--- description: If our virtual footprints are a window into even a little piece of the person we truly are, then this is the virtual story of my cancer title: This Is What Getting Cancer Looks Like on Social Media image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is What Getting Cancer Looks Like on Social Media by [Daily Dot](/author/daily-dot/) ## Daily Dot Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 31, 2015 6:03 PM CUT by [Daily Dot](/author/daily-dot/) ## Daily Dot Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 31, 2015 6:03 PM CUT _This story was originally published at the_ [_The Kernel, the Daily Dot’s Sunday magazine_](http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/12311/what-getting-cancer-looks-like-on-social-media/&utm%5Fmedium=syndication&utm%5Fsource=Time&utm%5Fname=time%20syndication "undefined")_._ No one expects to get [cancer](http://www.dailydot.com/tags/cancer "undefined"). Sure, you might have the “what if” moments, but you never actually think it’s going to happen. Until it does. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer on Aug. 8, 2012\. Two days later, I had surgery to remove the tumor; less than month after that, I started chemo. I had just turned 30 years old. So much of our lives are shared on the Internet. Mine is no different. Even before I was diagnosed, I shared my work, mundane details about my life, dating—the essentials for a man in his 20s living in New York at the time. So when cancer showed its fugly face, I had to document it. I’ve written a lot about my cancer, but I’ve never actually showed it. If our virtual footprints are a window into even a little piece of the person we truly are, then this is the virtual story of my cancer. ## Pre-diagnosis I’ve never been one to care about age. Turning 30 was just another birthday. If anything, it marked a change in a decade and reflected the direction I wanted my life to go in, more professional—hopefully personally fulfilling. The pain started at the end of July, shortly after my birthday. Having just arrived in [Los Angeles](http://www.dailydot.com/tags/los-angeles "undefined") from [New York](http://www.dailydot.com/tags/new-york "undefined"), I didn’t have a doctor. I went to my friend’s doctor, which led to another doctor, and then another. The entire time I was cracking jokes. I wasn’t taking it seriously, yet deep down I knew something wasn’t right. [_Read the rest of the story at_ ](http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/12311/what-getting-cancer-looks-like-on-social-media/&utm%5Fmedium=syndication&utm%5Fsource=Time&utm%5Fname=time%20syndication "undefined")[_The Kernel_](http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/12311/what-getting-cancer-looks-like-on-social-media/&utm%5Fmedium=syndication&utm%5Fsource=Time&utm%5Fname=time%20syndication "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3765061/getting-cancer-social-media/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3765061/getting-cancer-social-media/"},"headline":"This Is What Getting Cancer Looks Like on Social Media","datePublished":"2015-03-31T18:03:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:46.213Z","description":"If our virtual footprints are a window into even a little piece of the person we truly are, then this is the virtual story of my cancer","url":"https://time.com/3765061/getting-cancer-social-media/","keywords":["Tech","Social Media","Innovation","Technology","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daily Dot","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daily-dot/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3765061/getting-cancer-social-media/","name":"This Is What Getting Cancer Looks Like on Social Media"}}]}] ```