ITW #5: Anthony - K fighter.

<:fr> ITW n°5: Anthony - K fighter. Hello Anthony,

This week you are inaugurating INTERVIEWS on behalf of men , who also need them so much! Well done !

Today is a somewhat special day, because the goal of this blog takes on even more the meaning that I wanted to give it from the start, that of sharing experiences & tips to ALL K fighters (man & wife / as well as their loved ones of course - interviews will arrive very soon... patience)!

Thank you very much Anthony, for opening this path, that of sharing the story of your K & your tips , it's really courageous, generous of you & essential, so that we all give ourselves the strength to face this damn Mister K and as you say " give yourself strength, to feel less alone during the K" :)

(Anthony also created his blog, his “ CHRONICLE OF A SICK BALL ” ( which you can discover at the end of the ITW ), and I admit that when I came across his site I honestly found the title. .. "ballsy" ;) - I instantly rushed to his Facebook page to ask for him! Between sick “ balls ” we quickly understood each other ;))

Let's get started:

Who are you ?

First name: Anthony

Age: 23 years old

Profession: Student

Where do you live: Paris region

Can you summarize your K fighter story for us ?

Which K:

Testicular cancer

When was it discovered? How old were you ?

When I was 21 in 2013

Under what circumstances was it discovered?

Following a self-screening, the testicle being “outside” the body, it is easier to realize that something is wrong.

If you are undergoing treatment, or in remission:

I am in remission. I have no treatment to follow. I just need to be monitored regularly. Every four months at the moment.

What treatments did you have?

I was lucky not to have to undergo chemo or radiotherapy.

However, I had to have surgery. The operation consists of simply removing the cancerous testicle and it's "finished".

They cut me open at the lower abdomen. And I don't really know by what technique, they managed to pull my testicle to bring it up and out. It's "beautiful"... isn't it? Today my scar is almost invisible. In any case, it remains well hidden in my underwear ;)

What tips directly related to K do you want to share (your feeling with the doctor, your good plans for organizing treatment, anything that seems useful to you ;))?

Everything went very quickly between my screening and my operation. Less than a month. I didn't have time to think about it. I had a week's vacation with friends the week before the operation. I think it helped me a lot to take things in a “positive” way. You have to surround yourself with friends, family and think about going out. Don't stay locked up at home dwelling on what's happening to us. I think that's the best way to stay focused on what's wrong: the cancer.

What were your treatment tips?

1/ chemo:

I was lucky not to have chemo so I couldn't provide any tips for this part.

2/ hospital: nurse / doc / caregiver contact

In the end, I had very little contact with the medical profession, apart from the urologist. I arrived at the hospital in the morning for the operation, I left in the evening. So I didn't talk to the nurses or very little.

If I can give one piece of advice, however, for any appointment with doctors, it is to prepare for the interviews. When we are faced with a doctor we always forget questions, they come back to us later and we still have to wait to get our answers.... The best is therefore to prepare all your questions in advance. At least we won't forget these ones! You can also go with someone. I made all my appointments with the urologist with my sweetheart. She asked questions much better than me. She was thinking about what I wasn't thinking. It's good to be supported.

3/ “next door” medicines , if you have done any

I have not had the opportunity to try alternative medicine.

What did you do to clear your mind/clear your head?

Like I said, everything happened so quickly that I didn't even have time to try to clear my head. It happened naturally while going out with friends.

What practical tips can you advise us?

I don't have specific tips but rather a list of rules that I set for myself following my cancer. The goal is not only to avoid any recurrence, but also and above all to live better and enjoy !

There is no secret. Living better can be learned. I think you have to read, read, read and read again on the subjects in which you want to improve. For my part I focus on:

- Nutrition

- My physical condition

- Meditation

The goal is to refocus on yourself. Learn to listen to yourself and take care of yourself. It seems simple, but ultimately, it's not that natural!

I'm also a big fan of simplification. So everything I do, I simplify it as much as possible.

