Check out my Podcast

 https://www.testicularcancerawarenessfoundation.org/blog/nickalaus-goodman-it-takes-balls-podcast-guest

Life's a Beach | 2022 Testicular Cancer Awareness

 

Life’s a Beach

Grab it by the balls

 

2021 has been another trip around the Sun and better than the prior.  Life is starting to feel more normal for me, and I image for you as well.  When they tell you that you will look backwards and your cancer journey will just be a distant memory you think they are crazy.  But I can see more and more that this will be how it ends up. 

Just to recap, I was diagnosed in July of 2020, had surgery a week later.  Then 6 weeks later we did 3 consecutive weeks of chemotherapy.  My last day of Chemo was September 28th, 2020.  So we are right at 18 months.  I have continued to do visits with Oncology every 3 months.  In July I will do the scans and xrays and move to visits every 6 months.  And before long we wont go at all. 

I have continued to stay active in support groups for other TC patients and it still surprises me how many people this really does affect.  The stats are 1 patient per hour is diagnosed and 1 patient per day does not survive.  This is a highly curable cancer and early prevention is so important. 

Remember April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month and I again want to do my part.  I enjoyed all the post on Social Media and the stories from conversations that have started as a result of the T-Shirts.  They generally start with you must be a baseball fan, or your shirt says testicle. 

This past year I was fortunate enough to take a trip to the beach with two friends and their families and we had an amazing time and it was exactly what I needed.  It was the inspiration for this years Awareness Push.  So take the opportunity to share your pictures again this year using the #foulball tag. 

This year take the opportunity to think outside of your family and find a friend or a neighbor and share with them more information on Testicular Cancer. 

I will be putting together a Beach Themed Gift Basket to be Auctioned off in a Blind Auction for a Local Cancer Foundation that supports Children.  If you would like to contribute feel free to Venmo me.  @Nickalaus-Goodman

Here is a link to the Amazon Wish List:  https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1C76ALEF4MI03?ref_=wl_share 

I also achieved my goal of being in a Podcast and will be featured on the “It Takes Balls” podcast hosted by the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation.  There are 4 Episodes coming out weekly. I am behind Scott Hamilton and  Nathan Adrian on April 22nd.  So you get two Gold Medalist and then ME LOL.  I am  anxious because I have a bad habit of just rambling.  

 

This years Kits included:

Microfiber Beach Towel 

Beach Ball

Shower Card Educational Material on Testicular Cancer

Bask Sunscreen

Special Thanks to Bask for providing the sunscreen this year.   https://basksuncare.com/

1 Year | 365 Days | 52 Weeks | 12 Months | But who is counting?

 Here we are folks, no matter how you look at it it has been a year.  Perspective is everything and we just have to keep looking forward in life and progressing.  On the 28th of June I had my third surveillance appointment and my first CT since diagnosis.  As expected everything was good.  No sign of Metastasis, normal blood markers.  As far as Cancer goes we are doing as great as we can. 

It has only been 9 months since the last Chemo treatment.  What I can tell you is that my breathing is back to normal.  For several months I use to feel like I could never catch my breath.  But that has resolved itself. 

I continue to struggle with the Ringing in the Ears, it has just been a pain but the longer it goes on the less and less it bothers me.  It is always there if I just stop to listen for it.  

So for now we just keep looking forward and focusing on the future and putting this behind us.  I hope that i can continue to use this experience to bring awareness to others and help bring light to Men's Health in General.  There is nothing to be ashamed of or worried about when talking with your Healthcare Provider.  Just pay attention to your body and when you sense something is wrong investigate it. 

I am looking forward to another fantastic year and for moving to the next phase of Surveillance, which will start in T-365 Days

Count your Blessings

 Today I was given yet another reminder of how blessed I am.  Life is not fair and should not be taken for granted.  One of my interest is Real Estate.  I currently purchase rental properties as part of my retirement diversity.  The economics make sense and I love a good deal.  I get excited when I can stack a coupon at Best Buy and save $10 on something I really have zero use for.  I find it easy to spend $100 when I can get a good deal regardless if I need the product/service or not.  

