Chad's Journey ~ As Written By His Wife, Amber

The morning of December 17, 2012, 2 days before Chad's 26th birthday, our lives as we knew them changed forever. When my cell phone rang at 7:30am I knew something wasn't right. It was then that I noticed 12 missed phone calls on my phone screen; my heart sank. I answered the phone and tried to prepare myself for what I was about to hear. On the other end of the phone was a nurse from the Meridian Park Emergency Department. She said that my husband was there, but he was okay and that he wanted to talk to me. My first thought was that he had been involved in a car accident on his way home from working the graveyard shift. My husband got on the phone and I could tell he had been crying. He then said three words that I was not prepared at all to hear - I have cancer. I felt like a ton of bricks hit me. There was no way that MY husband could have cancer. After all, he was only 25. Impossible.

Completely stunned and in denial I called his Mom and my Mom and told them the horrifying news. After picking up his Mom and my Mom, the three of us rushed to the hospital to be with him. It was there that we were told that he had testicular cancer. He had been having some pain and discomfort for the last couple of months but it wasn't until he was driving home from work that morning that the pain became so unbearable that he decided at that time that he needed to go to the emergency room. After meeting with a Urologist later that day it was determined that Chad would need surgery and possibly chemotherapy after the surgery depending on the outcome.

Chad's surgery was on January 3, 2013 and was successful. However, it was determined through the surgery that the cancer had started spreading outside of the area and began moving upwards through tissues. This particular cancer is fast-growing and Chad was a higher-risk because the cancer had spread outside of the tumor. Prior to surgery Chad had a CT scan and it showed no cancer anywhere else in his body. We were so relieved to hear this. After the surgery it was recommended that Chad meet with an Oncologist to discuss the next steps.

After meeting with the Oncologist we were told that Chad would either need to do chemotherapy or have a very intensive surgery known as RPLND where they remove lymph nodes in the back (this is where the cancer usually spreads first). After meeting with a surgeon and discussing the pros/cons of the surgery Chad made the decision to do chemotherapy due to the fact that at the time it wasn't believed that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes or anywhere else in his body. Chad then went in for another CT scan at the end of February because his blood markers were elevated.

On Monday March 4th when Chad went in to start the chemotherapy we were told that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and his lungs. We found out that he would not have been a candidate for this surgery after all. If he had gone through with the surgery he still would have had to do chemo because the cancer spread to his lungs. The cure rate for this cancer is one of the highest at 90% and HE WILL kick cancer's butt! He has to do three cycles of chemotherapy. He started the first week of March and will continue through the end of April. We have the support of AMAZING family and friends that have been helping us get through this difficult time. We would also like to say a huge THANK YOU to my amazing boss Katee & co-workers who have been taking care of meals for us while Chad is going through his treatments.

Although Chad has great insurance through his employer, we do need some financial help. Chad has had to take time off work during his chemotherapy treatments, and his insurance will not be covered through his employer starting April 1st. We have to pay for COBRA which is around $1200/month. We also have some medical bills coming in even with the insurance - it doesn't cover everything unfortunately.

We will continue to post updates about Chad & his journey.Thank you for following Chad's page and for all of the prayers, love & support!

From the bottom of our hearts we thank you, Amber & Chad Foss