racist, but I had a feeling you'd be in California. It just seemed like the place for a Hispanic guy who could use a high five.

We usually give the nod upward towards each other but generally during mating season we high five as a challenge to other alpha males. Are there any mexicans in Canada, it seems we would like it but were not fond of the cold.

High fiving is the ultimate challenge of manhood so I understand. And I can't say there are many Mexicans as far as I know. At least not in good old Saskatchewan

Or maybe he wasn't joking when he said 'unique'.

I must know where this man lives now. For science.

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Weirdly the only good news I ever seemed to get, or any glimmering beacons of light or whatever. I would only get this from the other pediatrician, not my personal one. He would say legitimately conflicting to what she had stated and he'd say these things so confidently. All these things ended up coming true too. So without him getting me in the mind set for them, I don't think they would have. But the first time I realized things were gonna be okay I think was about halfway through chemo. Just because I got to realize that I was halfway through escaping death. There's no turning back now

A/S/L?

Ice bucket challenge?

17 years old and surgery scars for testicular cancer? I felt very afraid clicking those proof links.

My questions are:

• How has school been?
• Any dream jobs?

I tried to keep the pictures tasteful. But school was difficult at first, mainly because I hated having to miss the first few weeks of my senior year. Luckily I had gained extra credits in past years, so I only have to do 3 classes this semester. And now that I am back at school they are going pretty well, all though I'm still a bit behind. As for a dream job, I've always wanted to be a film director. I'm working on a screenplay based on my experiences with cancer, and I'm hoping to give it a definite comedic aspect in the realm of 50/50. The only thing that kept me positive throughout chemo was always trying to find something that was worthy of a scene in the script I've been waiting to have a reason to write since I was little.

What was your first order of business upon hearing the good news?

I assume you mean that I finished chemotherapy, but it's actually a long story. I was initially told I'd be doing 6 rounds and would finish mid December. Halfway through I heard mention of only 4 rounds total, but that it was unlikely. A week after finishing my 4th round, my doctors told me I was officially done. So I went out and did something I hadn't done in a long time, and I got drunk and partied my ass off. Getting that kind of news on a Friday kinda makes that the only response.

Did you have any negative effects from the alcohol after the chemo?

At first I found I would puke easier then normal, but it's definitely getting better! I'd say drinking for me is about normal now, but I do still have to be careful because of the type of injection I am taking.

Are you going to do anything differently in your life that you might not have had you not gotten sick?

I have nothing in particular planned, but I do think I'm going to appreciate a lot of things more. It definitely changed my outlook on a lot of stuff, so I do think that I will end up in a different place in my life then I would have had I not experienced everything I did.

why were you doing chemotherapy if you are cancer free?

Due to the type of tumor I had (part of it was malignant), they get you to chemotherapy to make sure it doesn't spread, and if it did, that those cells die. It's more of a precautionary method, but a necessary one

Congrats and fuck cancer.

Hows the remaining ball? Are you going to get a prosthetic? What's the deal with the infertility after chemo thing?

Fuck cancer indeed. And I've decided against a prosthetic. I'd feel more self conscious about a fake then just having one I think. And the infertility really is all random, so I'm hoping for the best. I've got a bit in the bank for a rainy day though, which in itself is quite the story. 4 hour drive to a sperm bank with my mom woohoo

Got to be the most awkward wank ever

The walk out of the room after was a lot worse then the act itself. No one likes walking up to their mom with a bag that has your sperm in it.

No one likes walking up to their mom with a bag that has your sperm in it.

You need this quote in your yearbook

I might need to poeticize it a bit first but I like your train of thought.

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For surgeries I would try and get as high as possible beforehand to calm me down, then listen to music. And just really really listen to it. It would take my mind off things. I also did spend a lot of time on reddit. During chemo, I mainly slept though. It just made the day go by so much faster.

Kind of a heavy/loaded question, but do you feel your outlook on life has changed at all? Do you approach your days any differently having stared down your mortality (and won)?

Oh for sure. It really makes you realize how trivial some problems in comparison to others. I truly think anyone who knows me well would say I'm a much more positive person now. I've also had to deal with a lot of social outcast issues, as comes with cancer. It's weird to walk by a group of kids in school and hear them say that you're dying of cancer. But it's almost empowering that I represent a level of hope for people. It makes me feel significant, let's say

Not a question, but i just wanted to say congratulations on beating it, i hope you live a happy normal life :)

? The question mark is just there so it doesn't get auto removed.

Thank you for the kind words my friend.

