Olympic Swimmer Nathan Adrian Reveals Testicular Cancer Diagnosis
01/25/2019
Nathan Adrian, a U.S. swimmer with five Olympic gold medals, revealed on Instagram that he has testicular cancer.
“Life, like swimming the 100 free, can come at you hard and fast as you can’t always see who, or what, may be chasing you down,” the 30-year-old wrote in the Thursday post. “Recently, I went to the doctor as something didn’t seem quite right. At the very least, I still needed to get my flu shot so it couldn’t hurt. After a few tests and visits with a specialist, I unfortunately learned that I have Testicular Cancer.”
The prognosis is good: Adrian said they caught it early, and he’s already started treatment. In fact, it won’t be long before the swimmer is back to his regular routine: “I will be back in the water in a few short weeks with my sights fully set on Tokyo!”
Life, like swimming the 100 free, can come at you hard and fast as you can’t always see who, or what, may be chasing you down. Recently, I went to the doctor as something didn’t seem quite right. At the very least, I still needed to get my flu shot so it couldn’t hurt. After a few tests and visits with a specialist, I unfortunately learned that I have Testicular Cancer. On the bright side, we caught it early, I have already started treatment and the prognosis is good. I will be back in the water in a few short weeks with my sights fully set on Tokyo! Along the way, I hope to share my journey in an effort to help break the stigma of discussing men’s health issues. I’ve realized that too often we tend to avoid these important topics, ignore the potential warning signs, and put off getting the medical help that we may need. As I told my family, I’ll be putting my public health degree to work a little sooner than I planned! But in all seriousness, I am keeping a positive attitude as cases such as mine are curable. I am extremely grateful for my family and friends, especially my wife, for their love and support. I am scheduled for surgery early next week and will provide an update soon. #menshealth #testicularcancer #standuptocancer
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As Adrian begins treatment, he wants to encourage guys to speak up when their bodies don’t feel quite right.
“I’ve realized that too often we tend to avoid these important topics, ignore the potential warning signs, and put off getting the medical help that we may need,” he wrote. “As I told my family, I’ll be putting my public health degree to work a little sooner than I planned!
“But in all seriousness, I am keeping a positive attitude as cases such as mine are curable. I am extremely grateful for my family and friends, especially my wife, for their love and support. I am scheduled for surgery early next week and will provide an update soon.”
What to Know About Testicular Cancer:
Every year, roughly 9,500 cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. The average age of diagnosis is 33.
How can you spot it? Besides the most common sign—a lump in the testicle—symptoms of testicular cancer include a heavy feeling in the belly, a change in the size of your testicle, swollen legs, tender breast tissue, and lower back pain.
Testicular cancer is very treatable. Timothy Gilligan, M.D., a testicular cancer medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic, previously told Men’s Health that “for every 100 men diagnosed with testicular cancer, 96 are cured.”
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