What Every Man Born with One Testicle Must Know - A Cancer Survivor's Story - Episode #27

Michael Acosta was born with an undescended testicle. Even with the removal of that testicle as a baby, Michael had a higher risk for testicular cancer. He shares his story of cancer diagnosis at age 17 and now, more than 11 years later, his dedication to raising awareness about the disease.  Listen to Michael's story on Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer, a podcast from the Max Mallory Foundation.

Transcript

What Every Man Born with One Testicle Must Know, a Cancer Survivor’s Story, with Michael Acosta, season 1, episode 27

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: Hello, this is Joyce. And with me today, I have Michael Acosta. And Michael received his testicular cancer diagnosis at age 17. And he's going to tell us more about that. But he was a junior in high school in Texas. So,     shocked and scared, he managed to go through surgeries and chemo. And ultimately, he's now helping other young men with the same diagnosis and meet some of the challenges that he did as well. So Michael, I'm so glad that you could join me today.

MICHAEL: Absolutely. I appreciate you guys having me.

JOYCE: So I always like to start the podcast just to learn more about my guest and his diagnosis with testicular cancer. So I want to ask you, Michael, that same question. Share your story with us as much as you would like to let people know.

MICHAEL: Yeah, absolutely. So I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at 17 years old. I'm 28 now, for reference. I just celebrated 11 years cancer-free here last month.

JOYCE: Oh, that's wonderful.

MICHAEL: Thank you. Basically, kind of how it started. So I was a baby. We were kind of going through and looking at the records here. And the best that we can come up with was I was around one to two years old, when one of my testicles never descended. So that was removed when I was a baby. And so I went through the next 17 years with one [testicle] and kind of how it all started was January of 2010. I was playing basketball. I was in a church league with some friends and I kind of went up for a rebound and came down and just like, just crumbled to the floor. And so immediately I thought I pulled something in my groin. I sat out and kind of let it--I iced it and put some heat on it and the swelling went down, and I was like, cool, that's good, we're solid.

And come to find out, probably, gosh, around, I'd say maybe late February, early March, I noticed in my scrotum was just a mass. And it was probably, I would say, the size of, oh, maybe a tennis ball, just for reference. So I kind of, I told my parents, I was like, you know, something's not right, I got to go to the doctor. So they took me into the doctor and the doctor, originally, they thought it was a hernia, a major hernia. So they sent me off for tests and one of the tests that they gave me was a pregnancy test, which, you know--imagine being 17 and you're just trying to figure all this stuff out. [NOTE: testicular tumors can lead to an increase in a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), the same hormone detected by home pregnancy tests and thus a pregnancy test is sometimes used to explore for testicular tumors.] So I did an ultrasound, and I went back to school that day.

It was March the 26th of 2010. And I went back to school. It happened to be Student Appreciation Week at my high school. So we're sitting there in the pep rally in the gym. I remember the day clearly. They just auctioned off a Best Buy gift card. I was a little bit of a video gamer back in the day. They called my name like, simultaneously, right when they announced the gift card. So I was like excited. I was like, yeah, I won the gift card! No, I didn't win the gift card. Instead, I won a trip to the doctor's office. So I had to go meet my parents in Arlington, Texas, which is about a half hour from where I live. There, I go in, and I sat there in the room. My parents were there next to me. That's when the doctor gave me the cancer diagnosis, and I remember just sitting there. I was just stunned and my mom started crying and my dad was trying to hold us together and I was numb. I didn't know what to say. It was just like I thought it was a bad dream. I was like, any day I'm gonna wake up now, and everything's gonna be good. Everything's gonna be golden.

Well, as the doctor kept talking, I realized it wasn't a dream, and I lost it right there in the room. I started bawling because when you hear, when you think of cancer, you think of death.

JOYCE:  Yes, that's true.

MICHAEL: So I sat there and I was just [thinking], I have my whole life ahead of me--I  have college, I’ve got a career, I’ve got dating, I’ve got like all this stuff and [all of it] just comes crashing down in front of me. I remember I had to excuse myself in the room because I couldn't be in the room. So I kind of gathered up myself and walked back in the room, and they ran some more tests just to make sure. But they were, 99.9% sure that's what it was.