Its no problem, I've had family members who have had chemo, really glad you lived. I'm 17 too. On a side note could i ask what music you listen to? I'm just curious of all that happened and what's your thought with all of it. You don't have to answer if you don't want.

I'm a big rap guy. Highly recommended song that honestly single handedly got me through some rough days, is Mission by Lupe Fiasco. It's a modern day cancer anthem and is one of the best rap songs I've ever heard. Just cause I can relate. Any other questions?

I'll check it out right now, as you know first hand what chemo is like, would there be a time in your life where you would choose not to take chemo? As it'd be too demanding like if you were older. Hypothetical question obviously.

I think it would depend a lot on the kind of cancer, as well as how much fight I had left in me. As soon as my doctor said I had a 95 percent chance at being fully cured, (cured is not a common word in the cancer world) I felt like I'd just gotten the hammer in smash bros. I was gonna go HAM on these bitches, as in cancer cells. Chemo is 50 percent mental I swear.

That was honestly quite heart warming reading the end of this message. I understand what you mean, hopefully i never go through what happened to you, but you have to some extent inspired me with your positivity.

i checked out that song as being more of a rock dude, i really enjoyed it and i really liked the lyrics, really good song and i can see how it would have helped you through!

All the voices at the start would make me cry the second I'd hear them. But it really means a lot that I was able to help in any way! I really had to go through everything alone, since any of my family or friends knew less about it all then even I did. So having someone with some knowledge can be very beneficial.

I can understand how that would happen to you. Its no problem, i should be thanking you! Well you made it through man, that's what matters you bet it. Where did the part about my mum come from sorry?

I'll have to edit that. I was answering very similar questions to someone who was curious about their mother. Sorry about that haha but still thank you so much!

How much meth did you sell?

You a cop?

No...it's just a halloween costume...i'm still wearing...

Not this time Officer Whitaker

Alright...you win this round...

Little does he know... I'm actually Officer Whitaker

How is your mental state after this experience?

It's still adapting to the whole shock of everything. I just spent my entire summer in hell, and now things are just suddenly normal now. It's a lot to process. Sometimes it seems like it never happened. Like it was made up or something. It's pretty fucked up

Do you like waffles?

I gotta say, I'm a pancake guy myself.

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Well I actually got told I was done chemo about 3 days before I was told officially. We were at the hospital after my CT scan, which is what they needed in order to decide whether I do more chemo. But my doctor wasn't there, just the other one I would see occasionally. So we talked to him, and very confidently at one point turned to me and said "Congratulations on completing chemotherapy" and I just walked away crying. It was the most amazing feeling to finally be able to be crying out of happiness after doing the opposite for so long. I don't know if there is a happier moment I have in recent memory then when he said that to me.

Congratulations on being declared cancer free man!

What would you say kept you going during the time? Was there someone or something in particular that helped you deal with the situation you were in?

Here's one of my favourite stories of the whole thing, that really reminds me of how I made it through the whole thing (it's kinda long, sorry in advance) :

So after getting several tests done to find out what's wrong with my swollen testicle, today's the big day where I find out what it is. Doctor says cancer, and I lose everything mentally. Like my mind is gone. I stare at the floor, and just want to leave. After we finish talking to the doctor, my mom drove me home crying. I had to talk to someone, so I called up my best friend and told him to come over. I'd been keeping him up to date on everything up until then. So he comes over, we get high as fuck, and we discuss it. It was a very heavy subject. But I started getting into the details of the surgery and such, and he ends up feeling woozy and next thing I know he's face first in the garbage trying not to puke. So I, laughing, offer to get him water. I come back into the garage to find him laying on my cement garage floor, looking at me smiling, trying not to faint. I tell him to sit like a normal person, then all I say is "doctor" and he returns instantly to the floor and lays down. I couldn't even cry anymore after he left. I could only laugh. And that's how I got through it. No matter how Shitty things were, I tried to remember, this is gonna make a hell of a story one day

TL;DR: found out I had cancer, told my stoned friend about it and he almost fainted and had to lay down on my cement garage floor.

Wow congrats! I hope you celebrated after your last round!! Cancer is a bitch, but you seem to have a really positive outlook! It's great to see! I hope you all the best! How often will you have to get checked now to make sure the cancer stays away?

Right now I have blood tests once a week, and a CT Scan every 3 months, which is the most important test. You have no idea how amazing it is to go from going to the hospital nearly every day to only once a week. It's amazing.

Did at any point during your treatment you feel like cooking meth so that you could amass a vast amount of wealth to leave your family in case you did die? Kudos on kicking cancers ass!

