ABC News correspondent Will Reeve is publicly sharing his battle with cancer for the first time, revealing that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer just months after his wedding. The 34-year-old journalist, who reports for various ABC platforms including “Good Morning America,” announced on Tuesday that he received the diagnosis in April.
Reeve credited his wife, Amanda, whom he married in January, for urging him to seek medical attention after he noticed a lump in his left testicle. An ultrasound subsequently identified a mass, leading to an orchiectomy procedure in early May to remove the affected testicle. Pathology results confirmed a diagnosis of embryonal carcinoma, an aggressive form of testicular cancer typically affecting young to middle-aged individuals.
Following the initial surgery, Reeve underwent a second, six-hour operation in June known as a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. During this procedure, surgeons removed dozens of lymph nodes to prevent the spread of the disease. Because some of the removed nodes contained cancer cells, Reeve elected to undergo two cycles of chemotherapy to reduce the risk of recurrence to approximately 1%.
Treatment began in early July at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, with his wife accompanying him throughout. Each treatment day required a nine-hour commitment, consisting of two hours of chemotherapy and seven hours of cold capping, a therapy used to minimize hair loss. Reeve reported experiencing side effects during his recovery periods, including bone pain, headaches, night sweats, blood clots, and tinnitus.
By the end of July, Reeve successfully completed his treatment and rang the commemorative bell at Sloan Kettering. He noted that he thought of his late mother, Dana Reeve, who also received chemotherapy at the same facility before passing away from lung cancer in 2006 at the age of 44.
Reeve stated that his decision to share his story aims to raise awareness about testicular cancer. “I want folks to know that this is a thing that can happen. It’s shocking. It’s weird,” he said. “It’s slightly awkward to talk about just because of what we’re really discussing here, but that you end up okay, almost always.”
How tough must it be to lose his mother to cancer and then face it himself? Hope his recovery goes smoothly.
Testicular cancer is so common in younger men yet we rarely talk about it. Thanks for raising awareness, Will.
So glad he is fighting through this. Sharing his story helps break the stigma around men’s health issues.