So I went back, I had surgery on April Fool's day, of all days, and my sister's birthday, 2010. I returned, and I went to school--uh, I think I missed like maybe two days. Actually, I think I had it on a Friday and I went back to school that Monday or something like that. I was just--I was ready and, I remember waking up from that surgery and it was just the most excruciating pain that I had ever been in. Immediately, I mean, I was ready to give up like right then. I didn't even care. I didn't want to go through chemo. I was done. Like I was just ready to give up and just live out my time basically.

But it was, you know, my mom [who helped me], because I couldn't drive because of the pain, the surgery, the incisions and stuff. So before my mom took me back to school, she sat me down and basically told me that this was just like a temporary setback. And [that]  I was destined for so much more--I'm destined to overcome this, and then use my experiences to help other people. And so, it was a pep talk and, and I gathered myself and I went to school. It was weird facing my friends, honestly, because I knew they were going to ask questions. I told my mom to like, just tell my teachers, and to have my teachers tell my friends and classmates, just because it would probably save me the time, or crying or, whatever. So, they told me, and everybody was just super supportive and willing to do whatever it took to help get me through this.

So we go see the oncologist. So since I was 17, I was still--I just made the cutoff to be in a children's hospital. Well, the only drawback of that was I was the biggest ‘child’ in that hospital, so they had to bring in a special bed just for me because I was so tall. Come to find out we were talking to the oncologist and the oncologist said that, with undecided testicles, it puts you at a higher risk for cancer--which was news to me, was news to my parents. And it's just kind of like, OK, so did we know this 20 years ago or 17 years ago and nobody told us? Or was it just, we didn't have the medical knowledge back then? I mean, obviously, there was nothing we could really do.

I'm of the opinion that we probably just didn't have the medical technology back then to determine that. [NOTE: though this is a common belief, medical researchers were examining the link between cryptorchidism and testicular cancer as early as 1980.]

So I went through--I did three rounds of chemo and [if] I thought the surgery was bad, chemo kicked my butt--from nausea, vomiting. I didn't eat. I dropped 20 pounds just like at the drop of a hat. And I remember being excited, because my oncologist told me, hey, you don't have any dietary restrictions. And I was like, yay, because I love food. So I'm just like, cool, I can eat what I want.

Nope. I took one smell of the hospital food after getting the first dose of chemo. Nope. I couldn't eat anything with a smell. So, I was stuck with dry, non-perishable foods. So I went through the three rounds of chemo and, and I think the hardest part for me was losing my hair. It started falling out pretty much almost immediately. And, I remember, because I went to school in between rounds of chemo, they had offered me to go on a homebound program. And I said, absolutely not. I said, I want to be at school because to me it felt like, okay, if I went on a homebound program, people were going to think I wasn't telling them something or, they were going to think it was a little more severe. So I said, absolutely not, I'll do whatever it takes. I said, I want to be at school when I'm not in the hospital.

So I did three rounds of chemo each five days. I did five days on, 16 days off. And so yeah, I went back to school and my friends were super supportive. My teachers were the real MVPs, to be 100% honest. They came early, they stayed late for me, and they helped me graduate. They helped me finish my junior year on time. And it was because of them I was able to graduate on time with my friends. So at the end of the third round of chemo, I suppose I should--I don't think I mentioned, I did have stage two testicular cancer, meaning the cancer spread to my lymph nodes in my abdomen--so at the end of the third round, we ran tests, and they discovered that the mass was still there. Basically, I had two options. I could either, I could leave the mass in there and hope that it was dead cancer cells, or I could have what they call, it's RPLND, but it stands for retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, which I couldn't say 11 years ago, but now it just rolls right off the tongue.

JOYCE: What age does for us, right?