My program consists of practicing a complete sports program (bodybuilding, flexibility, endurance ). I talk about it on my blog. This program takes me about 1.5 to 2 hours per week . In addition to that, the Paris region, despite the large number of public transport, requires walking, often at a good pace. I estimate I walk around 2 hours per week just for transport!

For nutrition it's less simple, we can't always choose what we eat when we're outside. Once again I can only advise one thing: read on the subject of nutrition to form your own opinion and find what suits you best.

For meditation I take it in the very broad sense. For me, meditating means focusing your mind on yourself. You can meditate anywhere. For example, when I do a sports session I meditate at the same time. Just focus only on the present moment. On his body. His feelings.

In summary. I eat better, I move better, I think more about myself.

How did your loved ones support you?

And what advice could you give to loved ones who accompany a K fighter?

I was lucky to be well supported by my loved ones. The most important thing for me was not to be relegated to someone just sick. Aside from my cancer, I was in very good health. No one felt sorry for me. We could all continue to have normal discussions. I was even able to laugh about this cancer very early on with my friends. That defuses things quite a bit.

My advice for loved ones: people with cancer are always the same . Do not stigmatize them as sick or worse as "future dead"...

What would be the useful (internet) links that helped you during K?

So during K I was very little on the internet. I didn't want to freak out even more.

On the other hand, recently I have been participating in a forum that I find really good: cancer-testicule.org

Since I started my testicular cancer blog I have done quite a bit of research, and the internet is full of good information about testicular cancer, but it is totally scattered.

What has the K changed in your life...?

(for example: your vision of the world, your priorities, your essentials, refocusing those around you, in your work, your philosophy..?)

Cancer allowed me to find myself. I live more simply. More healthily. I worry less. I manage my emotions better. All positive ;)! Too bad I had to go through cancer to understand all that!

Free field ;)

tell us what you want (which may not have been in my questions) :

Thank you for giving me this interview Charlotte, see you soon!

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As promised, I invite you to head over to Anthony’s great BLOG

by clicking here:

and to LIKE / SHARE your Facebook Page without moderation,

by clicking here:

Thank you again, for your testimony and for sharing your K/tips, I am sure that all your advice will be very useful ;)

Lots of beautiful positive thoughts!

See you soon

Charlotte

PS: If like Anthony you are a K fighter, you wish to share your experience of Mister K and you have more than one tip in your "Attaché K ase", write to me, either via the CONTACT ME section, or directly by email : contact@mister-k-fighting-kit.com , with the subject “ Interview Questionnaire ”, specifying whether you are a K fighter, or someone close to you!

Re PS: FYI, I will not be able to post tips on Friday, see you for the next tip: Friday March 13 for the Post on my tips on Home Care.

Have a nice week everyone!

<:en> ITW n°5: Anthony - K fighter. Hello Anthony, Thank you so much for accepting to share your “Kase”, its really generous and brave of you.

Let's start:

Who are you?

Name: Anthony

Age: 23

Occupation: Student

Where do you live: Paris

Can you dump your story?

What type of cancer?

Cancer of the Testicles

When were you diagnosed: How old were you?

When I was 21, in 2013

What were the circumstances?

Following a self screening, the testicle was outside of the body, therefore it was easier to realize that something was wrong.

If you are currently receiving treatment or in remission (how long?):

I am not receiving any kind of treatment, I just need to go for regular check ups, every 4 months for now.

What treatments did you receive?

I was lucky enough not to have to do chemo or radiotherapy.

However I did have to undergo surgery. The operation consisted of removing the cancerous testicle and that was it.

They did the incision at the bottom of my stomach, I don't know what technique was used, they were able to pull my testicle to get it to come up and then get it out.

Today, my scar is barely visible, anyways it did stay well hidden by my boxers.

What advice in regards to Cancer would you like to share (your experience with doctors, treatment tips, anything useful ?