I also find it really hard to spend more than $100 a times.  I should tell you about the time I bought my car.  I shopped for 9 months till I found what I wanted and I got one of those stupid deals because I searched it out.  I just ended up in a good situation and was in the right place and the right time looking for the right deal.  The other dealer told me "if you do not go buy it I will."  So even knowing how great of a deal it was, I still test drove the car 3 times, sat at the desk with the salesman, and lost 3 nights of sleep over a car.  I paid cash for the car and have no car payment.  But I found a great deal and even then I had a rough three days.  After about a week I was fine, but for that first week I had some buyers remorse, just because I had spent my hard earned money.  I can even remember a couple cars back asking if I could bring it back and get my old car the next day.  

I say all this to highlight that I love a good deal, and even then I can struggle when that money leaves my hand.  Dave Ramsey says that when you use cash it is more emotional than a credit card.  It is so true, I find that spending cash is more emotional and I spend less and keep more.   I think this is part of the reason our economy is where it is at today.   Speaking of money, you need to watch the Netflix series on Money as it relates to Student Loans.  If you didn't think they government was screwing you before watch that.  Spoiler Alert Presidential Administrations have been trying for decades to resolve this and they have only made it worse.  It's amazing to see how we got to where we are at, and the Obama Administration by far compounded our problem.  If they did forgive student loans the impact to the economy is significant.   I wish I could ask why Biden has not followed through on that.  Debtor is a servant to the lender and the US Dept of Education is the lender.  Just think about it.  

Watch the Netflix series, it comes from a more liberal point of view, but the facts are the facts, and I highly recommend it.  They even talk about how free education actually improves the GDP.  Crazy to think right, but the reality is the student loan debt in America is crazy, it is driven by For Profit Universities who graduate a very low percentage of students who use fancy marketing tactics to take advantage of individuals.  Personally I had $30K in Student Loans and Paid them off quick 10 years quick and paid back $60K.  So yeah if you can pay cash along the way do it.  

I always get so sidetracked in the post.  I could never be a writer because I do not stick to the topic.  Anyway, Real Estate can be fun and exciting.  Right now the market is beyond on fire.  Broke Dumb and Stupid are buying Real Estate as I say and something has to give.  We can get into that economic conversation later.  But one we need to have.  While I love a good deal I am too honest to be really successful in Real Estate.  There are a lot of Snake Oil Salesman out there.  They do dirty deals and simply take advantage of people.  It breaks my heart when people get taken advantage of.  In my opinion this should be considered fraudulent and should be criminal.  But as long as you are not a Real Estate Agent there is not much that can be done.  Simply stated people go out there and find people in desperate situations who are trying to navigate a complex scenario and use their largest asset, their house,  to solve the problem.  And when people get desperate they do stupid things.  

Today I went to look at a property.  The listing photos looked nice, and the location was great, and the price was reasonable.  Listing price was $145K they just bought it in February of this year for 20K less.  Once we got there to start looking at the property the owner was actually there, this rarely happens, and I learned why today.  First as I look at the property I see that I need to spend around 20K in the property to make it nice, worth living in at my standards.  I have high standards and others would have jumped at this.  The house is really worth more what they paid for it that what it is listed for.  That being said we are in an inflated market and he could get $155+ if he wanted it.   But the business person in me wanted to make a deal.  Then I started to talk to the owner.  He and his son, who was my age, bought the house just three month ago and they moved in.  He relocated from another state and they were going to live in this house as the father aged and just be happy.  

It sounded so nice, and then the owner told us that his son, who happen to also have my name, had a stroke two weeks ago and last week they removed him from life support.  Now he is in a position where he has to sell the house, he stood there and cried and so did I.  Such a sad story.  While I think that there is great potential in the property I just could not bring myself to try and make a deal.  This guy is in a bad spot, and needs every dollar he can get.  While I am a business person I am also a Human.  I almost want to buy it just so I can make sure he gets what he needs from it.  It just breaks my heart.  I thought I would buy it just so he could rent it from me and stay there, but he can not live independently which is why he and the son bought it to begin with.  

So as I try to lay here and go to sleep I can not help but count my blessings in life.  I am blessed I know it.  I am equally a hard worker and know the value of investing in yourself and others.  I can only hope that this guy gets a great deal out of his transaction.  It was a clear reminder that there is always someone, somewhere who has it worse off than you do.  Life it not as hard as we think.  