MICHAEL: Exactly, exactly. So I had, well, what's funny was because at that time, you know, RPLND wasn't, it was more common, I found out in, in Europe. And it wasn't as common here in the US. I mean, there weren't a lot of surgeons here that did it. So, we  found one in Arlington at the same hospital where I had my orchiectomy, the testicle removal. And, he was a nice guy, but I just wasn't feeling his vibe because he was talking about cutting into me like [at] eight different places. I would have felt like the guy from Operation, the game, the board game operation.

JOYCE: Yeah. Yeah.

MICHAEL: So, I’m kind of like, we'll keep looking. We found a guy at UT Southwestern in Dallas and he was really calm, like really straightforward. He was like, this is what's going to happen. We're just going to catch you here. And then, we're going to take it out. Well, we, we thought about getting a third opinion, which would have meant going to a U.S. MD Anderson in Houston. So, I was just like, you know what? Honestly, I'm tired of dealing with this. So I was like, let's just do the one in Dallas, it'd be good. I like the guy. I mean, it'll be good.

I suppose I should mention that during all this time I was in Boy Scouts and I was working on obtaining my Eagle. So right before I went into surgery the second time, I finished up all my stuff for Eagle and I was able to get my Eagle. I believe it was four days before surgery. So I had surgery on July the 31st of 2010, and I believe I got my Eagle, I think it was July 27th. So, what better time when you can't do anything to actually buckle down and finish up what you need to do so you can get your Eagle? I went in, I got my surgery and was in the hospital for a week, so they could monitor me.  And come to find out while I was in surgery, the cancer had lumped onto my aorta. So  what should have been about a four-to-six-hour surgery turned into a 10-hour procedure. Because they had to call in a vascular surgeon to come in and remove the mass because it had latched onto that aorta. Also, and of course you know, when you're removing cancer cells, nothing can be easy. The mass was at the back of my abdomen. So we're talking, we had to move my liver out of the way, my colon, all those major organs out of the way. But finally, they got me out of surgery in recovery. I go home after about a week with the worst stomachache I've ever had. And again, it made the pain after the orchiectomy, it made that seem like a cakewalk. I mean, it was it was rough.

JOYCE: Oh, it had to be with everything they had to do.

MICHAEL: Oh, yeah, it was, and you know, they had a physical therapist come in and try to work with me and I curled up into a ball because I did not want to move. Yeah, basically, at one point, the physical therapist had to physically pick me up out of bed. 

JOYCE: Oh, Michael. Oh, gosh.

MICHAEL: Yeah. He was a really fit, muscular dude. So, you know, he could do it. But I thought I was out of the woods. Well, they did come to find out the cancer cells were dead, so I didn't need any more treatment. As of August 17th, 2010, I was cancer free. I mean, you talk about a huge relief off my shoulders. But, with it, I did have to spend the last weekend of my summer in the hospital because I couldn't keep anything down, food or drink. They thought I had appendicitis, which would have just been icing on the cake. I just had two surgeries in the span of three months. And on top of that, now I get appendicitis.

So they were starting to prep me for surgery, but never did find out what was wrong with me at that point, because they thought it was just the effect of having all my major organs moved around. That it was just, I guess them going back in a place was irritating. Or, them being moved was irritating. But, you know, honestly, I think my goal with doing this is just to let people know, when you're cancer free, it's great. I mean it's a huge weight off your shoulders. But there are a lot of things that people don't think about when it comes to life after cancer. And honestly, that's my goal with this podcast is to educate people on like, the aftereffects and what we still struggle with. I don't think it matters whether you're a day, a year, 20 years, whatever. I think it's something that you're going to hold on to for the rest of your life.

JOYCE: I agree. I've had cancer six times and there's always that feeling in the back of your mind. It's like, what's next? Or things that you think about. And I just want to say one thing, listening to your story, [about] both you and your mother. I mean, your mother who sat you down and said, this is just temporary and it's one thing you have to get through, but then you're a strong young man. I mean, to be in high school; I don't blame you. I would want to go back to school too, but I mean, to go through all of this and be able to do that and be with your friends. And I just think that you deserve recognition for that, because that would have been a very difficult thing to do.

