Basejumper.com - archive

Twelve years ago I danced with cancer. And I got away with it that time.

But, like an alcoholic, I knew in my heart you never get cured you just stave it off. Today, just this morning, they found a mass in my left testicle and on Thursday they are going to cut that testicle off.

I've had 12 bonus years since the first time, and I'm so very grateful for that. I've met hundreds of BASE jumpers since that time and I've seen a sport I love grow into something that will never end.

But, while I have the opportunity I just wanted to say this.

Be subject to one another.

Don't hurt people. Don’t be frivolous, or argumentative. Please savor and love your brothers and sisters like that's all there is.

And do it as hard as you can . . .

NickD
BASE 194

I'm sorry to hear that Nick.

You're a true credit to the sport and the amazing people who practice it!

my buddy lost a nut a couple years ago and he is doing great - had a baby girl 18 months ago too. cheers to you for facing it head on and trying to point out to people what you just did. my next jump is for you Nick.

You beat it then, Nick. Youll beat it, now. I mean it.

And as soon as they take the one testicle, you can have one of mine to make up for it.

I wasnt getting to use it much, anyway...

Thanks again for the beer, the conversation, and an evening floating on one of my life's dreams...

take care.

I very much enjoyed meeting and going on a night mission with you this past Sunday night.

You are what I consider a BASE jumper.

Truck On, Brother . . .

NickD
BASE 194

sorry to hear about this. You are an insipration to us here, we will be even more so inspired once you beat this.

Stay motivated Marine! OooRaa!

Thanks for the words of wisdom, I needed them atm. Best of luck with everything, but I think ill get in trouble for using the word luck.

Nick,

You and I never met but I have heard so many great things about you. I'm brain mailing you 5lb of positive energy right now directly from sunny Québec City.

Your friend you don't know

Jevto

Don't know your particulars, but I know too many people who have come through testicular cancer not to think it's possible.
If it's a recurrence, well, I hope it's as localized, and that at the very least you buy another 12 years.

Wendy W.

Nick,

I am sending ya some good vibes and hope the best for you. Stay strong and know you have touched alot of people in a positive way. I will always treasure the memories of having you assist in our reign of terror opening "Nachos Grande". Sharing a beer with you on your boat while staring at the object smiling was a great experience. Your stories and grim task of maintaining the "List" have tought countless BASE jumpers how not to repeat history...at least the ones who paid attention. If you need anything please look me up. Take care brother!

Ray
BASE #578
Nachos #1

Shhhh, listen!

...Nope. No fat lady singing, which can only mean one thing...

It isn't over yet.

A speedy recovery my friend (not met yet).

On the positive side that's 50% less chance of getting a testicle caught under a leg strap on opening.

Or a good excuse / reason for the future off-heading openings.

I'm with Trucker "why oh why didn't I take the blue pill" BASE, you can have one of mine, I'm just wasting them on the porn channel on this oil rig.


That's all there is to it.

Cheers.
Mike (Scotland)

It aint over till it's over.

keep positive.

ian

Stay positive my brother. I don't really know what else to say. You have been a great influence in our sport. I think you have the attitude to beat this again, really.

 
Your words of wisdom are one of the main reasons i hang out in this forum - sending you loads of positive energy dude.

Hang tough Nick. They may take your testicals but theyt'll never take your BALLS

 Sorry to here that Nick.It's never realy the end.Thanx again to you and Truckerbase.E

Best wishes Nick. No pic this time?

Nick,
We haven't met yet either.
But you're an inspirational soul with wonderful penmanship.
I look forward to seeing you as soon as I get out to your corner of the world.
Might be this year, might be next.
So don't you be going anywhere, okay buddy?
Mark Amodeo,
BASE 539.

I've lost my grandpa 12 years ago for a stomach cancer...
My mother has been operated 4 times for a lung cancer gone into the intestine.. doctors gave her 3 months of life..but is still here and they don't know how is happened (after 10 years)...
My father..is dead for a lung cancer last week...

If you permit..I want to give you a suggestion: stay hard and motivated, love life and fight for it with every force! I know what you're thinkin'... it's only my poor suggestion.

Hope to hear you soon with happy notice!

Best regards.

Andrea

Good luck Nick, i don't think you'll run short of vibes on here.