I started this post just to say, enjoy life because you never know what is coming your way.  Remember that we are all human and what goes around comes around.  Never forget that the other party in a situation is just that another party comprised of other Humans.  

"Start Kits"

Friends and Family still want to know how they can help support me.  I am asking that everyone do just 1 Random Act of Kindness this April.  Pay it Forward somehow and put a little positivity into our world.  So from this GoodMan go forward and DO GOOD.  

For those of us who work in Healthcare a "Start Kit" has a different meaning.  For my oncology nurses a "Start Kit" is all about the patient.  

When I started Chemo I got a Small Cooler with a hand written note of encouragement and some goodies that came to be important throughout my treatment.  Before you start Chemo you do everything you can to find out what to expect and it really is different for everyone. These Kits have things for both the patient and the care giver.  Honestly I watched Netflix and slept the majority of the time.  But it was nice to have the lotion, hand sanitizer, Chapstick, etc.  

I made some of these kits back around Christmas and took up there, they are all gone now.  So I want to make more.  

Each kit comes in a nice box and I put the following in:

• -Lotion
• -Hand Sanitizer
• -Coloring Book
• -Notepad
• -Snacks that they DON'T have at the Cancer Center
• -Playing Cards
• -Hard Candy
• -Chapstick
• -Color Pencils
• -Pencil Sharpener
• -Note of Encouragement
• -Letter about how awesome the nurses are there

Each kit cost me roughly $20.  I know that I appreciated it when I was going through treatment and I want to return the favor. If you want to help I created a wish list at Amazon you can shop from.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1DR06YRJ6K0Z7?ref_=wl_share

But honestly I find that the bulk of this is at the Dollar Store and that is where I got most of the items last time.  If you and your family want to make hand written cards with words of encouragement that would be awesome.  

I have always loved serving others and giving back to my community.  All I ask this year is that you take the time to talk to your loved ones about the importance of knowing your body and speaking up when you think something is wrong.  And for everyone to do 1 random act of kindness in April, the dividends of that will last way past this month.  

Consciousness | Awareness Around April

Well Hello World !

It has been about 6 months since you have heard from me here.  I have hit the ground running to say the least.  Work is busy, very busy for me.  I have been working 10-12 hours a day 6 days a week.  I am pushing myself mentally and physically harder than I have in a long time.  Maybe it is so I can forget about the last 6 months of life for a moment.  

Once if the most interesting things I have done recently is to work in the community at the Mass Vaccination Clinic.  I hope that this is a once in a lifetime experience.  I worry the reality is this is just the first.  I have always enjoyed volunteering and working in the community around large events that make a difference.  I received my first vaccine on December 28th 2020 just after my first Quarterly Oncology Visit.  I have never looked back.  Getting Vaccinated is a personal decision, all I can do it encourage you to get it.  It is science and it works.  I had minimal side effects with the first Dose.  I did Moderna and had a sore arm.  The second dose was not too bad.  I got a fever for about 12 hours and it was gone as quick as it came.  I wanted to sleep the next day, but I was okay with that.  

 

I have also been doing tax returns on top of all of this. So that has been a regular stressful blast.  It is truly and love hate relationship.  

April is an important month for Testicular Cancer (TC).  It is Awareness Month.  So I want to do my part.  I am making boxes with T-Shirts, a little update and a bracelet and sending to those who supported me along the way.  

I asked everyone to post a add the hashtag #foulball to their post so be sure to look for them.  As I find them I will post them here. 

Here is a progress photo for your pleasure.  Yes I found 20 pounds laying around.  And yes my hair is long.  It is so so so soft.  Baby Soft and it is more gray and I do not want to cut it.  I am glad it is back and I know once I cut it that baby soft texture is GONE.  So I am holding out.  I did get the edges trimmed for a video at work so it has a regular texture now and is curly.  So I guess I will have to embrace the curls.  But I will NOT embrace this weight and will get on that ASAP.  

 

Visit the Testicular Awareness Foundations website for more ways on how to spread awareness.  

https://www.testicularcancerawarenessfoundation.org/

CELEBRATIONS | Finding Joy in the Journey

 As you navigate life there are certain points or milestones that we celebrate.  Birthdays, Anniversaries, Wedding, Engagements, Graduations even Funerals.  When you find out you have Cancer it changes to some extent the meanings of these.  The flip side of that coin are the new milestones you get to celebrate.  

