Will Reeve, the son of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, has revealed that he was diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer earlier this year.
The 34-year-old, whose mother was the late Dana Reeve, discovered a tender lump on one of his testicles while showering in April. His wife, Amanda, 30, encouraged him to have it examined with an ultrasound.
Speaking to People , the Good Morning America presenter said he was “stunned” by the diagnosis. He initially believed it was nothing serious or would disappear, but treatment soon brought back painful memories of his mother’s battle with lung cancer and his father’s life after becoming quadriplegic.
Will was only days away from his third birthday when Christopher Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia, in May 1995. The actor was 42 at the time.
Christopher Reeve depended on a wheelchair and ventilator for the remainder of his life. Will was tragically orphaned 17 months after his father died of heart failure, when Dana Reeve died from lung cancer at age 44 in 2006.
In early May, Will had surgery to remove the cancerous testicle. He also underwent sperm banking so he and Amanda could preserve the possibility of starting a family in the future.
Will Reeve, Christopher Reeve’s son, has disclosed that he was diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer earlier this year.
Will became an orphan 17 months after Superman star Christopher Reeve died of heart failure, when his mother Dana died of lung cancer at 44 in 2006. The family is pictured in 2004.
Christopher Reeve played the iconic superhero in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987).
Although Will and Amanda hoped the diagnosis would prove to be only a “momentary blip,” doctors found that 95 percent of the cancer was embryonal carcinoma. The rare and aggressive form of testicular cancer most commonly affects men between the ages of 15 and 35.
On June 10, Will underwent a six-hour operation to remove “some dozens” of lymph nodes from his abdomen. Three of those nodes tested positive for testicular cancer.
The Good Morning America presenter subsequently completed two rounds of chemotherapy, coming to terms with his own cancer treatment two decades after his mother’s battle with the disease.
Will said: “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.
“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 of what my mother went through.
“Simultaneously, I was learning more about what it was like to be my dad during the final nine years of his life, when my mom and our family cared for him,” he said.
“I’ve had a lot happen in my life. But none of it until now had happened to me in a way,” he added.
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Will, 34, said he first became concerned after finding a tender lump on one of his testicles in the shower in April. His wife Amanda, 30, urged him to arrange an ultrasound.
Christopher Reeve devoted much of his time to raising awareness and funds for people with paralysis. He launched the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which works to cure spinal cord injuries through innovative research and improve the lives of individuals and families affected by paralysis. He is pictured with son Matthew in 2002.
Will is pictured with his siblings Matthew, 46, and Alexandra, 42, whom Christopher Reeve shared with former partner Gae Exton. Will credits them with helping him through his cancer diagnosis.
“My dad got injured and then, for the next nine years, much of our focus was on caring for him and making sure we had as full and happy a life as possible, while also facing the realities of my dad being paralyzed and in a wheelchair, unable to move or breathe on his own.
‘And then he died, and I had to learn what grief was. And shortly after that, my mom, who had never smoked, gets sick with lung cancer and then dies, and I learned grief all over again at a different level.’
Will underwent chemotherapy straight from work at GMA and likened the side effects of the treatment, including bone pain, to an ‘ailment whack-a-mole.’
His second round of chemotherapy ended on July 31.
Will is now cancer-free, as of a check-up on September 8, and will have scans and bloodwork three to four times a year to check for any recurrence of the disease.
The five-year survival rate for embryonal carcinoma is over 98 per cent for early-stage disease and ranges from 74 per cent to 80 per cent for advanced, widespread disease, per The Cleveland Clinic.
As well as Amanda, Will credits the support of his family and friends, especially siblings Matthew, 46, and Alexandra, 42, for getting him through.
After the loss of his parents, Will was raised by the family’s next door neighbors and close friends.
The Good Morning America presenter said his treatment brought back painful memories of his mother’s treatment for lung cancer and his father’s health struggles after he became quadriplegic. Above, Christopher and Dana Reeve in 1989
He had also starred in other projects during the course of his career, such as working alongside Jane Seymour in Somewhere In Time (1980)
Will, along with Matthew and Alexandra, who Christopher shared with ex-partner Gae Exton, work with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which aims to cure spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis.
Reeve notably portrayed the iconic superhero, Superman, in the film Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987).
He had also starred in other projects during the course of his career, such as working alongside Jane Seymour in Somewhere In Time (1980).
