Patrick Golden Care Page

Sorry to keep everyone waiting on today's results. Patrick and I have been out CELEBRATING because he is CANCER FREE!!! His Oncologist Dr. Splichal was extremely pleased with Patrick's PET scan results and, as of today, no further treatment will be needed! He will have surgery in about 2 weeks and will be monitored every few weeks for the following months to make sure his levels stay where they need to be, but we have made it to the finish line!!!! Words can not describe how we are feeling right now. We are both on top of the world and excited to enjoy life again. Thank you all again for your continued love, support, prayers, meals, cards, gifts, care packages and inspirational messages throughout this journey. The amount of support we've received the last few months is what helped us both power through this chapter of life. Along with surgery, Patrick will have more labs and scans throughout the next few months, so I will make sure to keep everyone updated on the final steps of this journey. We are FINALLY at the finish line and life is SO good today. ❤️

Hey everyone! Just wanted to drop-in and give an update on Patrick's treatment. This last cycle has been a little rough compared to cycles 2 and 3. Thankfully Patrick's nausea/heartburn symptoms have not been as severe as they were after his first week of chemo, but he is definitely feeling pretty weak/fatigued (which is to be expected after 2+ months of chemo). Despite being physically drained, Patrick has remained emotionally strong and optimistic throughout this last cycle and has taken everything in stride! Patrick had a PET scan this morning, and before his final chemo treatment tomorrow, we will meet with our Oncologist to go over the results. Needless to say, we are both a bundle of nerves right now since the PET scan will tell us if Patrick is cancer-free. Although we are nervous, every update we've been given throughout this journey has reassured us that the chemo is working! Patrick has made amazing progress, and we are confident tomorrow's results will be amazing as well!

Below are some pictures from this past Saturday spent with our sweet Coco 💕 She got to meet her new sister Stella and even gave her daddy a beautiful makeover with her new makeup kit! 😂

Stella Blue Golden joined our family yesterday, and she has already completely stolen our hearts 💕 Our little support puppy is with us today at the treatment center as Patrick kicks off his fourth and FINAL cycle of chemo! She hasn't left her daddy's lap all day and has brought a smile to the face of every nurse and patient in the facility. With our newest family addition and Patrick's final chemo day approaching (September 14th), our spirits are sky high and our hearts are so full. 🥰 Thank you all again for your continued love, support, and prayers!! We are finally in the home stretch and SO close to beating this thing!!

Patrick powered through last week like a champ! We were both anxious about the first week of cycle 2 because the first week of cycle 1 was brutal, but going in this time with nausea and heartburn medications that work for him made a world of difference. We learned last week that Patrick's white blood cell count was on the lower side (which is common for patients receiving chemotherapy), so after his treatment on Friday they gave him an on-body injector of Neulasta to help reduce his chances of getting sick or an infection. Patrick had treatment again today and felt great most of the day, but now he's experiencing body aches which our doctor explained is a common side affect of Neulasta. Luckily this symptom should subside within a few days, so we won't have to trial/error with anymore medications like we have in the past! Emily Baynham and Dylan Welborn visited us on Saturday, and spending time with close friends is always good for the soul. Patrick and Dylan watched movies and chilled at the house, while Emily and I enjoyed a girls day at Cultivate Spa in Monroe. We all definitely got some much needed R&R! Next Tuesday will be Patrick's last treatment of cycle 2, so we are almost to the halfway point or in Patrick's terms - HALFTIME!

Today we met with our Oncologist Dr. Splichal before Patrick's treatment and received our first update on his progress. In my first post, I mentioned that our Oncologist was 99.5% sure Patrick had testicular cancer because of how high his Beta-hCG levels were. After receiving the biopsy results a few weeks back confirming this diagnosis, our doctor has been monitoring Patrick's Beta-hCG levels through the blood samples taken from Patrick each treatment. From what we've been told, as long as the Beta-hCG numbers are dropping, that means the chemo is working. Before Patrick's first day of chemo on June 28th, his Beta-hCG was around 400,000 (normal for men is >2). Today, we learned that his current Beta-hCG level is at 708!!! After his first cycle, Patrick's Beta-hCG dropped TREMENDOUSLY which let's us know the chemo is working!! To celebrate the good news, our friend Christo Georgio stopped by after today's treatment and let Patrick shave his head. ❤️ We still have a long journey ahead of us, but it feels incredible learning that this early on, Patrick is already KICKING CANCER'S ASS! 👊

Patrick and I are at treatment now as he starts cycle 2 of chemo! His hometown Auburn friends (who now live all over the U.S. – California, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia) visited Patrick on Saturday and it definitely lifted both of our spirits. There were a lot of laughs as we reminisced on memories from Auburn college days, and for an afternoon, we were able to forget about everything and enjoy a normal Saturday with friends. Patrick is feeling strong and ready to tackle this cycle and even gained 10lbs since his treatment last Tuesday! Thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers. The first week of each cycle is always tough, because he receives chemo Monday-Friday (6 hours each day), but now that we have found the right medications to help his heartburn and nausea, we are feeling more prepared as we start this cycle!

