The month of November is very important to men’s health which is why Adolphe Khouri feels the need to share his personal story.
“I was 29 it was in 2016, I remember it like it was yesterday,” recalled Khouri, a cancer survivor.
“It was Halloween weekend and after two-and-a-half years of symptoms, I finally threw myself in the emergency room. Within a 24 hour time frame I was diagnosed with Stage 3 testicular cancer. When I heard those words, I fainted and woke up on a gurney.”
Khouri received surgery within 24 hours and was referred to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre for chemotherapy and continued care.
It was at the cancer centre where Khouri would meet Dr. Robert Hamilton, the man he credits for keeping him positive throughout his cancer journey.
“Testicular cancer is a cancerous growth in the testicles of men most commonly arising between the ages of 15 and 35,” explained Dr. Hamilton, a Urologic Oncologist with Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. “The most common symptom is a painless lump that’s felt in the testicle.”
Khouri continued his workouts up until his last cycle of chemotherapy. He followed doctor’s orders getting plenty of rest, taking his medication, and keeping up with his appointments.
“It’s interesting because it increases every year,” Dr. Hamilton said. “It’s one of the few cancers where the incidence is increasing and about 1,100 men per year get diagnosed with testicular cancer in Canada.”
As for Khouri’s prognosis?
“We can say quite confident that his prognosis is excellent,” Dr. Hamilton said. “ And that’s fortunate given the delays that we had at the start of the diagnosis, but I think Adolphe is going to do very well.”
“I feel as a young man in today’s world having gone through what I did, it’s very important for other young men to know that when they are not feeling right, they definitely need to go get it checked out because you never know what it could be,” Khouri said.