September 30, 2000
Hi, my name is Leslie. I am writing for my boyfriend. He is in the hospital now getting chemo. My boyfriend Shawn is 20 years old. He was diagnosed with cancer in May of 2000. It all started when we went to Toys R Us one night and five of his friends gave him a big bear hug. Well the next day which was May 6, he had blood in his urine. We went to the hospital and were told that it was a bruised kidney.
Well a week later it was still occuring so we went back. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with him, but that he would send him to a urologist. So a week later he was suppose to go to the urologist, but the next night he had clots of blood in his urine, so we were off to the ER. He was admitted that night. They immediately catheterized him and started flushing out his bladder. The next day he went into surgery to have the inside of his bladder looked at. They removed a peach pit sized tumor. They assumed it was cancerous but were not sure.
After a week and a half, we were told it was cancer, but they weren't sure what kind. They had never seen anything like it in the bladder. They believed it was TC. Shawn went through Xrays and CTs, of his entire body to see if there was cancer any where else. We were pleased to find out that it had originated in his bladder and had not spread. So we were sent to Indy to see a Dr. Einhorn. He had looked at the tumor and read what the mayo clinic had put about it. It was a germ cell, choriocarcinoma, HCG producing tumor. Dr. Einhorn believed it was testicular cancer also. But to be sure he sent it off to have a chromosome test done. But to be on the safe side he went ahead and started chemo.
It was now the beginning of June and he was starting what would be his first round of 12 weeks of chemo. The chemo consisted of Platinol and VP-16 for five days straight, home for two weeks, and getting Bleomycin during those two weeks then back to Indy for five days and so on.
After the first treatment his hcg level went from 24 to 1.5. It is now Aug and his last and final week of treatment. We definitely know that it is Testicular Cancer. He is doing good so far, besides the baldness, loss of appetite and weakness. He is considered to be cancer free and is supposed to make a full recovery.
We have been told by Dr. Einhorn that this is the first case he had ever seen where TC originated in the Bladder and did not affect the testicles. We are very lucky and extremely happy. I would just like to thank everyone for there stories, they really helped in coping with this.