Mental Health Healing

Compare it to needing chemo for cancer or a cast for a broken arm. You wouldn't say no to either of those, but why are people hesitant to try care for mental health?

BY Justin Birckbichler

PUBLISHED April 27, 2018

Justin Birckbichler is a fourth grade teacher, testicular cancer survivor and the founder of aBallsySenseofTumor.com. From being diagnosed in November 2016 at the age of 25, to finishing chemo in January 2017, to being cleared in remission in March, he has been passionate about sharing his story to spread awareness and promote open conversation about men's health. Connect with him on Instagram @aballsysenseoftumor, on Twitter @absotTC, on Facebook or via email justin@aballsysenseoftumor.com.

In December 2017, I had another follow-up scan after a successful treatment of testicular cancer and met with my oncologist to go over the results. I got to the office and checked in with the friendly receptionist team who greeted me every day last year. After being taken into the exam room and having my blood pressure checked (which wasn’t very high, surprisingly), I was told Dr. Maurer was coming from the hospital and would be a few minutes late. That was fine, as I needed time to collect myself.

As I waited, I noticed that the touch screen billboard in the office said, “Treating cancer doesn’t have to be stressful.” I agree. Treating it wasn’t too stressful. Surviving it is.

Eventually, Dr. Maurer came in, clad in a green shirt and red tie. The first words out of his mouth were, “The scan looked good. You’re still in remission.” He must have known I needed to hear that.

The result of the scan was only one of the main reasons I was anxiously awaiting the meeting. While my physical healing has more or less completed ended, my emotional healing still has a long way to go.

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