Brendan's Blog

One Man. One Dream. One Ball.

Chemotherapy

Last week’s CT scan has shown that the cancer has spread to my lymph nodes and I’ll need three rounds of chemotherapy.

My tumor markers are also somewhat elevated, confirming the spread.  This will require three rounds of chemo starting on April 6th and continuing over the course of 9 weeks.  While I had hoped to be in the 30% group that didn’t require chemotherapy (or its side effects), the prognosis remains very good.

The chemo is rather standardized for testicular cancer and will consist of three different types of drugs: Bleomycin, Etoposide, and Cisplatin.  I will have three rounds of chemo each taking three weeks.

Description of a Single Round of BEP

Week 1 of each round of chemo will be the roughest.  I will spend essentially the whole day in the hospital receiving chemo drugs Monday through Friday.  While I’ll be prescribed anti-nausea drugs, I will likely be fairly nauseated during this week.

Week 2 should consist of only a shorter hospital visit early in the week.  Though reactions vary, I should feel much better this week and plan on working.

Week 3 is very similar to week 2, although consisting of a different combination of drugs.  I should only be in the hospital for a portion of a day and plan on working through the week.

My immune system will likely be pretty weak through this so I’ll have to take steps to make sure I don’t get sick or rub any chemotherapy drugs off on those around me.  Ali will have to wear gloves around the house, but she should be used to that since she already wears them all day at work!  I’m supposed to avoid crowded areas and make sure I’m sticking to a healthy diet.  Hopefully if I take these steps I can avoid ending up in the emergency room.

When the first round finishes my white blood cell counts will be assessed.  Chemotherapy results in a weakened immune system, but if my white blood cell counts are sufficient I should roll directly into the next round of chemo.

There are some significant short term consequences of chemotherapy and potentially a handful of longer term consequences.  In the short term, I’ll likely lose my hair after a couple weeks, but this will be temporary and should grow back a few weeks after chemo is complete.  I’ll likely have a reduced appetite, but the doctor’s don’t expect that I’ll lose too much weight over the course of chemotherapy.  My skin will likely turn a little blotchy and I’ll lose some sensation temporarily.

The longer term consequences are lung toxicity, an increased risk of leukemia and heart disease.  Hopefully they don’t end up being an issue later in life.  While infertility is also a risk with chemo, Ali and I have taken steps ensure that we can have kids in the future. At any rate, the potential long term side effects of doing chemo are small compared to the certain side effects of not doing chemo.

The odds are all still very much in my favor.  I’m obviously not looking forward to any of this, but once all three rounds of chemo are done I SHOULD be done with cancer altogether.  The odds of recurrence after treatment are low and relapsed testicular cancer is still curable.

13 Comments

  1. Your Favorite Wife

    March 29, 2015 at 4:58 pm

    I love you.

  2. keeping you and Ali in my prayers

  3. Sweet blog man. Keep the positive and informed spirit up.

  4. Sending positive thoughts, all of mine, your way. I’m a very big fan of yours and am looking forward to seeing you beat this.

  5. You got this, Brendan and Ali! Keeping you in my thoughts.

  6. Brendan Mahon is a beast and is going to crush this thing. One of my best friends went through something very similar. The chemo is a bitch, but these days all joking about one ball and brass prosthetics aside, he is “fit as a fucking fiddle”. Keep fighting the good fight.

  7. Hey Brendan and Ali, been thinking of you guys. And I know the best will happen for you Brendan, you can’t keep a good Mahon down! Wish you guys lived closer, so I could be of more help, your blog is a great way to keep us all updated. Goodluck with your chemo, you guys are in our thoughts and prayers here in NY❤

  8. You survived OA in the Catskills and you’ve done erg tests – you’ve got this! Hugs to you and Ali!

  9. You’re good enough, you’re strong enough and, doggonit, people love you (to channel Stuart Smalley). Your favorite father-in-law knows you have everything you need to take this on. God bless you and Ali.

  10. Wishing you and Ali the best.

  11. God bless you, Brendan and Ali. Bill and I are keeping you in our prayers, and we have alerted our prayerful friends to do the same. All the best to both of you.

  12. God bless you, Brendan and Ali. Bill and I are keeping you in our prayers, and we have reached out to our prayerful friends to do the same. All the best to you both.

  13. You’ve got this Brendan! I pray for you and Ali everyday. Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress.

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