How to Keep a Sense of Purpose, Navigate Testicular Cancer and Start a Business - Season 2, Episode 5

Nathan Kaufer joins Don’t Give Up on Testicular Cancer between his first and second cycles of high-dose chemo and stem cell replacement treatment. An entrepreneur, he founded CatchItEarly to “deliver cancer awareness and information along with creative gear styled for a dream-chasing generation.” Nathan is a psychology student in his final quarter at the  University of California – Davis. He shares his testicular cancer journey to help other young men who face a cancer diagnosis. 

Transcript

Welcome to Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer, where cancer survivors, caregivers, and others touched by cancer share their stories. The Max Mallory Foundation presents this podcast in honor and memory of Max Mallory, who died at age 22 from testicular cancer. I'm your host, Joyce Lofstrom, a young adult and adult cancer survivor, and Max's mom.

JOYCE: Hi, this is Joyce. And with me today is Nathan Kaufer. And Nathan's an entrepreneur and founder of Catch It Early, which he established to deliver cancer awareness and information. And we will talk about that during our podcast. He joins me for our conversation between his first and second cycle of high-dose chemo and stem cell replacement treatment for testicular cancer. He's also got a lot to share about what he's doing right now. He's a psychology student at the University of California, Davis to share with us his testicular cancer journey and his efforts to help other young adults who face a cancer diagnosis. So Nathan, thank you for joining me.

NATHAN: Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

JOYCE: So I always start the podcast out and just ask our guests to tell their story. What's your testicular cancer story? Anything you want to share.

NATHAN: Absolutely, yeah. So my journey started in 2020, around actually the same exact time as COVID was becoming a huge issue. So I had just left UC Davis to come back because school was shut down. I was staying with my mom and my two sisters at home. And we were kind of locked down here, just had our eyes on the news, and we were kind of waiting to see that resolve. And during that time period, I actually ended up finding a lump. And so during the pandemic, I ended up in ultrasound. And then from there, I ended up finding out, you know, something was not right. And I went straight into orchiectomy surgery a few days later. My mom just kind of dropped me off at the hospital ‘cause she couldn't come in with me at this time—because all of the protocols that were going on [during the pandemic], which was really just surreal. Everything was moving really fast.

And then I thought that was going to be it after this surgery, but a little bit later, my tumor markers started to rise. So along for a long time, we were just following these tumor markers. And eventually, it was determined that I was going to need a treatment called BEP, three rounds of that. And I went through that about 10 months ago. And I thought that would be the end of the story. And, you know, my family thought so as well. But then, about eight months later, I was back at school, I’d had to put that on hold for a little while to get better. I was back at UC Davis with my friends and everything was normal. And then one night I just started not to feel great. And I drove home to get to the hospital here for my insurance and they saw my lymph nodes had kind of grown.

So, knowing that this was not a great sign, I had an hCG [human chorionic gonadotropin] test done and sure enough, I had had a reoccurrence of the cancer. So the option then was to do high dose chemotherapy with stem cell replacement. And so that's kind of where I'm at right now with this cancer journey. I'm just going through that and kind of enduring all the consequences on your body that that takes, but trying to stay, you know, positive and be there for my family, even though they're here for me more than I'm there for them right now, it feels.

JOYCE: Well, it's kind of a two-way street. I think you, we all, try to be there for our family and loved ones when we can, so I'm glad they're there to support you. I guess one of my questions, so the cancer reoccurred in lymph nodes or… ?

NATHAN: Basically, it's hard for the doctors to really be able to determine where it is unless tumors grow. For me, in my personal case, the tumors, they haven't had a chance to really metastasize because I've just been on top of it, luckily, when I found it. The lymph node is the, you know, there was the original tumor in the testicle, but this lymph node was just enlarged. So yeah, you could say maybe that it had spread to the lymph nodes and it's traveling there and found a place to kind of grow. But as far as, you know, elsewhere spread, there's no proof of it, but you know, it always could have. So yeah, that's kind of what we're looking at here.

JOYCE: Okay. I know just from Max's experience that the high-dose chemo in the stem cell is, it's a rough journey but it really should get all the cancer. So I'm just glad that you can do it and endure it because that should end this challenge for you. But you've kind of talked about some details about the treatment. Anything that you've just learned over these couple of years that would be interesting, or not interesting, but helpful to other men who might have to go through this? Any advice, I guess?

