Today I spoke publicly, for the first time about what had been a very private matter... my bout with testicular cancer. Until now, it is a topic I had only discussed with a handful of friends and family. But for Sean Kimerling, I think I would have kept it that way.
Like me, Sean was a 37-year-old New York based newscaster, treated for testicular cancer at the same time and at the same hospital. We were both single and were even both represented by the same talent agency. Sean was a rising star reporting on sports and anchoring for WPIX in New York. He died on September 9, 2003 just as I was returning to work after my surgery.
Ever since first reading about Sean’s story, I have felt a strange bond with this man I never met. I remember reading an article that said Sean told his father that if he survived he wanted to “give something back” by educating young men about the disease. Well he can’t, and so now, reluctantly, I will, by trying to help promote the foundation that his family has set up to educate young men about testicular cancer.
I am lucky. Not only did I survive, but now, it seems, I am cancer free and feeling as good as ever. Had Sean detected the disease earlier, he and I might have discussed our experiences in private. I hope that my willingness to go public can help other young men who, like Sean and me, never thought it could or would strike us.
