Our guest blogger, Grant, was a guest at RCD Atlanta 2017, and he is raising awareness for testicular cancer. We love having him in the HoP family. I’m Grant Moseley, I moved to TN from GA in July 2016, I was looking forward to my junior year in high school, and getting my driver’s license. In November 2016 I noticed pain and swelling in my right testicle. I could hardly walk, and knew I had to tell my mom. I ended up in Urgent Care the next afternoon. They simply prescribed antibiotics, and said to follow up if things did not improve. Right before Christmas break I spoke with my mom again, and told her things were still not better. I ended up in a doctor’s office the next day. My life changed in an instant. An ultrasound showed a solid mass, I was sent for bloodwork, then scheduled to have my right testicle removed the next day. Several week later it turned out that the cancer had spread, and with one of the Tumor Markers being very high, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Testicular Cancer. I had to begin Chemo on January 27, 2017. Since the chemo really does a number on your immune system, I was placed on Homebound Services. I did not attend classes at school January-mid April, I also had to stop attending church, Boy Scouts, and youth group due to flu, cold, and other illnesses around Knoxville, TN. At the end of treatment I had another CT Scan to see if my enlarged nodes had responded to the chemo. Imagine my shock when I found out they had NOT. My Oncologist even had me wait a few weeks and sent me for an additional CT Scan to make certain, and it was obvious I needed further surgery to remove the enlarged nodes. I was able to return to school for a couple of weeks in April 2017. Just in time to take the ACT exam. The lymph node removal surgery was scheduled for May 8th, first I was able attend my HS Prom on May 6th. My surgery lasted almost 7 hours. I stayed in the hospital 3 nights. I recovered quickly from the surgery, and even went to Boy Scout Camp 4 weeks later. My recovery from Chemotherapy has been more difficult even after almost 13 months later. Testicular Cancer is not talked about often. I hope to change that and raise awareness about this terrible disease. It is the most common in men fifteen to thirty years of age. But it can strike men at any age. This disease is highly curable if detected early. My hope is that raising awareness will make more boys and men do monthly self- exams.