NATHAN: You know, I think every single person has different headspaces that help them endure hard times. I think mental health, for sure, is at the forefront of everything that you need to figure out to go through something like this. You need to find the things that will give you purpose during chemotherapy treatment or any cancer treatment to make you feel like you have some kind of way to move forward. Because in a lot of ways, it feels like you're stuck in one place. You can't get your classes done. You can't go make these relationships or grow business. You're stuck and you feel kind of helpless in that sense. At least I did. So finding things, even if it's video games or meditation or art, there's different things that you can do to, you know, kind of keep on going on.

JOYCE: What was that for you, if I can ask that?

NATHAN: Yeah, I mean, the first time I went through chemo, I tracked the days literally,  had a calendar hanging in my room, and cross off days. Now I literally just accepted, you know, this is my life right now. This is, you know, not looking at the end of it, because it makes it go by slower for me. But I have been doing some art stuff in the hospital, lots of meditation. I've started to Catch It Early. So there are different things you can do to kind of feed that, that sense of purpose for yourself to help you get through something that's so difficult.

JOYCE: Yeah. I think that key words there are the sense of purpose, because you're right to get through any rough cancer journey, like what you're going through. that sense of purpose makes a big difference. And just to live in the moment as you're doing with your artwork and different things and then your business, which we'll talk about too. What was the biggest challenge in these last two years for you?

NATHAN: The biggest challenge, I think what would be, so after the doctor had told me this was in my timeline, this was happening during after I had the orchiectomy surgery. And before I started chemo, there was a big chunk of time there because my hCG was going up, but it was not high enough for doctors to really want to do much with it. they didn't want chemotherapy because the average range normal is between zero and four hCG. Mine was going like nine, 10, 12, then it would be like five again. And doctors were a little bit confused with my case. And so I spent an entire summer and some change, you know, just waiting, doing these blood tests weekly, hoping that it would go down or, you know, do something because I didn't know if I was going to have to go through this chemotherapy that would put everything on pause. And I just, you know, was waiting. And that was really tough for me mentally to just wait around and not know it would be better to have a plan in my mind. But just waiting around for that was really challenging for me.

JOYCE: You know, that's what I've always found in any of my cancer diagnoses. You want the plan, you want to know what you have to do, and waiting for results of any kind has always been a big challenge. It's just part of the process, but it is very hard to do, I know. Absolutely. I know you're a psychology major, and I know one of the things you've done during these last two years is, I read about this on your LinkedIn profile, is your internship with a hospice in palliative care. Can you tell us just about that, what it was, and how it ties into your career goals and your cancer journey?

NATHAN: I didn't get to do it for too long. I was there a few months. And then at the point where my cancer came back, and I left Davis, because this was up at Davis where I was going to school. So I when I had to leave, I kind of told their whole system, hey, I'm leaving, I've got a health issue I need to address here. But you know, it was really cool. I really wanted to get some experience helping others while I was in school there. And after going through the BP, you know, I, when I was going through BP, the way it was set up, it was outpatient. So I talked to a lot of people who had different cancer types or prognoses. And it was really inspiring to just hear these stories. They're mostly people like between 60, 80 years old. And I just wanted to be around that more. It was like a comforting time, honestly. Even though I was going through the chemo, I was getting these great stories from these people, even Holocaust survivors. And, you know, just, yeah, it was incredible.

And I wanted to just do something to help. I had my health back and I knew people were out there that still don't have their health at this point. And I just wanted to be, to do, whatever I could. So I joined this program, this palliative care program at Davis. And I had a few patients before I ended up needing to take off. But it was really cool. I mostly just spent time with them, watched TV with them, got them whatever they needed. But, you know, really beautiful experience still. But it is a little weird now, because it felt like, you know, I'm obviously not in palliative care, but it feels like, you know, It's crazy, you know, you're the healthy one helping, and then you just switch spots and now I'm on the hospital bed and I'm getting taken care of. So things can change so fast and it's a little surreal.

