Two Brothers and Their Dad Survive Testicular Cancer

For our Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer podcast during Movember 2022, the Max Mallory Foundation talked with Jordan Stine who found a lump on his testicle two weeks after his wedding.

He knew about testicular cancer because his dad and his younger brother survived this disease. Jordan followed the advice of his sibling, who told him to get through the day and what was right in front of him. He did, and he banked sperm as well.

Now, eight years after his diagnosis and the father of three children, Jordan tells his story of cancer treatment, IVF, the grant he and his wife received to help cover IVF expenses, and life with a young family.

After his testicular cancer journey, he looks forward to T-ball practice and living life where his feet are that day.

From the Max Mallory Foundation team: We met Jordan Stine through our support for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where Max Mallory earned his bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Game Development (MAGD) in 2015. The Foundation provides an annual, two-year scholarship for a junior in the MAGD program and a cash prize for the annual MAGD Expo. Jordan is the Director of Philanthropy at the university.

Transcript

Two Brothers and Their Dad Survive Testicular Cancer with Jordan Stine – season 2, episode 19

Welcome to Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer, a podcast where testicular cancer survivors, caregivers, and others who have navigated the cancer journey share their stories. The podcast comes to you from the Max Mallory Foundation, a nonprofit family foundation focused on educating about testicular cancer in honor and in memory of Max Mallory, who died in 2016 at the young age of 22 from testicular cancer. Had he survived, Max wanted to help young adults with cancer. This podcast helps meet that goal. Here now is your host, Joyce Lofstrom, Max's mom, and a young adult cancer survivor.

JOYCE: Hi, this is Joyce. And with me today is Jordan Stine. He learned that he had testicular cancer two weeks after his marriage. His diagnosis followed a family pattern, since his father and brother also had testicular cancer. Jordan successfully underwent surgery and chemotherapy and preserved his sperm. Then he and his wife faced the expense of IVF treatment. Jordan shares his testicular cancer story and life after cancer with his wife, Jenna, and their twins. So Jordan, why don't you tell us about your family history with testicular cancer?

JORDAN: Sure. So we have quite the family history. My dad was 45 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which is a little bit on the older range as the average age range is 18 to 35, if I'm accurate with that. And then my brother Garrett was 17, 18. So he was a senior in high school when he was diagnosed. And his situation was a lot worse than mine. So he was going through it while he was in high school. He had, I believe, about six weeks of chemotherapy, which was pretty intense. He lost his hair. He had to sit out most of his sports season. So he wasn't able to play basketball that year. And then he was healthy enough to play baseball in the spring.

So, we have a lot of, I guess, ‘fond’ memories. They weren't necessarily good memories, but we are all really fortunate that both my dad is a survivor, my brother's a survivor, and I'm a survivor. And one of the special things that jumps out at me with my brother is his senior year during basketball, while he was going through treatment, the opposing team let him score two points in basketball, so he was able to get in the game. He was able to get into the scorebook and he was able to get on the floor. And that was a great gesture by the opposing team. And that's just something that sticks out to me and how we can use, you know, academics or athletics to help people and to honestly bring attention to a cause.

JOYCE: Wow. That's a great story on that. I'm glad all of you are okay. You know, it makes me want to think about the genetic component with testicular cancer. I know Max had that, but he had a different situation. He was born with one testicle, so was his father. But you make a good point, too, just about raising awareness, how important that is. So what was the biggest challenge for you as you go through this?

JORDAN: I think the biggest challenge, at least initially, I can say, was waiting on the test results. Like, you knew something was probably wrong, but you didn't know how wrong it was. You didn't know if it had metastasized, you didn't know if it had stayed in just one testicle, which is a big difference. So, the first thing that I wanted to understand, and that was the hardest part, is, hey, how bad is this, and what is the treatment going to be? The next part was really sharing the information with my family. My wife and I were recently married. It was supposed to be the honeymoon phase. You know, the first year of marriage is usually exciting. You're moving into new places and you're kind of preparing for the future, and what lifestyle you want to live. And we had a hiccup right away. And it's never really stopped since then. So telling my parents, telling my family members, having my wife with me on that journey, was incredibly challenging. And then the fertility issues. People don't want to have children until they want to have children.

JOYCE: Right.

