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Neoplasia by Emulated


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This a very powerful story, Emulated, and if it's not autobiographical, I trust that you are close to someone who went through this.

 

Louis was very lucky in this story - his case was curable with a 'simple' orchiectomy - with removal of a testicle, which certainly did make him no less of a man. The feelings he experienced of being something less are quite common, however, and the added twist of him wondering if he was being punished for being gay is an interesting one. Testicular cancer, of course, affects all men equally and, hence, most of its victims are straight.

 

I would like to echo the author's comments at the end on the importance of regularly checking oneself for testicular lumps. Emulated did a wonderful job of describing what a testicular mass feels like in his story - it just feels different than the rest of the testicle. It doesn't give you the sickening feeling you get when you squeeze the rest of your testicle, but it may have its own unique feeling of discomfort, or it may not have any feeling at all - it may be numb. Catching it early can save you a whole lot of misery as was the case for Louis in this story, but the vast majority - some 90% of even advanced cases, are curable. What catching it at an early stage will save you is being opened up from stem to stern (from your chin to your pubes) and having your lymph nodes removed from behind your abdomen and your lungs - a procedure that often has to be repeated - and it can save you from having to go through some of the most brutal chemotherapy known to humankind. I trained at the medical center that developed the first successful treatments for testicular malignancies, so I know of this, firsthand.

 

Great job of storytelling, Emulated!

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I have always liked the way you write but you have outdone yourself here. I know I am a complete hypocrite in saying this but I am so glad Lewis was okay at the end. He was extremely brave. I can say from experience that going through tests for a potentially serious condition is VERY stressful and you got the tension without making it too overbearing or dramatic. The way that Lewis, his family and his boyfriend dealt with the tests, the news and the outcome was sensitive, brave and very real. I can quite understand why he would have wondered if he was being punished for being gay... when something like this happens to you all kinds of things go through your head and you wonder if you are being punished for all sorts of things. This was a fantastic story and a serious message sensitively delivered.

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As Emulated's editor, when he first approached me with the idea for this story, I thought it was a fantastic idea. You see all the ad's for women to do self breast exams but you rarely see anything like this.

 

You can feel some of the emotions that Louis was going thru. I too have some medical background, 12 years as an orderly in Surgery, so I have seen this type of surgery done.

 

Great job EM.

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Well, you did it again. Seriously, don't you get tired of writing so damn well? I knew the general idea for the story when you approached me with the the request to help you with a part of it, yet you still blew me away with the intensity of this wonderful tale.

 

Lewis' inner struggle was extremely well portrayed, and like Nephylim pointed out, you were able to showcase the tension and strong emotions that involved all those tests Lewis had to endure plus his family's and boyfriend's reaction without turning it into a huge drama scene.

 

And I absolutelly loved Kane's kiss on Lewis' scrotum. It must have been such a huge relief for him to know Kane still loved him and did not think him any less of a man. Many men fear that the loss of such an intimate part of the body makes them less masculine and it can be a huge blow on one's self-estime. Having someone to help you throgh it makes a huge difference and you pointed it out very, very well.

 

Great job buddy! Keep those literary wonders coming!!

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This a very powerful story, Emulated, and if it's not autobiographical, I trust that you are close to someone who went through this.

 

Louis was very lucky in this story - his case was curable with a 'simple' orchiectomy - with removal of a testicle, which certainly did make him no less of a man. The feelings he experienced of being something less are quite common, however, and the added twist of him wondering if he was being punished for being gay is an interesting one. Testicular cancer, of course, affects all men equally and, hence, most of its victims are straight.

 

I would like to echo the author's comments at the end on the importance of regularly checking oneself for testicular lumps. Emulated did a wonderful job of describing what a testicular mass feels like in his story - it just feels different than the rest of the testicle. It doesn't give you the sickening feeling you get when you squeeze the rest of your testicle, but it may have its own unique feeling of discomfort, or it may not have any feeling at all - it may be numb. Catching it early can save you a whole lot of misery as was the case for Louis in this story, but the vast majority - some 90% of even advanced cases, are curable. What catching it at an early stage will save you is being opened up from stem to stern (from your chin to your pubes) and having your lymph nodes removed from behind your abdomen and your lungs - a procedure that often has to be repeated - and it can save you from having to go through some of the most brutal chemotherapy known to humankind. I trained at the medical center that developed the first successful treatments for testicular malignancies, so I know of this, firsthand.

 

Great job of storytelling, Emulated!

Thank you very much, Altimexis! I'm pleased you enjoyed the story.

 

No, the story isn't autobiographical, and you might be surprised to know that I don't know of anyone on a personal level who went through this, or at least something similar.

 

Yes, he was very lucky indeed. I wanted it to be clear that the sooner you treat the disease, the higher the success rate (and more options available) for treatment. The whole 'man' aspect was something that I'm sure many victims experience, so I wanted to portray that. Of course by having his sexuality already 'challenging' that statement, it caused things to 'shift' slightly. As for the punishment for being gay, that was something that I thought many gay teens would contemplate in his position. Not only contemplate, but they will be looking for answers.

 

Thanks for adding that, Altimexis and sharing those details. While the primary role of the story is to be just that, a story, there is a very important awareness aspect that should not be overlooked.