JOYCE: You know, it is. It makes me think of, I'm a big Beatles fan and I always think of a quote from John Lennon, ‘life is what happens while you are making other plans.’ And, you know, I think it's hard sometimes to take note of that, and like you said, things change so quickly that just, I think the people you worked with are probably very glad to have someone to listen to. And it's good, you know, especially when I hear you met a Holocaust survivor too, I mean, that's, it's good. I'm glad that you were there to have that opportunity with them, so it probably helped you heal. Do you think it did help in some ways of just going through what you're going through now?

NATHAN: You never knew who you'd be sitting next to through that treatment. And yeah, I mean, people were really friendly, they want to look your way. And, especially in that situation, I was the youngest by far. I mean, I met, and all the time that I was there, the next youngest person I met was probably like 40. So, you know, people would kind of look at me funny, like, what's this guy doing here? And people would ask me, what's up? And then when I would ask that question back, a lot of the times I'd be surprised to hear what I would hear. It's like, you never know who you're sitting next to for real.

JOYCE: Right. Well, you mentioned earlier your business, Catch It Early. So tell us about that.

NATHAN: Right. So this business kind of came out of me wanting to do something for testicular cancer awareness. You know, I'm in a few Facebook pages and it seems like the repeating message is that there's individuals who by the time they find their testicular cancer, it's spread to a point where it's harder to cure it. So if you can catch it earlier, or if that's even possible, I know for some people, by the time you figure it out,  it's hard. But if there's anything you can do to kind of know the symptoms that could present themselves, you know, it's not just a lot of people think, oh, if I find a lump on my testicle, then I'll know I have it. But, you know, there's some people who never get that. And they have other symptoms that they think are, you know, just back pain or whatever it is.

But Catch It Early is basically just a movement which aims to spread awareness and kind of give people a sense of what these early signs of testicular cancer may be. And at the same time, you know, provide kind of cool gear for fighters and those people who support them. So, you know, clothing, hats, water bottles, anything that has cool art that kind of speaks to a younger generation, and that could be considered, you know, cool to wear, but has a message behind it, where if you go and look on the website, looking to buy some of this gear, you're going to see, you know, people who speak out about testicular cancer, people who, you know, one of the different signs, you know, different awareness type of things that we can do. It's in a very early stage right now, but and I can't, I can't do much more building of the company until I'm better. Once I'm better, that's my next step for sure. I got to get the website up. But you know, it's a baby right now.

JOYCE: I think that's a great movement. And you make a good point on in terms of catching it early. And I'm sure you know this, Nathan, but you know, some of the young men I've talked to, and they're younger, but younger being more in high school. But, you know, they find a lump and they don't know what to do and they wait. And that's either they don't know what to do or they're afraid to do anything. And I think that's part of the men's health movement that's out there as well, to try to let men be comfortable to talk about their health and be able to deal with finding a lump on their testicle.

And I know with Max, He didn't have a lump, but he was born with one testicle and was told he didn't have a second one, which wasn't true. It was there. And, you know, it's just that awareness for parents too, I think that you probably will help with this because some of the signs you [aren’t aware are connected, like] back pain. I mean, people have back pain all the time, but you know, that is a sign and a symptom. So I'm glad you're doing this. And I like the idea of the gear. I think it'd be fun to have that.

NATHAN: Yeah, I'm really excited about the creative aspect of it. And I think there's so many different directions it could go in. And I just really want to help and do my part. So to make this problem either better, you know, work towards getting rid of this problem.

JOYCE: Right.

NATHAN: And it's so crazy what you're saying about, you know, younger people, they find the lump and they don't know what to do. Because I found mine and honestly, I wasn't scared. And at one point, my mom literally had to be like, no, like you can't keep putting this off. Like I put, I spent a week from when I found it to like when I went in for that ultrasound. And there was a point where I literally almost just canceled, and didn't go in and waited for another week, because I was so unworried about it. And my mom literally had to just tell me, no, you need to go get this thing looked at. And so when I reflect on that now, how scary is that? I wish I had known the signs. Maybe I could have identified it sooner. Maybe, who knows? What ifs? But it's just scary. Even I went into that headspace where I just put it off. And I don't know if that comes from shame, but there's no embarrassment in finding a lump on your testicle. I mean, it's not your own fault. It's just there and you got to deal with it.