MICHAEL: It was especially hard when my hair was falling out and I'd be sitting there, writing something on my paper. I'd go to turn my head and then turn my head back and, oh, there's a clump of hair on my desk. And you know, that's like you're trying to move your hair around. Like cover up the sudden bald spots you've got. And that is just like, oh my god, I'm running out of hair. I can't cover up the bald anymore.

I think when I when I came to school one day after having it shaved, I just had to shave it all the way off because I was tired of dealing with it. I think that [is] when it becomes real for a lot of people. I’m not saying they didn't think it was real before, but obviously, you associate like baldness [and] sickness, all that stuff, with cancer. And then, you know, suddenly, you see me one day with hair and then the next day you don't.

JOYCE: Right. Right. And I just want to touch on one more thing. And then I really want to talk about what you said about what comes after you survive cancer. Absolutely. Because you know, my son, Max, had the same condition as you did. He was born with one testicle. And he had surgery, too--he was probably about a year old. But they [surgeons] said, oh, it's not there. Don't worry about it. Well, it was there. And that's how he wound up with cancer when he was 22. And I think your question on ‘why didn't they say something to your family or to us,’ and you're a little bit older than Max, just a couple of years, but I don't know. I don't know if they knew back then if being born with one testicle was major at higher risk for testicular cancer. I think that's a really good question. That's something too we should emphasize here, is that if you're listening and you were born with one testicle, pay attention. But let's get on to what you were talking about. Now you're cancer free 11 years and some of the things you have to live with or understand in that condition.

MICHAEL: Yeah. Well, to your point, I do want to give a shout out to my oncologist here at Cook Children's, Dr. Karen Albritton. She was absolutely amazing. You know, she was the one that told us that having one testicle does put you at higher risk for testicular cancer. And she was always very upfront with us. I loved her. I mean, I was very sad when I got kicked out of pediatric care. Cause I really liked her. Now to answer your original question, after cancer, it's, and I never really, I guess it never really hit home for me because I've always tried to be like a positive guy. You know, I always, you know, really upbeat, funny, outgoing--that's who I've always been. And I recently joined forces with the Testicular Cancer Foundation. They're based out here in Austin. And we were at a summit in Las Vegas in April. We were talking, one of the guys was talking and the  way he put it was ‘PTSD.’

And every time I hear, you always hear ‘PTSD’--I associated PTSD with our military and  those in combat. But I never really associated it with testicular cancer, with cancer. When I got out of remission, I had to go see an endocrinologist because I'm on testosterone treatments for the rest of my life. And, you know, I tell you what, this testosterone regimen, it's just been, we're in year 11 now, and I think it's probably been the hardest struggle for me personally--obviously my body doesn't produce testosterone, doesn't produce any of that stuff normally anymore. And it's been [challenging] trying to find doctors. I had one doctor that she didn't really seem to care, or I didn't get the feeling that she cared. Because they originally started me out on Androgel, which is a gel and it goes on your arms. You rub it in and I just, I knew it wasn't working. Because, I guess the best way I could [put it], it's almost like having Roid Rage--like being on steroids and your mood drops, and you get angry. And you have these really bad mood swings. And that was the worst part. It still is. If your testosterone levels aren't right, you'll gain weight. I'm pretty sure if I look at a donut right now, I'd gain about 10 pounds.

JOYCE: Yeah. Oh gosh.

MICHAEL: Because I mean, it's just--I just recently got health insurance after not having it for a year and a half because of COVID. I lost my job due to COVID.

JOYCE: Oh, Michael. Oh my.

MICHAEL: So I was off testosterone treatments, honestly, since like, what I mean, I'm still off of them. I'm waiting to go see a doctor, but I've been off of them since probably, I wanna say February of last year, of 2020. So it's been a gigantic struggle.

JOYCE: And, wait: you are off because you didn't have health insurance, right?

MICHAEL: Correct.

JOYCE: We could do a whole ‘nother show on that, but all right. I'm sorry, I just, I hate that.