Everything happened very quickly from the moment I was diagnosed to the time I had surgery. Less than a month. I didn't have time to think about it. I had a week vacation with friends the week before the surgery. I think that truly helped me to deal with this situation in a positive way. You need to surround yourself with friends, family and to remind yourself to go out. Don't stay home, and just think about what's happening to you. I think thats whats best in order to not focus on whats happening: The Cancer.

What was your experience? The day of? The following days?

1/ chemos:

I was Lucky enough to not have to undergo chemo so I can not share any tips.

2/ hospital: contact with nurse/doctor

I had very little contact with any doctors/nurses, except for the urologist. I arrived at the hospital the morning of my operation and left that same night. So I really didn't speak much to the nurses.

If I can share any advice in regards to the meetings with the doctor, it would be to prepare them ahead. When you are finally meeting the doctor, you always forget questions, and then you remember them afterwards and then you need to wait to get them answered. The best is therefore to prepare all your questions ahead of time. At least that way you won't forget anything. You can also go to the appointments with someone. I did all my appointments with the urologist with my girlfriend. She always asked better questions than me and remembered what I forgot. Its good to have support.

3/ Parallel medicine (if you tried)

I never had the opportunity to try any parallel medicines.

What did you do to change your mind/ to forget everything?

Like I said everything happened so fast that I didn't really have time to think about changing my mind. It happened naturally as I would go out with friends.

What practical tips can you share ?

I do not have any specific tips but rather a list of rules I set myself following my cancer. The goal is to avoid the cancer coming back but also and mostly to live better and enjoy life more.

There is no secret. Living better is something you learn. I think its important to read, read, read and read more on the subjects we wish to improve upon. For my part, I focus on: nutrition, physical condition, and meditation.

The goal is to focus on yourself. Learn to listen to yourself and to take care of yourself, it seems simple but it is not that easy.

I am also a big fan of simplifying. Therefore, anything I start I try to simplify as much as possible.

My program consists of practicing a full blown work out (muscle, flexibility & endurance). I actually talk about that on my blog. This program takes me approximately 1h30 to 2hours per week. I also walk a lot, I estimate walking approximately 2 hours per week.

Regarding nutrition, its not as simple, you can not always choose what you eat when outside. Once again I can only provide one advice: read up on nutrition to make up your own opinion and to find what Works best for you.

Regarding Meditation: I take it as a whole. For me, to meditate is to focus your mind on yourself. You can meditate wherever you want. For example: when I do a workout, I meditate at the same time. All you have to do is focus on the present. On your body, your sensations.

To sump it up, I eat better, I work out and think more about myself. How did your family help you? And what advice would you give to family supporting another Cancer fighting person?

I had the luck of being supported by my family. The most important thing for me was not to be labeled as someone only “sick”. Except for my cancer, I was in great health. No one pity me. We continued having normal conversations. I was even able to laugh about this cancer with my friends quickly. That definitely took the edge off.

My advice for the family: People who have cancer remain the same people. Do not stigmatize them as sick or worse “as future Dead”.

What links (internet) were helpful during your cancer? During my cancer, I went very little on the internet. I didn't want to worry even more. However, since not too long, I participate in a forum/chatroom that I like a lot: cancer-testicule.org

Ever since I started my blog on testicle cancer , I have done quite a lot of research and the internet is filled with helpful information on cancer of the testicles, but the information is definitely spread out.

What did Cancer change in your life ?

Cancer allowed me to find myself, I live a simpler and healthier life. I don't get as upset, I worry less, I handle my emotions better. Everything is positive. Its a pity I had to get cancer to face that out.

Free answer: Thanks for the interview Charlotte!

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To discover & follow Anthony's blog :

Click here:

His Facebook page,

Click here:

Thank you again for sharing your story & tips.

See u very soon

Charlotte

To share your story & tips too, contact me: contact@mister-k-fighting-kit.com , and tell me if you are a K fighter, a relative or a K specialist! You'll send you the questionnaire!

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