JOYCE: And you're right. And that's a good point, kind of a good segue to the next topic I wanted to talk about, which is why do you think men don't want to talk about their health or might delay going to a doctor if they find a lump? Just from your experience.

NATHAN: Well, I mean, for me, I have to say in reflection, it was just pure ignorance on the topic to not go in sooner. I mean, I acted pretty quickly, but I could have acted, you know, I could have had more urgency. And I think maybe some people either have denial about it, if they have the information, or they just don't know. Yeah, they lack the awareness, they don't know the information. So they don't know what they just found on their body, or these feelings they're having, they don't know what to do with them. Maybe just they think waiting, it'll go away, but then it doesn't, and it gets worse. So yeah, I mean, advocating for people to jump on their symptoms early is important. I mean, there's really, there's no shame in it. You shouldn't deny that you feel a certain way and you got to just address your health.

JOYCE: No, you're right. And that's a good statement right there to address your health because we all have to do that. And so, I like that you said that, and I think that kind of puts it right on the line for everyone to understand the importance of doing that. So you mentioned that Catch It Early is a baby right now. Do you want people to look for you on Facebook with that, or should we wait and have you back when it's more advanced in age, I guess is one way to say it? Because I was going to ask you to give out a URL or any place to find it if you're ready to do that.

NATHAN: Yeah, absolutely. Well, as you've seen, it's on LinkedIn, and it's just Catch It Early. There's no spaces. As well as Instagram, and it will be on Facebook soon. And it will be on Twitter soon. And TikTok. So it's growing, everything's coming together. And there's going to be pretty cool announcements coming in the next couple months about the gear that I've been working on. And it's really exciting. And I can't wait to share it with everybody.

JOYCE: Oh, that's great to know. Then I'll look for that too. So, we've got that Catch It Early, no spaces, to find this new movement for testicular cancer. I think you've answered my other thought was just what's next for you as you get this business going and school and anything you want to share on that.

NATHAN: Absolutely. For me, I have one quarter at UC Davis left. So once I'm done doing this high dose, I'll probably hop right back into that. and finish up. This is the second time I've had to stop in my tracks for my undergrad degree. So I'm more than ready to close the door on that part of my life. And as far as Catch It Early, yeah, I mean, it's growing. We're building it. And I'm super excited to share more about it soon. As soon as I get healthy, things are going to start moving really quickly with that. And for me, I mean, I might need to do the RPLND surgery, which is like, I'm sure you've heard of it, but it's like a lymph node dissection in order to try to, you know, get those maybe remaining cancer cells out of my body. But that should be, I mean, I'm hoping that's just going to be the last chapter with this. And then I'll be able to move on and do these other things I want to do. So that's kind of where I'm at right now.

JOYCE: That sounds good. And that RPL&D surgery is often a part of this journey. So well, just keep us posted, but I will have you back to talk about Catch It Early. I think it's interesting because there's so many different activities out there for people to get involved. And this sounds like another one that will be really good, but it's different as well with the gear that you are designing. So I want to know more about it.

NATHAN: Absolutely.

JOYCE: So my last question is a fun one. Whenever you hear it, it just almost becomes an earworm, or you always want to sing along with it, any song that comes to mind?

NATHAN: Yeah. I've got to say probably Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz.

JOYCE: Oh, okay.

NATHAN: Love the Gorillaz. Great song.

JOYCE: Okay.

NATHAN: What's yours?

JOYCE: Oh, mine is pretty much Beatles. I'll date myself, perhaps, but a lot of people like the Beatles. I would say Twist and Shout is a great Beatles song to sing along with.

NATHAN: Great song.

JOYCE: Yeah. Well, anything you want to add, Nathan, before we close out?

NATHAN: No, I think we hit everything here.

JOYCE: Great. Well, like I said, have you back, you know, six months or a year to find out more about Catch It Early. And thank you for being part of our podcast today. I really appreciate it. And get well soon.

NATHAN: Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

JOYCE: Thank you for joining me today on Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer from the Max Mallory Foundation. Go to maxmalloryfoundation.com to learn more about testicular cancer, to donate, and send your suggestions for guests on the podcast. And join me next time for Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer.

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