Survivor Spotlight: Cody Gilbert

Living Life after Testicular Cancer

When you’re 16 years old, your life is just really starting to kick off. The last two years of high school are beginning, and you begin to seriously plan your future. That is exactly what I was doing when my life came to a screeching halt. I had been feeling pain in my right testicle for a few months but didn’t really think much of it. It was always; oh I just picked up something too heavy. The week after I returned from vacation the pain just became too much to just be a “pulled muscle.” I finally decided to get into my family physician. I remember my doctor saying, “Wow I’ve never quite seen anything like this, it could be a number of things. Perhaps a pulled groin or you were hit in the testicles to hard, maybe even cancer but let’s put that on the back burner.” As a 16 year old my mind instantly stuck on cancer. Cancer?! What happens now? What do I do? My doctor immediately sent me to have an ultrasound of my groin performed. I received a call that night instructing me to return to the hospital to pick up a copy of the ultrasound and deliver it to my urologist, at an appointment the following morning. That night all I did was lay in bed wondering what could possibly be wrong that they’re not telling me. Why is everything happening so quickly?

 

The next morning I arrive at the urologist office. The physicians assist examined me and told me the urologist was reviewing the ultrasound that I had brought in and would be in shortly. After 45 minutes of waiting, the doctor finally entered the room. He examined my groin and became very serious. He looked me in the eyes and said, “I am very sorry but I believe you have cancer. I am not going to do a biopsy because I believe it is not needed, the ultrasound showed enough. We need to schedule surgery. I am available tomorrow.” At this point I didn’t know how to react. I sat there in shock looking at my mother crying. Everything was happening so quickly. My orchiectomy was scheduled for the very next morning.

 

I was very quiet the rest of the night. I called my friends and family, telling them I had cancer and would be having surgery the next day. How do you tell someone you have cancer? How do you bring that up? I sat down and discussed what was going to happen to the rest of my family. After a long period of hugs and well wishes I went to bed awaiting surgery the next day. The fear I felt walking into the hospital for surgery was like nothing I had ever felt. I tried to crack a few jokes with the surgeon just to calm myself down. I took that long walk down the hallway to the operating room. The feeling of the cold table is etched into my memory. I had a wonderful nurse who held my hand while I was put under. The rest of that day is kind of a blur. So in three short days I had gone from seeing my family physician for swelling in my groin to having my right testicle removed.

 

Now the recovery and countless cat scans begin. I am immediately referred to a local oncologist who breaks down what cancer really is and how we’re going to fight it. Unfortunately my tumor markers hadn’t gone back to a healthy range after my surgery. They weren’t really high, but just not quite where they should be. I was told we are going to do three months of the most aggressive chemotherapy to get those numbers back to normal.

 

Day 1, August 23rd 2008. This was coincidently my mother’s birthday. She spent the day with me saying I’ll have another birthday next year. I was filled with so many questions and concerns. Will my hair fall out? Will I gain weight? Will I lose weight? After this first visit I was scheduled to have a port inserted into my chest. The next three months were the slowest and hardest months of my life. From feeling sick every hour of everyday to running my hands through my hair and having my hair fall out into my hand and seeing my parents begin to sob. Through these months I had a teacher from my school bring me my work and teach me in my bed at the hospital and even in my home. As hard as these months were I had incredible support from my friends and family. My family never left my side the entire time. I finished hell on October 31, 2008. Unfortunately through that time my tumor markers only decreased a small amount. To this day they are not “normal”. I spent the next few months after chemo to try to get back to my everyday life. I went back to school in February 2009 to open arms from my truly amazing friends. My life slowly went back to normal and I was able to graduate on time in 2010!

Three years later I married my beautiful wife Danielle. I finally felt like my life was coming together. In April of 2014 I found out my wife was pregnant with our first child! We were ecstatic! Then in May my wife unfortunately had an ectopic pregnancy and we lost the baby. We decided to move on with our lives and take a break trying. On October 8th 2014 I found out my wife was pregnant again! On June 5th 2015, my daughter Gracelynn was born! 9lbs 4oz and 21 inches of pure happiness. We are so excited to be parents and to start this new chapter in our lives. Cancer was hell, but it made me into the man and father that I am today