1 chemo cycle down, 3 more to go! Patrick finished his 1st cycle of treatment today and will start cycle 2 next Monday(July 19th).

Thankfully, the nausea has subsided and the new medications are working (win!). He was able to eat normally most of last week, but this weekend he started experiencing extreme heartburn to the point where eating and drinking anything was painful. We tried tums and zantac over the weekend, but didn't have much luck. Along with his treatment today, they gave him IV Pepcid, prescribed Magic Mouthwash, and recommended trying Prilosec and baking soda/water. So far, the only thing that has helped a little is the Magic Mouthwash - but if anyone has other tips/recommendations for heartburn, please let us know!

I think I put this in my initial post, but each cycle is 3 weeks and the chemo schedule is the same for every cycle. Here is the date breakdown of the next cycle:

Cycle 2
Week 1: Monday, July 19 - Friday, July 23 (4-6 hours of chemo each day)
Week 2: Tuesday, July 27 (1 hour of chemo)
Week 3: Tuesday, August 3 (1 hour of chemo)

After going through the 1st cycle, Patrick found week 1 (and the weekend following week 1) to be the toughest. Weeks 2 and 3 were a bit easier - Patrick calls these his "rest weeks" - since his body was able to take a 6 day break in between these chemo treatments. Right now, we are soaking up this last week of "rest" while trying to get the heartburn under control so Patrick can be as strong and as ready as possible before he starts cycle 2.

Although I am not able to respond to every comment, I want you all to know how grateful we are for everyones love, support, and prayers during this time. When we get downtime, Patrick and I read through the comments on these posts, and they provide us with so much strength and hope. We are so fortunate to have such a strong army of friends, family, and loved ones behind us throughout this difficult chapter of our lives. We love and appreciate you more than words can describe!

Today was another great day! Patrick’s sweet parents visited us this afternoon and brought bag fulls of cute/comfy clothes, so we’ll be showing up to his next treatment on Tuesday in style. 😎 Spending time with our family is always time well spent, and Patrick feels strong and ready to take on week 3 of chemo! ❤️

Throughout this process we’ve had good days and bad days, and today was a GREAT day. Patrick’s new combination of nausea meds seem to be working! Last night and today he’s been able to eat normally and feel a bit more like himself again. Maloree and Coco drove up this afternoon, and spending time with them was definitely good for the soul! Coco was so excited to show her mommy her room at daddy and tay tay’s, and we all got to enjoy lunch together at Amici’s. Patrick and I don’t take these great days for granted, and we’re so happy we could spend this one with Maloree and sweet Coco. Our hearts are full. 💕

Hey everyone,

Some of you may already know why I’m starting this page for Patrick, and for those who don’t, I will do my best to sum up what has been going on for the past 2 months.

April 24th, 2021, Patrick and I got married, and it was truly the happiest day of our lives. Friends, family, and loved ones from all over came out to celebrate and rejoice in this new, exciting, and blissful chapter of our life. The day was so beautiful, filled with endless love and laughter. Even looking back today, it still feels like a dream. Following the best day of our life was our week-long honeymoon at the Bungalows in Key Largo. We were newly-weds in paradise, and soaked up every minute of it. April 24th – May 1st was the first week of the rest of our lives, and we will cherish those days forever. They are the days we look back on to find strength and joy throughout this abrupt and uncertain chapter of our life together.

About a week after our honeymoon, Patrick developed a dull lower back pain as well as breast tenderness and swelling. I immediately typed these symptoms into Google, like most of us do when we experience something out of the norm, and the results led me to call a local Urologist, Dr. Nicholson, and schedule Patrick an appointment ASAP. When Patrick was first evaluated, Dr. Nicholson didn’t seem alarmed and speculated that his symptoms were not related to one another. He told us the back pain could be a kidney stone and the breast swelling might be a side effect of one of Patrick’s medications. However, Dr. Nicholson scheduled a CT scan two weeks later just to be sure nothing else was going on.

While we waited for the follow-up appointment, Patrick’s back pain became unbearable. We wanted to believe it was just an awful kidney stone, but we soon found out it wasn’t. The CT scans showed a 9mm mass in Patrick’s right testicle and a large grapefruit sized mass located near his right retroperitoneal (I do not work in the medical field, so I may be wording this incorrectly, but basically a large mass on the right side of his lower back). From there, we were instructed to schedule an appointment with Oncologist Dr. Splichal as well as look into s***m freezing options if we wanted children of our own someday. Patrick has a daughter, now my beautiful bonus daughter, but freezing s***m would be a safety net for if we decided to have children together someday (which we had always planned on).