MICHAEL: Yeah, I mean, and that stuff's not cheap.

JOYCE: No, it's not, I know.

MICHAEL: Yeah, I finally found a doctor that I like because--and he basically told me, it's another reason why I like this doctor is because he's 100% honest with me and listens to me--he wants to find a solution. So he put me on these injections and he's just like, these injections work so much better than androgel. Like I refuse to prescribe androgel because androgel can take like three to four months to take effect. I was like cool. Well, that would have been helpful to know, because I've been on gel up until probably, I don't know, five years ago, and so yeah, he's just like, with the injections, if you take them early in the morning they basically take effect almost immediately, Obviously, you inject in the fatty part of your thigh and it goes right into your bloodstream and you’re gold, provided you have the right dosage and everything. 

Okay, here you are, you know, you're dealing with PTSD, you're dealing with the testosterone. And you're also--in my case--trying to date. And dating for me has been, I don't even know the best way to describe it, non-existent. Because you know, the thing about that for me was, after cancer, you feel like a big part of you is taken away. You've changed. And you know you're still the same. You know, you still try to be that same guy. Or in my case, I try to still be the same guy, the same person that makes people laugh, the same person that is always there for you, loyal to the very end. And, try to discover who you were before cancer.

But there's a part of you that's always, maybe, missing or gone. It's almost like you're trying to find yourself again. Because there was so much that I missed, because I was either in surgery recovering, my white blood cell count was too high, I probably shouldn't have been socializing, I was in chemo whatever the case may be. But that's why I want to tell people is, if you have no testicles at all, come find me. I mean, I've been searching for 11 years to try to find somebody that understands, and I'm not saying that people with one yeah, they understand on some levels because you know obviously we went through a lot of the same stuff, but I mean I don't know--to me it's just when you have none there's just that It's almost that special like bond in a sense. I get really passionate, really fired up when I talk about that. So, you know, anybody out there listening, like, come find me, you know, we'll like, we'll talk, we'll, whatever, like, we'll connect. I mean, it'll be gold.

But, on the whole dating thing, you know, it's just been, how do you tell somebody that you love or somebody that's, maybe not even love--like. And you potentially want to have a future with that [person]. In my case, I can't have kids of my own, cancer took that. It was already going to be questionable with me having one [testicle], but, having that orchiectomy 11 years ago took care of that. But how do you know, that you're still prone to the mood swings? You're still prone to all these things, and you're not the same person. You're gonna have your down days. I mean, I can't tell you what a rollercoaster of emotions it's been for me the last 11 years.

JOYCE: Yeah, I can't imagine, but listening to you, I understand now what you must have to deal with.

MICHAEL: And I can't sleep at night because, or I mean, it's restless sleep. And, I wake up feeling probably more exhausted than when I went to bed. So dating's been a challenge because you're--let's say you meet a woman on one of your days that you're almost feeling like yourself again. And then you get like further on into the relationship and then your mood just drops and you're suddenly, excuse my French, but you're pissed off at the world.

JOYCE: Yeah.

MICHAEL: And you're in that depressive state and, and all this, and you really don't want to do it. And then it kind of, in my experience, it's deteriorated the relationship. And so, it was hard, cause you sit there and, I'm, as a lot of my friends can attest, beat myself up a lot. Like, I sit there, and I just like, oh my God, you know what? It's got to be me. It's me that's pushing all these people away. It’s me, me, me.  But, this is why, like, I mean, I'm so blessed. I've only been dating my girlfriend now for, it'll be a month on Tuesday, but, just in that month, it's almost like she's eliminated a lot of my fears because I've had, and I feel myself getting a little bit less and irritable My energy levels have just been almost non-existent and in a job where I work, over 40 hours a week, you've got to push through. I mean, you can't just be like, oh,  sorry my energy levels are down. I gotta go home right now and take a four-hour nap.

JOYCE: Now, is that something your doctor, the endocrinologist with the hormones,  could he help you with? Or is that just kind of a side effect of taking that?

