‘GMA’s Will Reeve Opens Up About Testicular Cancer Diagnosis

Will Reeve
Paula Lobo/American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. via Getty Images

What To Know

  • ABC News’ Will Reeve, son of Christopher and Dana Reeve, revealed he was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year.
  • The GMA correspondent underwent multiple surgeries and two cycles of chemotherapy.
  • Reeve credits the resilience of his late parents and the support of his wife for helping him through his treatment.

ABC News correspondent Will Reeve has revealed he was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year and underwent several surgeries and two cycles of chemotherapy.

The 34-year-old reporter, who regularly appears on Good Morning America, told People that he was diagnosed in April, just three months after he got married. He explained how he first noticed a tender lump while in the shower but “assumed it was nothing or would go away.”

His wife, Amanda Dubin Reeve, encouraged him to get an ultrasound. “I was stunned,” Reeve said when he received his diagnosis. Soon after, he underwent an orchiectomy to remove the cancerous testicle.

“I hadn’t had surgery since I got my tonsils out at 5,” Reeve told the outlet. “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.”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of Reeve’s cancer journey. The first surgery led to a diagnosis of embryonal carcinoma, an aggressive form of the disease that had already started to spread. He underwent a second surgery, a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, to remove dozens of lymph nodes in his abdomen.

After three of those lymph nodes tested positive for cancer, Reeve decided to undergo two rounds of chemotherapy to lower the chances of the cancer returning.

Will Reeve and Amanda Dubin

Will Reeve and Amanda Dubin; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Reeve is the son of the late Superman actor Christopher Reeve and actress Dana Reeve and is no stranger to health issues. His father, who became paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from a horse, died in 2004 at age 52, while his mother died from lung cancer two years later at 44.

“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,” said Reeve, who at the end of July rang the bell at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City to mark the end of his treatment and being cancer-free.

He described the situation as “experiencing life as each of my parents at the same time,” adding, “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,” Reeve shared.

He also gave a shoutout to his coworkers, saying, “My colleagues  at ABC are like family to me and have been with me every step of the way. 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.”

Reeve will talk more about his cancer battle on Good Morning America this Wednesday (September 30) and Thursday (October 1) from 7 am to 9 am ET on ABC.




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