After meeting with Dr. Splichal, we were told Patrick more than likely had cancer. From the findings thus far, he assumed testicular cancer, which would be the best case scenario, but lymphoma and even lung cancer weren’t off the table. Dr. Splichal was proactive in scheduling a PET scan and biopsy, however, prior to these appointments, Patrick was rushed to the ER on June 20th (Father’s Day) for extreme pain. At this visit, they took another CT scan and found nodules on the base of Patrick’s right lung which was not detected in his previous scan.

After our Oncologist received these scans as well as new blood samples that showed Patrick’s beta HCG sky rocketed from his previous samples, Dr. Splichal was certain this was an advanced stage of testicular cancer. He expedited Patrick’s appointments to take place June 21st – June 25th and wanted to start chemotherapy treatment Monday, June 28th. Dr. Splichal wants Patrick to do 4 cycles (12 weeks) of chemotherapy. Each cycle will be 3 weeks total. The first week of each cycle he will receive chemotherapy Monday-Friday (each day about 4-5 hours of chemo). The second week he will receive chemo only on Tuesday for about 45 minutes to an hour. Then the third week of each cycle will also be only Tuesday for 45 minutes to an hour.

On Tuesday, June 22nd, Patrick had a PET scan which highlights where the cancer is in his body from the neck down. The next day, he had a Pulmonary Function Test to show how well his lungs are working. Thursday, June 24th Patrick had a brain MRI in the morning, and then we met with our Oncologist that afternoon to go over chemo education and the results of the tests done so far. The PET scan highlighted cancer spots in the places we were aware of (right testicle, the mass in his right retroperitoneal, and base of the lower right lung) but also showed new findings of sizable nodules in both the right and left lung. Finding out that the cancer had spread to both lungs was - for lack of better terms - fu***ng terrifying. However, we did receive some good news that his liver, sc***um, bones, neck lymph nodes, and brain showed no abnormalities. During this meeting with Dr. Splichal, he told us he was 99.5% sure this was testicular cancer and wanted to go forward with chemo on Monday to stop it from spreading further. Friday, June 25th Patrick had two back to back appointments. The first was the biopsy of his back followed by his chemo port placement. That weekend, Patrick and I decided to stay in bed, eat whatever we wanted, watch movies, rest, and relax before his 12 week chemo journey began on Monday, June 28th.

I’m finally finishing up this first post today on Tuesday, July 6th – halfway through Patrick’s 1st cycle of chemo. Last week he had his first week of chemo (Monday-Friday, each day about 4-5 hours). We got the biopsy results as well and it lined up with what our Oncologist believed his diagnosis was all along, an advanced stage of non-seminoma germ cell testicular cancer. Patrick was strong and powered through his first week, however, over the weekend he experienced extreme nausea and vomiting to the point where the nausea medications were not working. I took him to the ER this Monday (7/5), and they gave him IV nausea meds and fluids which helped him get through that day.

Today Patrick had chemo, and we also met with Dr. Splichal’s P.A., Chuck (we’re on a first name basis lol), to go over his symptoms. The chemo is working, because Patrick’s back pain is completely gone and he hasn’t needed his pain medication since last Friday (win!). However, over the weekend Patrick lost 12lbs due to the extreme nausea and vomiting and this worried Chuck. At chemo today, he tried two new IV nausea medications that, at this point, seem to be working. Chuck also called in a pill form of one of the nausea medications to Patrick’s pharmacy for him to use until his next treatment on Tuesday, July 13th. Chuck told me if Patrick begins to experience more extreme nausea and vomiting until then, I should bring him in to the clinic immediately so they can give him fluids and IV nausea meds. Right now, we are just trying to find the right medications to make Patrick’s nausea manageable. Another obstacle, but we are remaining optimistic.

I apologize for the lengthy post and how long it has taken me to publish this care page. It’s been difficult summarizing everything into an initial first post, because every day of this journey brings on something new and unexpected. Patrick and I are still trying to grasp the situation ourselves, while also learning how to navigate the present and future obstacles that lie ahead. Everyone told us that marriage isn’t easy and takes work, but DAMN! Cancer diagnosis a week after our honeymoon? We couldn’t have a little more time to enjoy our new marital bliss?! 😂

But in all seriousness, Patrick and I greatly appreciate everyone’s love, support, and prayers during this uncertain and tough time. We are so grateful for our strong support system of family, friends, and loved ones. We are not in this fight alone, and we WILL beat this thing no matter what. I will do my best to post after each treatment, so everyone can stay up-to-date on this journey and follow Patrick’s progress. We love you all so much.

Love,
Patrick and Taylor Golden

PS: Thank you cards for the wedding have fallen towards the end of the to-do list. So if you attended our wedding/sent us a gift… THANK YOU!! ❤️