Remarkable Olympian Goes From Testicular Cancer Treatment To Olympic Swim Practice In A Matter Of Months

Adrian told The Today Show what happened when he first got his diagnosis. “Well, you notice something’s wrong, and then you start to watch it,” he said. “It was down there, something was swollen, it was hard. And then you kinda watch it for a couple days. Hey, is this getting better? If this is getting better great, we can get back to track. But, it wasn’t. And thats when you gotta call your doctor and say hey, ‘hopefully this is nothing, but we gotta look into it.'”

Nathan also talked a little bit about the emotional impact of the diagnosis. “It’s hard. It’s hard. One of the reasons I decided to open up about this and be public about it was, you know 1/3 of Americans are gonna sit down with their doctor and they’re gonna say ‘hey, we got your test results back and they’re not what we hoped,'” he said. “And that’s hard. That’s not something they prepare you for in school. And you feel so alone and so isolated. But the more I looked into it, there’s so many people that go through it too. And as I opened up about it, so many people that were even in my own social circles reached out to me saying ‘Hey, me too!’ and I had no idea.”

Adrian was born in Bremerton Washington into a family of swimmers. His sister swam at Arizona State University. His brother swam at the University of Washington. In the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio, Adrian swam and won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay alongside Michael Phelps.

Adrian announced his diagnosis on Instagram and has given periodic updates. The latest says he’s had surgery, and is waiting for some results, “Quick update: I underwent a laparoscopic RPLND procedure yesterday which means they took out some of my lymph nodes that the cancer may have spread to with the help of a robot.” That means that he had robotic surgery that was less invasive than regular open surgery, and is usually a lot more comfortable for the patient afterward.

The story will remind a lot of people of Lance Armstrong, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, right in the middle of his professional bicycling career, and had to have one of his testicles removed. He also opted for an alternate mixture of drugs to avoid lung toxicity associated with bleomycin, one of the main drugs in the standard treatment. At the time, Armstrong said that this treatment mixture was the reason he was able to resurrect his cycling career.

We don’t know the details of Adrian’s case, but we do know that for many men diagnosed with testicular cancer, the disease is still a source of shame. “Going to the doctor — men typically don’t go. I don’t know why is the main reason. Women always go. Maybe it’s they don’t want to have their testicles checked,” says testicular cancer survivor Todd Rosenbluth. “[My wife] said ‘listen, I go to the doctor every year, everyone goes to the doctor every year. Just go. You spend an hour doing fantasy football a day, why can’t you spend an hour and go to the doctor?'”

“Luckily when I caught the testicular cancer it was so early that I’m totally fine to this day, and it’s because of her,” he says. “Testicular cancer is 99 percent curable if it’s caught early enough, and the only way to catch it is self-exam or go to the doctor. If you’re worried, don’t be ashamed, guys. Go to the doctor.”

 

Tripp Hornick on the dealing with the shame that may come with testicular cancer

“Shame is an important topic when it comes to cancer,” says testicular cancer survivor Tripp Hornick. “I think the most important thing is not to become a victim, and not to empower yourself as a victim. There’s nothing good and nothing positive about sending a message as a victim and a culture or victimhood. The way to turn the shame upside down if you have it, is to show how strong you are.”

“Those of us, the vast majority of people who have had cancer, and then have gone on to live very successful and happy lives, listen to those people, listen to us, listen to yourself,” Hornick says, “What you accomplish is what cures any possible shame that could be out there.”

“Testicular cancer is rare, accounting for about 1% of all male cancers. However, testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men ages 15-35,” according to the Testicular Cancer Society. “Testicular cancer is one of the most treatable cancers, especially if caught early. If caught at an early stage, before it has spread, the survival rate is almost 100% but if caught at a late stage the rate drops to less than 75%.”

“Certain conditions such as undescended testicle(s), abnormal testicular development and a family history of testicular cancer may increase the odds of developing testicular cancer,” says the TCS. “It is Important to remember that many men who develop testicular cancer have no risk factors at all.”

 

 

 

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