Good Morning America correspondent Will Reeve revealed he battled testicular cancer.
Reeve, 34, shared with People on Tuesday, September 29, that he received the diagnosis this past spring, and the disease then spread to his lymph nodes in his abdomen. As of a checkup on September 8, Reeve is now cancer-free.
“I have felt so loved and supported and rooted for by family, friends and strangers alike for my entire life,” Reeve said. “And that’s a big part of why I wanted to speak about this. I’m going to be fine. But this was a heck of a chapter.”
Reeve initially noticed a lump on one of his testicles in April, which he assumed “was nothing or would go away.” His wife, Amanda Dubin Reeve, however, encouraged him to undergo an ultrasound. In April, he underwent an orchiectomy to remove the testicle and took a few days off work to recover.
“I hadn’t had surgery since I got my tonsils out at 5,” Reeve said. “So I was more nervous about the unknown of the surgery rather than the overwhelming realization that I would be losing an essential part of my body forever.”
Reeve also underwent sperm banking “because we do want to start a family,” he said. “And while an orchiectomy doesn’t prevent natural conception, you never know, so you want to be safe.”
Further testing results showed that 95 percent of the testicular cancer found was embryonal carcinoma, which prompted Reeve to undergo a six-hour surgery on June 10 to remove lymph nodes in his abdomen. Three tested positive for testicular cancer, and Reeve underwent two rounds of chemotherapy.
Reeve shared that he would leave the GMA studio and head to the hospital during chemo, where he also did cold-capping to prevent hair loss. He finished his second round on July 31, taking a few days off after each to recover.
“My colleagues at ABC are like family to me and have been with me every step of the way,” he says. “I’m fortunate that I caught this early. Yes, I had to jump through some flaming hoops to get to the other side, but it could have been much worse had I ignored it or delayed going to the doctor.”
Now, Reeve will undergo scans and bloodwork three to four times a year. He shared that he felt closer to his late parents, Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve, through the experience. (Will was 2 years old when the Superman star was paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from a horse. Two years after Christopher died at 52 in 2004, Dana lost her battle with lung cancer. She was 44.)
“The irony is not lost on me that 20 years after my mom died of lung cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering, there I was in the same building getting treated for cancer,” Will said. “I was experiencing life as each of my parents at the same time. Because I was a cancer patient at Memorial Sloan Kettering, I was getting a firsthand experience at what my mother went through. Simultaneously, I was learning more about what it was like to be my dad in the final nine years of his life, where he had my mom and our family taking care of him. And there I was with my wife, who, since the day I met her, has reminded me in so many ways of my mom, now playing the role of wife and caregiver.”
Will shared that his decision to disclose his health journey came from feeling inspired by his parents.
“I was raised to share one’s struggles if, in doing so, that might help others,” he said. “Watching my parents up close take the adversity they faced in their lives and repurpose it into something hopeful left a major impact on my life and how I try to live it.”
