In the weeks leading up to the Pink Arrow game on September 22, 2023, we will be sharing stories from Pink Arrow Pride. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for Community Day on September 7, 2023 when you can purchase your Pink Arrow XVI shirt at the Bob Perry Stadium at Lowell High School.
Today’s story comes from Doak Dean.
My story with cancer started during my sophomore year of college when I felt a lump in my left testicle. My heart sank. I called my parents. Next thing I knew I had a consultation, ultrasound, blood test, and cancer diagnosis, within hours of getting off a flight home.
“You have cancer” is something you never want to hear at just 20 years old.
But here I was. I was in shock. My doctors told me I would need a radical orchiectomy, CT scans, and more bloodwork to determine the extent of my cancer. I followed directions. Next thing I knew I was going through all sorts of machines, drinking all sorts of solutions, getting poked up and down my arms, and recovering from surgery.
The results were in: I had stage 2B non-seminomatous testicular cancer. It still didn’t make sense to me. I felt healthy. I felt strong. Heck, I was supposed to be in the middle of wrestling season. Regardless, I had to take the next step. My doctors decided three rounds of chemotherapy would be the first line of treatment.
Chemotherapy lasted 12 weeks, it wasn’t fun, but I got through it. By now my reality had changed. I was no longer a college kid; I was a cancer patient. I had lost all my hair, weight, muscle, and quite frankly, a lot of my motivation.
After my chemotherapy, the doctors found more trouble in my abdomen. They found several lymph nodes were unchanged by the chemotherapy and had to be removed. A couple weeks later, I underwent open retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND). The surgery was successful, and I was cured of my cancer. I have now been in remission for three months!
It is no secret that cancer can take a toll on someone, both physically and mentally, and I am no exception. My time wrestling was replaced with days in a chemo chair. My time studying for finals was replaced with recovering from surgery. My mind and body had their limits tested. There were times when it was difficult to see the other side, but through prayer, gratitude, and the people I love, I got through it.
I can’t say that my story with cancer will ever be “done”, but I can say that it has changed the way I look at the world. My heart is now filled with gratitude for each day. Words can’t do justice to the amount of support I have received. From the doctors at the Mayo Clinic and the Anita Stewart Center for Oncology, to the community of Lowell and my family, I truly felt there were people by my side the entire way.
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