MICHAEL: No, I think it's because my testosterone, and I didn't realize because I did a lot of a lot of research myself. And the fact that I didn't realize just how much testosterone controls. So when you're feeling these high-energy, you know, your testosterone levels are probably either probably too high, or,  they're in the normal range. So when they're like, and honestly, mine, I'm pretty sure if you took my blood now, I'd either be at zero, maybe a negative, if that was possible.

I've always found that a sense of humor has gotten me a long way. And it's been a rollercoaster. That's the thing,  that's what I tell people. If they're ever in a position like me, and that's the thing, I've always wanted to be a role model because,  I feel like my situation is very unique in the sense that,  here I am, sometimes I don't even know how I'm still functioning.

JOYCE: Yeah.

MICHAEL: I mean, I gained more weight than I probably want to admit, and I know that. And it does make working out like 10 times harder because, again, you feel like you retain water a lot more, water weight. And again, if I look at a donut, I gain 10 pounds. Don't even have to eat it, just look at it. I'm in many, many, many, many support groups. I think the best one is, uh, this brotherhood that I found with the Testicular Cancer Foundation. And [also], I had seen on Instagram, one of the guys in the group that, he was diagnosed with cancer. He had a different type of cancer than mine. He had colorectal cancer. I'd seen on his Instagram, how he met up with a bunch of guys here in the area that had the same cancer as him. And they go out and do runs every week. And I'm like,  that's really cool.

I reached out to a social worker there at UT Southwestern, and she's been really great. I reached out to her at the first of the year of this year, and I just said, hey, I see what so-and-so's doing with his cancer friends, same type of cancer that he's got. I said, is there anything like this for testicular cancer? And at the top of the list was the Testicular Cancer Foundation. I reached out to one of the founders and he called me back almost immediately. And we had like a two-hour conversation.

JOYCE: Oh, that's wonderful.

MICHAEL: We have weekly Zoom calls every Thursday. And we just check in with each other. He told me about the summit in Vegas, we went to Vegas in April, and it was,  with COVID and everything, we took the necessary precautions, but, they limited it to 50 people, as per the state's guidelines. I found my brotherhood and these guys, these are some of my best friends. And I only just met him in January, but it feels like I've known these guys for years. We all just met up in Vegas and it was a weekend of  fun, but it was also a weekend to really connect with them.

I know I can text my friends on a whim if I need something, but sometimes they don't really know. They can be there, but it's kind of like, okay, do they really understand? So, I mean, I reached out to my TC guys and I'm just like, look, I said, this is what I'm going through. And almost immediately it's like, okay, should we hop on an impromptu zoom call?

JOYCE: Oh, wow, that's wonderful.

MICHAEL: And I've had to do that a few times. I think the biggest thing for me is, when I first started dating my girlfriend, I remember hopping on a zoom call with them. I just said, hey,  these are my fears. And I said, I really like her. I don't want to screw this up because of everything that I'm going through. And they really helped me through a lot, because a lot of those guys on there are married. Yeah, and they went through TC,  I'm just say, cool, just getting insight from them. I just, I feel like a new person,  because of that. And honestly, like all my friends,  for sticking by me,  I think that's the biggest thing. And I don't know, I would never be able to repay that. Just the fact, I have so many people, that's what I constantly have to remind myself is, you know what, and I think my girlfriend probably admit this, I'm pretty stubborn. I don't like to ask for help, but it's just reminding myself like, hey, you've got a support system, use it.

JOYCE: Well, and I think that's important to emphasize, because especially when you have cancer, many people don't like to ask for help in general. A lot of times we need help when we're sick. And now, like you said earlier, you just found your brotherhood. They're there for help and they may reach out to you sometime as well for your insight on something. So I would say you're lucky to have that. It's wonderful, so use it. I mean, it’s hard, though. I know it's hard.