JORDAN: So, you know, it was something you don’t think about when you're thinking about your health. It [can be], ‘no, let's just get through this. We can worry about children in the future.’ But that isn't necessarily the best approach, because there might be things you have to do right away. So the fertility issues weigh on a family.

Fortunately, I got a I got a handful of kids, which is fantastic. We're lucky with that. And then really the mental stress. You know, I'm seven, eight years out. There's a very, very low probability that it would return. Basically, if I get cancer again, it's not from my original cancer diagnosis. But every year I don't have to do the scans anymore, but every year it's kind of in the back of your mind of, you know, hopefully I'm healthy. Hopefully, this doesn't come back. And hopefully the small amount of chemotherapy doesn't impact me in the future. So there's a kind of mental wear and tear, even if you survive it, even if you have it better than anybody else, or a lot of other people, it still wears on you, and it's never completely gone from you.

JOYCE: Yeah, I agree. I'm a cancer survivor, too, and it isn't--it's always there lingering. So talk about the IVF process for you and your wife, just how that worked and just anything you want to share about that.

JORDAN: Sure. So I'll lead off with, it's a daunting process. You get a lot of prep work. Often you do not live close to the fertility clinic. So you're driving a long distance. It's incredibly expensive. And the success rates in general are not that high. I believe they fluctuate from 40 to 60 percent, depending on the clinic in general. So you're going through a pretty daunting process with not fully knowing what the outcome is going to be. We knew it was really expensive when you're in the state of Wisconsin; it's not covered by insurance. So we started applying for grants and we applied for one, I think in California, but we didn't get it. We applied for a different one. I can't remember where that was, but didn't get it. And then the advanced fertility clinics in the Chicago area called us one time. I called my wife, and she was crying. She called me. and let us know that we were a winner of one of their grant recipients.

So we got a full IVF cycle, basically at no cost. There was some cost, but probably saved us $15,000 to $20,000, and just getting married, not a lot of people have $15,000 to $20,000 to spend on fertility issues. So it is a long process if people are going through it. You know, you have that financial challenge, which is almost everybody. Look for grants. There are no guarantees, but put yourself out there and you apply. You could be a winner just like our family.

So another thing I'd like to add is, yes, it's daunting, but I've never met anybody who's regretted going through the process. You know, I know people that have gone through the process, and it hasn't worked. Are they disappointed it didn't work? Yeah, absolutely. But in general, if you want a family and this is your only method to do it, I recommend finding all the resources you can, exhaust all your options, and try to make it happen. Cause my twins are five now and I wouldn't change it for anything.

JOYCE: Wow. That's wonderful. They're five. Boy, that's just amazing. And I like what you said about the fertility process, because I've talked to friends who've done it successfully and unsuccessfully. And I think what you said is really true, about if you want a family, it's worth it. So I'm glad all of that worked out for you.

JORDAN: Thank you.

JOYCE: So you had a great support system, it sounds like, when you went through this. Can you talk about the importance of the support system that you had and just how to find one?

JORDAN: I was lucky, you know, I didn't have to go to a support group or anything like that. I had immediate people in my life. You know, I was recently married. Obviously, my wife was a big supporter and helped me through it--probably the number one person. And then, you know, I have a dad and a brother that went through it as well. So I was able to call them. They were able to give me real-life experience that they went through, what to expect.

And my brother gave me probably the best advice. He said, don't worry about all the other stupid stuff. There's going to be medical bills. There's going to be—potentially, you're going to lose your hair. I did not, but [he said] there's going to be issues and things outside your control, and things that are going to impact you. You're going to go to a lot of doctor's appointments. You're going to have to miss work. He basically said, don't worry about that stuff. Worry about what you have to do that day--to get through it and do what you have to do. I kind of took that to heart because your mind goes a million miles an hour and you start thinking the worst and you think about all the steps and really just be where your feet are and take it one step at a time.

And then my extended family, my in-laws, my mom, my other brother, they were great as well. I was pretty fortunate in that I had a really good support system. If you don't, there are support groups that you could probably just Google or talk to fertility clinics or at hospitals that you can reach out to that can provide some perspective. And also, if anybody ever has any questions, I'm open to talk to people about it. And my wife actually helps with the advanced fertility clinic with people who receive the grants as kind of a mentor. So we're worth in the process and we're willing to help people.

