When Australian doctor Steve Coates suddenly developed severe abdominal pain during a hospital shift, he never imagined he’d become the patient himself. Diagnosed with testicular cancer that had already spread to his retroperitoneal lymph nodes, Steve’s experience as both physician and patient offers a rare, deeply human perspective on the realities of testicular cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, and recovery.
In this episode of It Takes Balls, Steve shares how his unique vantage point reshaped the way he practices medicine, from understanding the emotional toll of cancer treatment to recognizing the long-term anxiety that follows remission. He also discusses the challenges of balancing fatherhood, mental health, and vulnerability while going through orchiectomy, BEP chemotherapy, and the ups and downs of follow-up scans and tumor markers.
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Theme song: No Time Like Now - Tom Willner www.tomwillner.com