I wanted to just also comment on a couple of thing,s that you found a doctor that you trust and like. And I think with testicular cancer, I think that's so important because there aren't a lot of places to go to find a surgeon as you did; you found someone that you liked and trusted, but you know, you have to find the right person to do that surgery The other thing is your girlfriend. Yeah, I think all of us you find the right person who accepts you. I'm not I'm preaching to the choir, Michael, but  she understands you and knows you and cares about you. And if a woman who doesn't want to do that,  forget it. It's not the right person. So it's easy for me to say that. But I understand what you're saying with that, though. It's. You went through all of this at such a young age, too.

MICHAEL: Yeah, there's a reason why so many people have my cell phone number. There's a reason why I make myself very available, very accessible via social media, via all this stuff. I have so much to offer, and everybody's story is different. For me, it's just kind of like, lean on me if you have to: there were so many times I could have given up. And even now, like post-cancer, I struck out a lot of times trying to figure out, I just kind of had to weather the storm. Especially this last year and a half, not being able to have my injections. It's really just weathering the storm and, I've shut down a few times. You know, I can admit that I've definitely shut down a handful of times. And, it's just been my friends, my family, like everybody's pulled me out.

JOYCE: Yeah.

MICHAEL: So,  I honestly, like I, I got to shout out all of them,  they know who they are.

JOYCE: Well, and I think too, that you started at the beginning to go for it, like you and your mom. And I think that makes a big difference, too, that you didn't want to give up. It could have been very easy to do that,  back when you were 17. And so it's hard. I mean, I think I've never been a good person to take everything one day at a time. I'm always like, oh, what's next? And it sounds like you can do that. You just take it as it comes. And it's one day at a time. So it's a cliche, but I think it's very true to have to kind of live that way. I guess the last thing I just want to ask you, so what's ahead? What's next? You've shared a lot, Michael. So what are you thinking? [laughs] After I just said to take it one day at a time.

MICHAEL: Honestly, for me, it's just getting back on my medication, for one. I'm very excited about that. Very excited about that and just continuing to grow. You know, I think I still have a lot of room for growth. And I’m strengthening the bonds that I do have so it's with my TC guys, my brothers. You know, we're actually playing fantasy football, a group of us, so there's like what 12 of us together playing fantasy football. So that's a lot of fun. And to continue to do stuff like this and I talked to my girlfriend about this, but I've honestly wanted to try to get into motivational speaking.

JOYCE: Okay.

MICHAEL: There’s a guy who I've talked with who's also a testicular cancer survivor. He lives up in, I think it's Ohio, and  I've kind of picked his brain a little bit and, it’s something I want to put like maybe on the side because, I feel myself pulling out of this.  Hey, I've got health insurance now. I've got a really good job. And I see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I know, obviously, there's gonna be bad days. I'm still gonna have my days. But I think for the most part, I'm ready. I'm gonna share my experiences to anybody and everybody. I think there's a lot of people--scared is not the right word—but that may not want to come forward for one reason or another, and that's okay, not a lot of people are outgoing.  I consider myself unique in that aspect. But  I just want people to know that that  if you ever need anything, please reach out to me. You know, I'm pretty easy to find on social media for what I've been told.

JOYCE: Okay. All right. That would be the best way to find you then is on social.

MICHAEL: Yeah. I mean,  find me on social media, email me and call me, text me, whatever. You know, there's a lot of people have my phone number and that's fine. You know, I'm good with that. And  I'm on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat. I'm on a lot of social media platforms, and you have all my information and obviously feel free to give it out. I don't mind.

I think the biggest thing I've taken away from my experiences is I've been given a second chance. And you know what? I don't want to live my life in the dumps. I'm gonna have my days when still in the dumps. But I want to be a positive voice for people. I want to be the positive role model, somebody a person can turn to and just say, you know what, it's because of you I didn't give up.

JOYCE: Wow, that's wonderful, Michael. That's a great way to, I think, end our discussion. So find Michael Acosta [online] and it's A-C-O-S-T-A for people that need to have it spelled. So, thank you for just sharing everything with us, Michael. I so appreciate it.

MICHAEL: Absolutely. And I appreciate you reaching out to me and I'm glad to have the opportunity to come on here and speak.

JOYCE: Well, thank you. 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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