JOYCE: That's wonderful, and I think that's very important. I've talked to so many young men who didn't have that support system, and so you're right, there are groups out there. Imerman Angels is one. You know, the Testicular Cancer Foundation also has something.

So anyway, I want to talk a little bit about your background, because from what I can tell, you were an athlete, a baseball coach before you got to where you are now at University of Wisconsin in Whitewater. So as an athlete, how did this diagnosis affect you? Can you tell us just a little bit about your background and then any thoughts about just athletics?

JORDAN: Sure. So yeah, I've always been in athletics. Even at a young kid, I was the guy running around following my brothers, you know--had a football in hand and a Brett Favre jersey on, a Reggie White jersey on in Wisconsin. But yeah, fortunately, all this happened after I was done playing. So it was right at the end of when I was coaching at the time. But I think athletics helped prepare me for this. And I think it's mental toughness, it's getting through challenging times, it's overcoming adversity, it's showing up when you don't necessarily feel great about it. And a lot of athletics taught me how to get through those hard times and the things I just described.

You know, when I was at Whitewater, the coach would talk about mental toughness and would talk about there's going to be days you don't want to show up, but you have to do what you have to do regardless of that. And he would also talk about, you need to get to practice. You need to get to class. You need to show up every day and do what you need to do. And when I had my chemotherapy and I was sick, I was able to still, I came into work the next day. And I didn't feel well. It's like I had the flu. Obviously, I wasn't contagious or anything like that. But I knew if I could get through that, I could get through almost any hard time. If I was sick, down, mentally, and I could still function and get through my day, you know--some of my harder days now when the kids don't sleep through the night, or they're sick, or I'm getting, you know, two hours of sleep, I just know that I've been through worse, and I'm going to get through this.

The mental approach [is important]. My dad worked in a factory for 27 years. And, you know, my mom and my dad instilled that. You show up, you do what you have to do, you know--kind of no excuses, play like a champion. So, I really appreciate the mental toughness they instilled in me. I appreciate what athletics has taught me. You know, it's not the most important thing in life, obviously, but it is important. and it creates the person, or it can help create the person that you're going to be later in life. And it can help prepare you for hard times. And at some point in your life, you're probably going to have a hard time. Hopefully, it's when you're super, super old, but it hits everybody a little bit differently. At some point, you're probably going to have some challenges and hopefully you have the mental toughness and the ability to overcome that adversity.

JOYCE: Wow, that's outstanding. advice, Jordan. And I think for our listeners, the whole idea of athletics helping you, preparing you for what you had to go through with cancer. I mean, I think it's a very good, I'll say, analogy, but I guess I didn't realize that. I am not athletic, and my son is, John, but, you know, just the whole thing of the discipline of athletics kind of transfers to when you have to go through a cancer diagnosis and chemo and things like that.

So I want to talk about how you and I know each other. Actually, we met through Max's dad, Chuck Mallory, and Jordan's at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, which is where Max went to college. And we've met Jordan through our work with them to set up a scholarship for the Media Arts and Game Development major and keep that donation going. And so Chuck and Jordan actually knew each other more first before I did, but I want you to tell us about your work at the university. We've been up there a couple of times for the scholarship ceremony and so forth. There's a lot of great work going on at the university in the alumni programs and donations. Can you tell us about that, Jordan?

JORDAN: Yeah, absolutely. So I work for UW-Whitewater and the branch of the UW-Whitewater Foundation, which is essentially the fundraising portion of campus. So, you know, it's philanthropy and alumni engagement. We have people that care about Whitewater, they're alumni or they're supporters. And ultimately, they find ways to give back to Whitewater to help students or to make Whitewater a better place.

So the Max Mallory Foundation scholarship helps students that are majoring in Media Arts and Game Development. So that helps kind of offset the burden of their tuition, makes them graduate with less debt. And we just had the scholarship convocation two weeks ago. And the people that receive the scholarship are absolutely thrilled. It's a great event. I like to say if you want to help a student for a day, give them a meal. If you want to help them for years and years, help with their tuition or reduce their debt, their student debt--because they'll be paying that off for a long time. We have a lot of people that help out.