Here's to another 12 quality years .

hey nick,
as far as I know, it needs more than taking away a testicle from a marine to get him down.
keep ya head up and stay motivated.
fight and never give up.
you´ve beat it once, I am convinced you´ll beat it again.
semper fi - also to your private aims and plans.
don´t forget: you belong to
the few, the proud.

Quit cher bithchin, thats why we have a set of balls, And yours shit how they cuttin through titanium these days. I must say the thought of what you and your friends have done for BASE is unfathumable.

A good diet and a positive attitude will go a long long loooong way,which I doubt you lack any of the above. Besides I have not met a forefather of BASE yet, Soon enough I'll be looking you up.

I just thought of something: Thats a good excuse to say can you kiss it and make it better, hahahaha.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and wish you the best.

Ed

Working on that one Nick... thanks

Hang in there man.

Nick,
It was an honor to finally meet you, and I read your words almost daily. I look forward to another run in, so keep your head up. You've got so many friends around the globe pullin off good vibes and prayers for ya... only cause we love you man!

 
I read somewhere 'Don't die until you're dead'. Don't stop fighting, don't forget to smell the flowers.

Please let us help when you need it.

Will

Hey Nick

only met you a couple of times, once in NZ many years ago, and most recently when stopping by at Annies.

"Tough times don't last, tough folks do. "

I figure you're like a piece of curled up barb wire. Sitting quiet but doing its thing...today...tomorrow...next year....and quite some time in the future.

Te Kaha (be strong)
Neil

I have never met you but you have become one of my favorite person so i will put on " I won´t back down " with Jonny Cash and send you my best vibes.

Take care

Benni

in the US Army unit I am in, we have a motto or quote...

"hard times dont last, But hard men do"

"Stay hard"...

marine, army... whatever... one team, one fight. we are all here for you

Hey Nick receive a huge pack of positive vibes from Russia!
Most of us (or all of us) haven't ever met you but... you know i'm not going to say... templates... about the hot-linked List and chapters of BASE history you're tellin' here...
It's not the end, man. ... just the continue of story about the long-timer (or old-schooler, or what else they've wrote then?.. a god?) and it will be continued far more.
Some of us will definitely take the place in the List before you

Good luck brother! you'll be fine. C-Ya' 'round the bend... love ya' man!

~Elliot

Don't stop to fight, bro!
Never!

Nick,

What skreamer and trucker said.

I have words of my own, but they're only for you.

Love you,
rl

Gidday Nick

Prayers sent to the almighty in regard to your health - more to come. Would sure like to meet you one day and share a few beers and more than a few stories. You've gotta have big ones so I AM concerned about your future stability in freefall.

All the very best

“No one can live your life except you, No one can live my life except me. You are responsible, I am responsible. But what is our life? What is our death?”

“We usually think of our life as fifty, sixty years, maybe the most around one hundred years. I once read that there are about thirty three hundred people who are more than one hundred years olf, the oldest being 112 years. (What are people doing living such long lives?). Dogen Zenji said that living a long life without awareness is almost a crime. On the contrary, he emphasized that that even if you live one day with a clear understanding of what life is , the value of that one day is equal to many, many years of living without awareness”


From “Appreciate your life”, Taizan Maezumi Roshi, A Zen master who taught in Los Angeles in 60’s, 70’s and 80’s
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1570622280/103-3075338-8314268?v=glance

im so sorrty to hear mate,but you can live whith out that ball we all knows that you have biger balls somewere else(now this is not in a sexual way)

Never met you man (something I'll have to change) but wishing you the best as I apreciate you and your thoughts......

Hey Nick, I'm so sorry to hear that, but like others here have said... you've beat it once, you can beat it again.

Sending good vibes your way bro.

Keep us all posted, Nick. We're all pullin' for ya'

Walt

Ditto... we're all wishing the best for you and your recovery. hang in there and life will pick you back up again. take care, Chris

Nick

thanks for your words here and your words to me one day along the lines of " you arent an ex skydiver; you will always be a skydiver". A simple truth. I am now going back to jumping with an objective to get current for BASE. Now cant understand how I could have been on the ground for so long.

I hope this next challenge goes well for you, clearly you have people all round the world wishing you well.

take care, Steve

Nick, you're not going anywhere, at least not yet. You still have some unfinished projects I've been looking forward to for quite some time.

Nope, you're not allowed to leave us and that's final.

We're pulling for you and really hoping this one turns out as best as possible. You've already stared this one down in the past so you can do it again.

