The Dr. recommended a prosthetic testicle
Holy tamole, this year has gotten off to a rough start. It all started when I contracted Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, a vicious virus that covered my hands, face, and the insides of my mouth with painful lesions. I took some pictures and it's NOT pretty. It took me a grueling month to start to feel like myself again. Eager to return to my workout routine, I was soon struck with pain in an, ahem, very personal place. This marked the beginning of a harrowing journey filled with pointless antibiotics, an alarming ultrasound that discovered 4 "masses", and an agonizing wait to consult with a top oncologist at UCSF. The oncologist informed me that there was a 90% chance I had cancer, and I needed to mentally get prepared for surgery. He discussed my post-surgery life and suggested a saline prosthetic. There was even a possibility that the cancer had spread to other parts of my body, like my lungs, but that would only be checked after the initial surgery. All this on my first visit to this dr. I was scared, I was frustrated, I was depressed. Oh, and I was in pain too. In search of answers, I turned to ChatGPT, where I stumbled upon several documented cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease causing benign masses similar to mine. Interestingly, despite having informed multiple doctors and nurses about my recent battle with the virus, none seemed to consider it relevant. One specialist even admitted that while it might not be cancer, they didn't want to risk being sued. The textbook approach was to treat these masses as cancerous. Ultimately, everything hinged on a final ultrasound. If the results were the same or worse, I'd be facing surgery within a week. I did the test and waited for the results... The results came in just a few hours... ...the masses were gone! It was a huge relief of course. I'm grateful to still be in one piece. Frankly, I'm still processing it all. I know it's a cliche but when you experience something like this it makes you feel how short life is... or can become at any time.