I normally don’t post information about my personal life here, but I want to share an important health-related milestone.
Five years ago, in late-August of 2018, after an ultrasound scan for a suspected kidney stone, I was diagnosed with cancer.
On September 13th, 2018 I underwent surgery to remove a 4.5cm tumor, which was sent to the pathology lab, where they determined it was a “Stage 1 seminoma”. A month later, I began chemotherapy (carboplatin) to improve the odds that they got it all, and since January, 2019 I have been in remission, with regular monitoring (blood tests and CT scans) to check for any recurrence.
I’m very happy to report that as of TODAY, September 13th 2023, I have now been cancer-free for 5 years, and my treatment status has been officially revised from “in remission” to “cured”. My oncologist says that I am no longer a “cancer patient”… but instead I can say that I am a “cancer survivor”. YAY!
If you have any questions, feel free to ask… I don’t mind.
This is great to hear @EricShulman I expect we must be greatful to modern medicine, just as we are greatful for your amazing contributions to this community
I am the clinical and informatics lead responsible for lung cancer screening for a major hospital system, and, to a lesser extent, all types cancer screening. It is so gratifying to know that catching it early enough to effect a cure (“downstaging”) does work (although not often enough).
Eric, I literally save all your posts for learning purposes (in TW5, of course). I am very pleased to hear your news!
