Brother starting Chemo

[TBM]

Hi, I've been reading posts in these forums for a while now. My younger brother (30 years old) was diagnosed in January. He had the orchiectomy, and his markers were still slightly elevated. He lives in Philly and went to see Dr David Vaughn, who offered either surveillance or the RPLND. He chose the RPLND, which was done on Feb 8, 2006, and he recovered like a champ. He was in the hospital for 5 days, and back to work a week later.

In late June, his blood tests showed his markers were elevated again, back to where they were pre-orchiectomy. They re-did the blood work, did chest CT scans and an ultrasound of the other testicle. Then he had an MRI of his brain. All turned out clean, but his markers are still high, so on Monday July 10, he's starting 3 rounds of BEP, still under the care of Dr Vaughn.

He's young, very fit, and has a great attitude and support system, so we're hoping he gets through the chemo as well as he did the 2 surgeries. I just wanted to post his story because we may be looking for advice down the road. Thanks for listening!

[IowaBrian]

Hello and Welcome
Many on the board have had to do the same as your brother and are here to give us all advice. I am sure he will do the 9 weeks without a problem and will put it behind him ASAP. Keep us updated and if you have any question just ask we are all here to help each other out
Tell your brother Good Luck on the BEP and to check in on this site if he has any questions as to the chemo and what he can do to make it go easier there are a lot of great post.
Brian

[Kev332]

Welcome to the forum TBM.

You'll find many great people here who will help you with any questions, issues, etc. Its nice that you made the effort to come to this site and post your story. Sounds like you are a great brother. Keep up the good work and let us know how things go.

-Kevin

[drom]

Welcome,

My son, 19 at the time, did 4xBEP. At the start there were some nauesa issues but with the attention of the nurses in chemo that was quickly under control.

The biggest issues your brother may face are fatigue and hair loss which is a big psychological one. Buy him some hats and have some fun with it. Your support is what will help him through this.

Good luck,

Domenic

[Scott]

Welcome, TBM. I'm sorry to hear that your brother's treatment saga has to have another chapter, but I'm confident he'll come through just fine. Do you know exactly what his tumor marker levels are?

[Scott]

He chose the RPLND, which was done on Feb 8, 2006, and he recovered like a champ. He was in the hospital for 5 days, and back to work a week later.

Wow, that is an impressive recovery!

[huckchef]

your brother and family will be in my thoughts and prayers daily! i hope things go well for you both!
brian

[Jason]

Thats weird. If everything is clean, where are the markers coming from?

[TBM]

markers

Welcome, TBM. I'm sorry to hear that your brother's treatment saga has to have another chapter, but I'm confident he'll come through just fine. Do you know exactly what his tumor marker levels are?

His numbers are 25 and 294. Before his 1st surgery, they were at 29 and 322. After the RPLND, both went down to normal levels.

[TBM]

Thats weird. If everything is clean, where are the markers coming from?

I wish I knew, but he's looking at it as a good thing that he doesn't need another surgery now. His ultrasound did notice something on the other testicle, so he was very concerned that he would lose that one too. The MRI showed that it was not cancer. I guess Vaughn told him that the cells were somewhere, but were microscopic and not showing up on the MRI or CT scans. He was encouraging that the chemo would take care of it.

[MROSE]

Hello, and welcome! I want to give praise to your brother on his quick RPLND recovery - high five to you too being supportive and posting your story. My boyfriend John - 23 yrs old - is spending his last day or two in the hospital (Sloan-Kettering) following his RPLND on Wednesday, July 5th. He had 4x EP before the RPLND and as far as my knowledge goes, having the RPLND before chemo is the better way to go. I have no doubt your brother is a VERY strong man and will be a champ through chemo, although days do get tough. Everyone I've met along the way has had different chemo experiences, but let your brother know that there will be time between cycles (especially in the earlier rounds) where he will feel pretty good . I'll be thinking of him and hope that John has a similar recovery experience.

Melissa