Christopher Reeve’s Son Will Reeve Details Testicular Cancer Battle

“It’s probably nothing,” she told him, “but what if it’s something?”

That month, an ultrasound confirmed that the lump was indeed cancerous. And in May, the 34-year-old underwent an orchiectomy to remove the testicle entirely. 

“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.”

What the Good Morning America anchor didn’t know, however, was that his health journey was just beginning. 

Indeed, further testing revealed that 95 percent of the testicular cancer found was embryonal carcinoma, an aggressive form of the disease.

And that June, he had to undergo a six-hour surgery to remove dozens of lymph nodes from his abdomen, three of which tested positive for testicular cancer, which forced him to endure two rounds of chemotherapy. 

And as he received the treatment he needed, Reeve couldn’t help but reflect on his parents’ health journeys.

“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,” he explained. “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,” he continued. “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.”

But during a Sept. 8 checkup, Reeve learned he was cancer-free. And he gives his wife—whom he wed in January—all the credit for pushing him to seek medical advice early.  

“We talk about ‘in sickness and in health,” he said. “We got an early test of our vows, just a few months in.”

And for the event planner, “The silver lining was that we had validation early in the marriage that we are well-equipped to tackle anything.”

Keep reading for more celebrities who’ve opened up about their cancer journeys…