On a side note, if you've ever said you'd give your left nut for something, now might be the time to cash in on it.

when someone says "I'd give my left nut for..."

Why is it always the left one?

all the power is in the right one

By now, You'll have had the surgery. Just so you know, Testicular cancer, even when it has spread, is one of the most cureable cancers. You should EXPECT to do well after. Hope all is well, you are in my prayers.

My falconry sponsor, a great man with a real zest for life, once had a softball sized "mass" in his chest that he was pretty sure was going to be a last call. He kept on enjoying life and having fun, not really dwelling on the potential outcome of having that crap. Every day I'd go to see him and we'd laugh and joke and carry on. Then one day I went to visit him and he wasn't there...until later when he got home and said the mass was gone. The treatments were one thing, he said, but he felt it was family, friends and associates who cared enough to feed him positive energy every day that got him through.

So, what's on your agenda for this weekend?

Hiya Nick-

Right about now you're probably on morphine or some other "pain medicine", lying in bed giving the nurses the time of their lives, and every so often reaching down to feel "the Lone Ranger". I can picture the scene, and in it you're smiling, laughing, and making jokes.

My first husband lost his left one when he was about 5; I guess the cord got wrapped around wrong internally cutting off the circulation, so his scrotum swelled up to the size of a canteloupe or something. They took lefty, so "the Lone Ranger" grew up to be quite the same size as any other pair I've ever seen. You know, like how the lobster's remaining claw will get huge to compensate for the missing one.

So as you recover from this non-plaster drama, you'll have all this new and exciting stuff to observe and experience. And as soon as you're feeling up to it, let's go share an object.

You know this ain't the end, Nick. You're too friggin' ornery to die! And I certainly can't see you dying from disease. If it was going to get you, it would have last time. So THERE!

I love you more than you know. You are a major inspiration and a generous font of knowledge that we all lean on as we travel this path of BASE. Thank you for everything, and don't be talking about the end unless you're talking about my ass!

Healing vibes are yours in abundance, from all of us, and particularly ME!

xoxoxo
K

Listen to her Nick. She's gone without testicles her whole life, and she seems to have turned out alright.

Maybe that explains why she wouldnt let me pet her rock the other evening

Hope springs "internal", Nick...

Let us know how youre doing

Just wanted to let everyone know I met with my doctors this morning to see what the pathology report said about the testicle they removed.

It was cancer.

I'm now going on a strict regiment of surveillance and possibly radiation treatments to check any further spread.

I'm feeling pretty good right now, but I developed a blood mass in my scrotum that's kind of painful but the doctors say my body should absorb that mass in time.

I think I caught this one in time, and have confidence I'll be okay. It's odd someone my age gets testicular cancer, as it's a young man's disease. So all you guys in your thirties check yourself for lumps down there, or better yet have someone do it for you.

And thanks again for all the good wishes expressed upboard. I can honestly say you'd have to go some to beat the BASE community in that regard.

NickD
BASE 194

Glad to hear it Nick...Sounds as if you did nick it in time.... Keep us informed and all the best wishes and health to you....

All the best chris...

Let me buy you a drink to celebrate :)

Jul.

Best wishes Nick I'm glad you found it early and treated it.

I agree that your a little young to be getting this, have you thought about the possibilty of over exposure on antennas might be a contributing factor? Just wondering since I have lots of "A" jumps and I need a good excuse to get women to feel my nuts!!

Jason
570

>>Of course you will silly! At least until 2018...

Nick_D is killed in 2018 after a shoot out with Homeland Security’s newly created Air-Police in downtown San Diego. Cornered in a building under construction and ordered to surrender Di Giovanni shouts, “Come in and get me, coppers!”

Coz you think like a 17 year old

Hey Nick, I'm glad you got it in time.

Super speedy recovery!

>>Of course you will silly! At least until 2018...<<

Thanks, Brother, I really needed that belly laugh . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Hi Jason,

I was hesitant to name hot tower jumping as a cause the first time I had cancer, because I was a smoker. However, just today my doctor said Testicular Cancer isn't linked to smoking.

I made many jumps from that now gone 50 kW flamethrower in LA, but no one can say for sure it caused my problems. Besides, there was a rather large crew jumping that tower and many jumped it more than I did, and so far there is no cancer cluster among those people.

However, I still advise people that jumping AM towers is not worth the risk . . .

NickD
BASE 194

What she said.....and very well, I might add.

Keep the good thoughts, Nick.


Don