Episode 019: Documenting Your Cancer Journey

Today, I’m talking to Justin who found that when document your cancer journey, it helps you and gives you a higher purpose in helping so many others by promoting cancer awareness. Sharing your story is a fantastic way to transform these tough times when you’re dealing with cancer, to share your experience in such a powerful, so you can really refocus and re-centre your life around something positive.  Here is what we cover: Dealing with cancer diagnosis Mental health during cancer Documenting your cancer journey and much, much more! Links A Ballsy Sense of Tumor Justin Birckbichler | Cure Today Episode 003: Building Knowledge Beats Cancer Anxiety Full Transcript Joe:                    Justin, I want to start with your life before cancer. What was that like? Justin:              That was a really good year, 2016, prior to getting diagnosed.  I had applied and been accepted to the Google Innovator Academy, so I got to fly out to the Google headquarters in California for a couple of days, I got engaged, we bought a house in a different area of Virginia, I quit my job and found one that was more aligned to my educational beliefs, we got a puppy.  Everything was great, I was very active, you know, I wasn’t as in shape as I would have liked to, but I had some physical fitness ability.  It was a good year, really, up until I got diagnosed.  Joe:                 Right, it’s pretty crazy.  What was going through your mind when you first found out you had cancer? Justin:              I discovered a lump in the shower when I was just doing my monthly self-exam.  I feel a hard lump, I haven’t felt this before, so I was a little baffled.  Like I said, we had just moved to a different area of Virginia, so I didn’t even have a doctor at the time.  I had to locate a doctor.  Then, basically, the first time meeting this doctor, I asked her to grab my balls.  I don’t normally even kiss on the first dates, so that was jumping through a couple of steps right there.  I just kept wanting answers.  From that doctor, they bumped me to an ultrasound and then to a urologist.  I just wanted answers.  When they finally told me I had cancer, it’s going to sound weird, but it was almost a relief because I had answers.  Then it all hit me, “I’m 25 and I have cancer.  What do I do next?” Joe:                 Yes, well that’s a big shock.  You said it was almost a relief.  How did you know what was going on? Justin:              I basically just asked my urologist, what’s the next steps?  My urologist was incredibly throughout the whole thing, he was like, “You’re going to need surgery, and quickly.” I never really had time to react or really question.  I just had to launch into the action steps of things.  Basically, I just asked the questions, what’s the next step?  That’s how I figured out what was going on. Joe:                 Yes, I know your way with cancer.  I went into the zone, where I knew people around me were saying something, I knew the words, but I really couldn’t take it all in.  It was just so hard to deal with it. Justin:              Yes, absolutely.  It was hard to try to figure out what I was doing and then how to tell people the other same information.  Eventually, it was like, when there’s stuff to tell you, I will tell you. Joe:                 Yes, exactly.  Justin, do you feel as a man you’re expected to react to cancer in a certain way? Justin:              Yes, that’s a lot of what I do now on the survivorship of things, is have a steady resolve, like, I’m going to get through this.  It was hard to be emotional about it, my grandfather had cancer, he passed away from it a couple of years ago.  He never really talked about his battle with cancer.  You always see in the media, female celebrities talking about their different forms of cancer and so on and so forth, but you don’t necessarily see a lot of people talking, unless they’re older men,