ChemBro chronicles
TESTICULAR CANCER CHALLENGED ADAM BERNARD NOT JUST TO BEAT IT, BUT TO FACE IT HEAD ON
Adam Bernard is used to pain. The 41-year-old Fairfield resident is a CrossFit enthusiast and martial artist, so he’s often dealing with a strain or pull somewhere. But the pain he felt in his groin in 2017 was different — it literally brought him to his knees, forcing him to bend down in discomfort.
Eventually, he would learn that he had testicular cancer. The diagnosis changed Bernard’s life, but he was determined to face it with the same tireless energy with which he faces everything. “I’m somebody who’s not giving up,” says Bernard. “I’m treating cancer as an aggravation.”
Bernard chronicled his take-no-prisoners approach to preserving his health in the memoir “ChemBro – Embracing Beastmode to Beat Cancer,” which is out now. In the book, he not only details his diagnosis, surgeries and experience with chemotherapy, but he discusses how he was determined not to let any of it keep him from working out and pursuing his career as a freelance music critic.
One of Bernard’s main goals in writing the book was to inspire others to be stewards of their own health. He says he knows testicular cancer can be embarrassing to talk about — and write about — but that’s kind of the point.
“One reason a lot people don’t catch testicular cancer in time is the embarrassment factor,” he says. “But what’s a little bit of embarrassment? Hopefully, (this book) will help others get to the doctor.”
According to the American Cancer Society, there will be roughly 9,610 new cases of testicular cancer diagnosed and about 440 testicular cancer deaths in the United States this year. It’s not one of the more common cancers, but the cancer society reports that incidence rate of testicular cancer has been increasing in the U.S. and many other countries for several decades, though the rate of increase is slowing.
For Bernard, it wasn’t embarrassment that kept him from getting checked out sooner. It was a lack of a primary care physician. Bernard figured, as a healthy individual who ate well and exercised regularly, regular check-ups weren’t a necessity.
“There was an invincibility factor,” he says.
Even the pain in his groin wasn’t an immediate red flag for him. “I’m used to things sort of hurting sometimes,” Bernard says.
But the pain didn’t go away, and Bernard also noticed that one of his testicles was hard and “hanging a bit low,” he writes in the book. That’s when he found himself a doctor and made an appointment.
Eventually, Bernard would have an initial surgery to remove the cancer, in addition to chemotherapy and a second surgery after it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to his lungs. Through it all, Bernard tried to maintain as much of his precancer lifestyle as possible.
Sometimes, that came with disastrous results, like when he attempted to spend his first night home after his initial surgery by himself, only to realize that the pain from his incisions made impossible to get in and out of bed. Eventually, he learned how to ask for help.
“A part of this story is about me understanding it’s OK to be vulnerable,” Bernard says. “That was a very difficult thing for me to come to terms with. I think a lot of people mistakenly feel like going to be a burden to their loved ones.”
However, he says he was stunned about how the people he loved supported and helped him. “When you go through something major they really show (how much they care) and it’s really amazing,” Bernard says.
Along the way, his friends and family began telling Bernard that he should write a book about his experiences. As a music critic with more than 20 years experience, putting his story on paper came easily to him.
Today, Bernard has been cancer free for roughly three years. He’s even trying to face this strange, pandemic-world with his usual grit and optimism. He goes to the gym regularly, and teaches virtual martial arts classes. The latter part is a bit tricky, he says.
“That can be challenging, when you’re trying to teach someone how to do something to the human body when don’t have a body to work with,” Bernard says.
But he’s staying upbeat, and, as always, he’s confident that he will make it through. “I refuse to call this a new normal,” Bernard says. “I call it a temporary normal.”