Will Reeve Cancer: Superman’s Son, 34, Finally Cancer-Free
Will Reeve is opening up about a health scare that hit close to home in more ways than one. In a Will Reeve cancer update, the ABC News correspondent, 34, revealed he was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year and is now cancer-free after surgery and chemotherapy.
Reeve found a suspicious lump on his left testicle in April, and his wife, Amanda, urged him to get it checked out. That led to an orchiectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the affected testicle, and doctors confirmed the cancer diagnosis in May.
Will Reeve cancer diagnosis: rare and aggressive
Reeve’s cancer was identified as embryonal carcinoma, a rare form of testicular cancer. It’s a germ cell tumor that can be aggressive, but it typically carries a strong prognosis when it’s caught and treated before it spreads.
Reeve underwent a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. He then began chemotherapy in July and completed two full cycles. By the end of that month, he rang the bell signaling the end of his treatment, a tradition many cancer centers use to mark the milestone.
As of September, Reeve says he is cancer-free.
Why the Will Reeve cancer story matters
Reeve chose to share his story publicly, hoping his experience might help someone else facing a similar diagnosis. On “Good Morning America,” he said: “I want folks to know that this is a thing that can happen. It’s shocking. It’s weird. It’s slightly awkward to talk about just because of what we’re really discussing here, but that you end up okay, almost always.”
The Will Reeve cancer story also fits the broader numbers. Testicular cancer usually strikes younger men, with an average age at diagnosis of about 33, and it can usually be treated successfully, according to the American Cancer Society. The group puts a man’s lifetime risk of dying from the disease at about 1 in 5,000.
A family that knows loss too well
For Reeve, this health battle carries an especially heavy family history. His father, actor Christopher Reeve, was paralyzed in a 1995 horseback-riding accident when Will was 2. Christopher died in 2004 at age 52. Two years later, Will’s mother, Dana Reeve, died of lung cancer at age 44.
Notably, the Will Reeve cancer treatment took place at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the same hospital where his mother was treated. “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 told People, according to Just Jared.
It’s a detail that adds another layer to a family story already defined by resilience in the face of serious illness.
Throughout his treatment, Reeve has credited his wife, Amanda, with pushing him to get checked in the first place.
What’s next after the Will Reeve cancer fight
According to People, Reeve will have follow-ups three to four times per year to check for recurrence of the cancer. During the follow-ups, he’ll have scans and bloodwork. For now, the correspondent is celebrating being cancer-free and using his platform to encourage others to take unusual symptoms seriously rather than brushing them off.
For more stars who have shared their health journeys, see our celebrity news coverage.
Source: Just Jared
Featured image: Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