 

 

I have always liked the way you write but you have outdone yourself here. I know I am a complete hypocrite in saying this but I am so glad Lewis was okay at the end. He was extremely brave. I can say from experience that going through tests for a potentially serious condition is VERY stressful and you got the tension without making it too overbearing or dramatic. The way that Lewis, his family and his boyfriend dealt with the tests, the news and the outcome was sensitive, brave and very real. I can quite understand why he would have wondered if he was being punished for being gay... when something like this happens to you all kinds of things go through your head and you wonder if you are being punished for all sorts of things. This was a fantastic story and a serious message sensitively delivered.

That's very kind of you, Nephylim. Thank you.

 

I am all for happy endings (we don't have enough of those in real life), but like I said above, the 'morale' of the story is that the sooner you get it checked out, the higher the survivability rate, and the less impact it will have on your life. (E.g. Chemotherapy).

 

It was a hard thing to balance out how much tension to put into a scene, or how to have the family react. So instead of writing 'too much', I kept things as brief as I could. As for his family/boyfriend, Lewis wouldn't have been aware of what was going around him, so I left certain parts out (e.g. what they were doing/Kane's family's reaction).

 

You hit the nail on the head there. Whenever something bad goes wrong in your life, you are always asking questions, especially questions that you'd usually just dismiss. You want answers, so you're going to look everywhere and anywhere for them.

 

Thanks ever so much!

 

As Emulated's editor, when he first approached me with the idea for this story, I thought it was a fantastic idea. You see all the ad's for women to do self breast exams but you rarely see anything like this.

 

You can feel some of the emotions that Louis was going thru. I too have some medical background, 12 years as an orderly in Surgery, so I have seen this type of surgery done.

 

Great job EM.

Thank you, Talon, not only for your kind words, but for your marvellous work on this story. Thanks!

 

You're absolutely right there. While researching the story, it is clear that there is a lot of focus on awareness of testicular cancer, but unless you're LOOKING for information, I have seen little in the way of ad's. And for something that requires very little of your time, and has the potential to save your life, it's a no-brainer.

 

Thanks for sharing that, Talon. It can't be the best type of surgery to see, simply because of the psychological obstacles coupled with the loss of a testicle, but when the alternative is death...there is no alternative.

 

Well, you did it again. Seriously, don't you get tired of writing so damn well? I knew the general idea for the story when you approached me with the the request to help you with a part of it, yet you still blew me away with the intensity of this wonderful tale.

 

Lewis' inner struggle was extremely well portrayed, and like Nephylim pointed out, you were able to showcase the tension and strong emotions that involved all those tests Lewis had to endure plus his family's and boyfriend's reaction without turning it into a huge drama scene.

 

And I absolutelly loved Kane's kiss on Lewis' scrotum. It must have been such a huge relief for him to know Kane still loved him and did not think him any less of a man. Many men fear that the loss of such an intimate part of the body makes them less masculine and it can be a huge blow on one's self-estime. Having someone to help you throgh it makes a huge difference and you pointed it out very, very well.

 

Great job buddy! Keep those literary wonders coming!!

Note: Dargon acted as an advisor towards this story.

 

Dargon, I can't thank you enough for your help in this story! The help/assistance you provided was immeasurable. Thank you!

 

I'm really pleased you liked what I done with the story. I took the basic storyline and laced them with your mass of knowledge, resulting in the story.

 

I do, however, consider it to have been very much a team effort, with you, me, and TalonRider, all taking part and working together to let this story see the light of day. I can't thank you two enough! :)

 

Like I said above, it was a fine line to cross, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Again, as the story was from Lewis' point of view, he wouldn't have necessarily been concerned by how everyone else was feeling. Sure he could sense their feelings of fear/sadness, but he didn't really have the chance to find out, as he had other things to worry about.

 

That particular scene was actually one of the first I wrote. I wanted to get it in my mind, as the author, how Kane was going to react to all of this, or better still, how he'd treat Lewis because of this. Having him kiss Lewis on a part of his body that shamed him, really showed his feelings for him, and it helped Lewis overcome a big obstacle: that he still retained his beauty. (I don't mean that in a shallow sense, but in a spiritual sense too.)

 

Thanks, Dargon!

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  • 2 weeks later...

For some unknown reasons, I kept expecting very bad to happen. I was betting for the wrong testicle to be removed.

 

What I really liked was that the story was very accurate and precise about the details. And it was very important for such a story, where according to me, you wanted to inform the readers It served it purpose. You captured the whole

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For some unknown reasons, I kept expecting very bad to happen. I was betting for the wrong testicle to be removed.

 

What I really liked was that the story was very accurate and precise about the details. And it was very important for such a story, where according to me, you wanted to inform the readers It served it purpose. You captured the whole 'journey' very well, whether it was the physical or the psychological implications. It must not have been easy to find all that info. Kudos to you. 

 

Take care,

Ieshwar

Thanks, Ieshwar. I'm pleased you enjoyed the story.

 

Oh, my! That would have been very bad indeed, wouldn't it?

 

Yes, it was clear from the very beginning that if I were to use this plot, then I'd have to keep it semi-accurate too. So you were right in assuming that quite a lot of research took place, along with some assistance from some very helpful people, my advisor included.

 

That's a good word to describe it, 'journey', because it was a journey for Lewis, in every sense of the word.

 

Thanks again!

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