We gave out just over $2.4 million in scholarships last year, and that really helps students. So we're a public school [university], really between Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago, and we have enrollment about close to 12,000, which includes graduate school. And the programs that we have help people get to where they want to go. We have a lot of support staff and the scholarships we provide help those students get to the finish line. And with that, we want to make sure students come to Whitewater and that they're retained and that they don't have maybe the economic anxiety or maybe they're, you know, one paycheck away from not being able to pay their bill. Well, scholarships certainly help with that. We have a Warhawk Emergency Fund that helps with that. So if you want to help people, doing it at a university and giving back to their students is a great way to do it. So we're really fortunate that the Max Mallory Foundation helps us. I mean, it's not just helping us, it's helping the students that get the scholarships.

JOYCE: Well, thank you for sharing that and for the nice words about our foundation. And I have to agree with you. Every little bit helps when you're a student. And that's what we're trying to do. Our scholarship is, it's not a huge one, but it still does help the students that receive it.

So what advice do you have, Jordan, for other young men who might be dealing with testicular cancer right now?

JORDAN: Keep going, have a positive attitude, and focus on what you have to do this given day. At some point, it's probably going to, there's probably going to be a not a very fun part of it, whether it's surgery, chemotherapy, perhaps it's fertility issues, but don't focus on that until you need to address it. Because if you start thinking too far ahead and thinking about the hard times, you're going to miss what's actually right in front of your face.

And I open this up by saying, when I went to my urologist every year for the checkup, he'd say, hey, do you feel any unusual lumps or bumps? So if you don't have the cancer yet, I would highly recommend giving yourself self-evaluations, making sure you are healthy, and then if you feel any unusual lumps or bumps, make sure you go to the doctor and get it checked out. Don't wait. This can be a very curable disease for testicular cancer if it doesn't metastasize or if there isn't a unique issue with it. So the earlier you get it tested and checked, the better chance you have of having less complication and ongoing issues with it.

JOYCE: Thank you. You're right. Go to the doctor. That's the biggest advice or the best advice I think you can tell people. What's next on your agenda? What's ahead for you, Jordan?

JORDAN: I really like fundraising for Whitewater. You can see the impact it makes. So whatever I'm doing, I want to make an impact and I want to make sure I'm helping others in the process. So, you know, if you want to make wherever you're at a better place, I think each and every one of us have that opportunity. As far as my personal life, you know, I have three kids now, we have twins that are five, we have a 10-month-old. 

What's next for me, it's coaching t-ball and going to soccer and dance and gymnastics and all that fun stuff. So, you know, you're never really out of the woods, but the nightmare--if you're going through hell right now--keep going. Because in 5 years, in 10 years, your life could be substantially better. And 5 years ago, 7 years, 8 years ago, I didn't know that I would have 3 kids, be married, have a house, have a job that I'm passionate about. If you're going through tough times, they don't always last. You just have to keep going and you have to have a plan of how you might want to address it. So what's next? I don't know. Stay the course, enjoy my little ones, and then stay healthy, as healthy as I can be in the process.

JOYCE: Well, you will be busy with your three kids. I know that. That's wonderful that you have your third child, too. So my last question is, what song, when you hear it, you have to just sing along?

JORDAN: So I'm a big country music fan. So I grew up in north central Wisconsin. It's kind of funny. None of my family members like country. I'm kind of the black sheep in that aspect, but I like Luke Combs, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Kenny Chesney. Anytime they come on the radio, I tend to blast it out. Luckily, my wife likes country, likely my friends like country. So I'm not the only weirdo singing and blasting country music in my family.

JOYCE: There's some great tunes from country, you know, I mean, just great singers and the harmony. So yeah. Well, I always say I'm the Beatles fan, so that's the songs I like to sing along to.

JORDAN: You can't go wrong with the Beatles.

JOYCE: I know. Well, Jordan, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me. I'm glad you're healthy and happy and doing great things at the university to help other students. And thanks.

JORDAN: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. I'm glad you invited me on this podcast, and hopefully we keep getting more and more attention for the Max Mallory Foundation.

JOYCE: Well, thank you. I hope so. Maybe we'll have you back down the road just to see what's going on, and if there's new updates at the university or with you, and who knows, right?

JORDAN: Sure. Okay. My door's always open, so just let me know.

JOYCE: Thank you.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to our program on your favorite podcast directory. You can also visit the Max Mallory Foundation at www.maxmalloryfoundation.com/podcast to listen to previous podcast episodes or donate to the foundation and join us again next time for another episode of Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer.

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