For an update on me and where I am at.  The past two weeks have gone by well.  I am feeling like my old self again for the most part.  I am back to my pre-chemo weight, not super excited about that, but it is important.  Being about 10 pounds lighter was nice and so I am more motivated to get back to that weight the right and healthy way.  My hearing is still crap, I went to the doctor about it.  The hearing test is normal, meaning my ears work just fine.  The challenge apparently is my brain's ability to translate those signals.  This is just part of the "Chemo Brain"  they say that it should get better over time.  As for the ringing in my ears it is a coin toss.  Could be that the years of working with loud sirens has damaged the ears to some degree over my life and the chemo accelerated it.  Time will tell. 

For those who may end up with this "Tinnitus" one thing that has made a difference is to never be quiet.  I know it sounds odd to say, but the SILENCE IS DEAFENING!  So keep noise around you, I have found that at night keeping a sound machine on has helped with sleeping.  The audiologist said to keep changing it up.  Do not use the same noise setting for too long or your brain will get conditioned to it and it stops working.  Also remember to not focus on it, forget it and act like it is not there and you will tune it out.  

The other parts of my "Chemo Brain" are improving.  I can find that I can remember more and more.  It is funny to think about, when you do chemo it is like someone flipped the switch.  It was there and then it was not.  That goes for about anything, your hair, your hearing, your taste, your smell, your sensation etc.  Coming back however is different it takes time and it is incremental.  I think it is a little reminder to keep things in perspective.  I have not shaved in a good 6 weeks or better.  I love my soft smooth skin, if you don't remember what it is like to have silky smooth skin I apologize.  The last couple of days I have started to notice that my facial hair is growing back and that I have patches of hair growing back on my head.  So I feel confident that by Christmas we will have a good hairstyle to sport.   

Back to talking about Celebrations.  Cancer brings a whole new level of Celebrating.  The first big celebration is the day you complete your treatment.  It signals a milestone that you are one step closer to the rest of the journey.  One common celebratory tradition is the ringing of a bell.  You can find different explanations  that talk through why the bell became the tradition.  My favorite explanation is the reference to being in the ring fighting.  The rounds start and end with the ringing of the bell.  The winner is announced with the ringing of a bell.  I have said it before that the Wallace Cancer Institute a department of Novant Rowan, does NOT have a bell for patients to ring.  I still plan to fix this.  I am going to do all I can even raise the money for a bell.  It is the right thing to do.  

I was at my Aunt Karen's house with her family and made the comment that I would celebrate finishing Chemo with the acquiring of a four legged friend.  I even told my friend Amanda and her family.  There are lots of friends who need homes and I have never been someone who believes in paying for dogs.  I have always wanted to have a Doodle of some kind.  But I never wanted to pay for one.  I had resolved that coming the beginning of the year I would get one and I would take a lab bread from the pound.  Well because good things do happen to good people I was blessed to get what I have wanted.  

Meet BELLA 

Since there was no bell to ring her name is fitting.  She is part of my celebratory gift to myself.  I could not be more happy or grateful for all she has brought to my home.  She is mild mannered, well behaved and a great cuddler.  I owe the biggest thanks to my cousin's wife Carrie for being on her A game.  She called two weeks ago and asked, remember saying you were going to celebrate with a dog?  Did you still want a Goldendoodle?  I said yeah that is part of the plan, she followed with so what are you doing this evening?  Blood counts good enough to be out and about?  I said sure why what is up.  A prior co-worker of hers needed to rehome "MIA".  And it all worked out.  She has quickly adapted to her new home and her new name.  She is not quite a year old so we still have some puppy left in her.  But she is the best.  

She definitely brings Joy to my Journey.  One of my favorite things that Terah gave me was a tile that has the quote "Find Joy in the Journey".  She found the Joy in every situation and I am grateful for that example.  I love the tender mercy's in life that remind me of her example and of the love she showed.  

Each of us have moments in our life that are worth Celebrating.  Take the time to Celebrate and to find the Joy in the Journey.  It is only forward from here.  Do not take the small things for granted.  If you want to do something go for it.  Live life!!