I considered it but after hearing the spoilers for the end of breaking Bad, I don't think that's the best idea.

Now that youve passed this milestone are you getting a lot of pussy? You should be. On the first habd you deserve it. On the second hand you have a great avenue. On the third hand you dont know how long life is and most people your age have the luxury of assuming it will be a long long time. Dont waste it.

It hasn't happened yet but I'm hoping it's gonna happen volcano style. One day, unexpectedly, the women will just start pouring on me.

So did you make blue Meth?

I made blue men actually. I single handled created the smurfs...

If you don't mind my asking, what made you want to go to the doctor in the first place? And when you were diagnosed with cancer, what were some of your first thoughts?

The pain was getting unbearable, so I decided I needed to make sure it was something serious. When I did find out it was cancer though... It's almost indescribable. It's like your world shatters around you. I just stared at the floor, asked to leave then went to the bathroom and cried like I never have before. You feel broken. I remember I went back to that doctor a few weeks ago, and it was the first time since I got diagnosed in June I'd been there. I strolled in like nothing, then as soon as I got through the door I stopped and just looked around and realized that it was where it all began. It was a very powerful moment

What is the first thing you feel the need to do after all this?

Accomplish something that makes me feel like I'm making use on what feels almost like a second chance at life.

I keep hearing that chemo is a bitch.. Honestly, i never looked it up or anything.. Could you explain what happens during a chemo?

How do you feel, what do they give you? My mom had cancer or something in her intestines and when we went to the doc he said its fine.. 2 weeks later she went to the hospital and they didnt know what it was (weird).

She then went to our home country and there they kind of had an idea what is was. Then she came back to the hospital here and suddenly they found out. Was in the hospital for 2-3 years, the cancer/something slowly taking her life.

After reading your story im suddenly very interested about how chemo works, seeing as my mom went through it.

Chemotherapy is just the way they give you the medicine. The medicine you receive and dosages all depends on your illness. But all that happens is set the bags of. Medicine up a machine and run it through your body through an iv (among other options)

did the ultrasound catch the tumor right away?

Yes it did! We knew it wasn't good when the ultrasound tech said my doctor would call me with the results tomorrow.

Hey dude congrats on your recovery! During the experience was there anyone you met or any new friends you made that were dealing with a similar situation?

Sadly no. Being 17 and in the pediatric ward was not very fun. It was a lot of being around sick and dying little kids. Kinda depressing actually.

Get any poon from the whole cancer thing?

I got a handy after the surgery of getting my ball removed so that was a pretty legendary with the boys back home. But other then that, when you do chemo it lowers your immune system rank, so you really can't even kiss girls. So I really couldn't even attempt to get with any girls until about two weeks ago. It was a long 3 months.

Are the girls all over you now, though?

If only. I'm in a new breed of friend zone, the cancer friend zone.

I used to be a teenage girl, so if you want any advice, pm me. The friend zone isn't actually a thing. I'll totally help you out.

"used to". Okay so I could be either getting advice from a transvestite or a woman who has fully completed puberty. I don't know which is more intimidating.

22 year old woman! I'm a good bet, man. :) Also, I bartend in a strip club, and the dancers are mostly 19 or so, so they are also helpful (even if they don't make great decisions).

Ps, transvestite is one of those big no no words. It's like saying "colored." The preferred term is transgendered. :)

Honestly I can't keep track of the proper terms for all these gender differentiations, there's about a million new ones with teenagers these days. But so hey if you wanna bring me down to the strip club for some advice that would be wonderfully appreciated :)

Send me a message, we'll chat later. :)

Sounds good mam

Congratulations! How did you find out you had cancer?

I went and saw my doctor, who said me up for blood tests and most importantly an ultra sound. The ultra sound showed that I had a tumor, and the rest is history. At the time of my last AMA, they had yet to do a biopsy on the tumor. This is how they find out what kind it was

Are you a boy or a girl?

I don't know but do girls have testicles? Cause that might help you answer your question.

That moment when you forget to switch to your Professor Oak novelty account....

That definitely would have made it a lot better. Disappointed in you boomerang

Congrats buddy, did you get to choose your treatment? Did you look into cannabis oils or did you go straight for chemo?

Trust me if I had a choice it would most have been chemo. With the kind of tumor I had, since it was malignant chemo is required. It's non negotiable really.

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I can't tell if you're trying to be a troll but if not, you're a tad bit of a giant cunt. I hope you get diagnosed with a terminal illness, and when you're on your death bed I'll come say hi so you can see me being 20+ years cancer free. :)