Keeping a Positive Mindset

Juan’s Story

Written by: Juan Nunez

It all started with cold sweats, lower back pain, and restless nights. This was the start of my cancer journey. I was 29 years of age and living life to the fullest. I felt like I was in the best shape of my life and would have never expected to be diagnosed with testicular cancer, but I don’t think anyone ever does. It was early November of 2018 when I had my ultra-sound and the tumor that was growing on my left testicle was only getting bigger and the pain and cold sweats were becoming unbearable. Towards the end of the month we had finally gotten the images back from WellStar and they did not look great, but we had to schedule an appointment with a Urologist. This is where things got a little tricky. My Urologist appointment was scheduled for January 5th with WellStar but I could not wait that long because of the pain I was experiencing so instead of waiting I called my brother who works for Dr. Meier in Rome and told him if I could schedule an appointment with Dr. Meier so he could make a recommendation for me to see the Urologist at Harbin Clinic. I sent over the images to Dr. Meier and he quickly made some calls to get me an appointment with the Urologist at Harbin Clinic after my visit with him. It was early December and I met with Dr. Schrum who looked over my images/bloodwork and he came in with the news that he was sure that I had cancer per his experience.  

Allison, my amazing and beautiful girlfriend, and I were absolutely blown away. It was not what we wanted to hear but it was a step in the right direction. I had faced many health challenges prior to this from a stroke to dealing with type two diabetes but I conquered those through exercise and diet. This of course was different but nonetheless, my mind goes into focus mode. After my orchiectomy, I had to visit Dr. Harris at the oncology center at Harbin Clinic where he told me that I had Stage 3a Testicular Cancer which had metastasized to my lungs and couple of lymph-nodes in my upper back. Due to the aggressive nature of my cancer Dr. Harris’s recommendation was an aggressive 3xBEP chemotherapy. I wanted to get this done and over with as quickly as possible and before I knew it, the first treatment started the second week of January of 2019. At this point my mind is already at the finish line. I truly believe in keeping a positive mindset through anything in life because it could always be worse. In my mind there is always someone in a more difficult situation than what I was in and that is where I sent all my prayers to. 

We like being proactive with our health and were not going to stop with just chemo. We wanted the best possible outcome, so we decide to go see Dr. Jockers, a functional nutritionist out of Kennesaw, Ga. Dr. Jockers put me on fasting/ketogenic diet plan that truly helped me throughout my journey and recovery. I immediately began feeling better after I started this plan during treatment. I am a huge supporter of eating healthier unprocessed foods and consuming zero sugar. 

There are things that God does, if you choose to believe, that we do not understand and never will. I thank God everyday for all the experiences in my life and take both the negative and positive to become a better person. Cancer is not fun for anyone but with a positive mindset, faith in whatever religion you have, and being proactive with your own health when it comes to what you consume, it can have a positive impact on your journey.