Anybody else read about this yet? My prayers go out to Eric and his family!!!
Olympic Swimmer Shanteau Has Testicular Cancer
Jul 11, 10:29 AM (ET) Email this Story
ATLANTA (AP) -Olympic swimmer Eric Shanteau is heading to Beijing with a devastating diagnosis: He has testicular cancer.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Shanteau said he learned just a week before the Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb., that he had cancer. His doctors cleared him to compete in that meet and he surprisingly made the team in the 200-meter breaststroke, finishing second ahead of former world-record holder and heavy favorite Brendan Hansen.
Even though Shanteau's doctors have advised him to have surgery now, he's planning to put it off until after Beijing because he doesn't want to disrupt his lifelong goal. The 24-year-old Georgia native will be monitored closely over the next month and vows to drop out of the Olympics if there's any sign is cancer is spreading.
Former Member
Is this form of cancer getting more common, or are we just hearing about it more? Not long after Lance Armstrong's cancer hit the news, a well known Canadian figure skater was treated for it. It's scary that it seems to target young healthy men in the prime of life. I sincerely hope Eric Shanteau doesn't regret putting off his treatment until after the Olympics.
Is this form of cancer getting more common, or are we just hearing about it more?
The incidence is increasing but still represents only 1% of all cancers in men. We tend to hear more about a disease when it strikes a celebrity.
I'm not a physician but having lost a sister to Leukemia (in her 30's) I've got to say the decision is between Eric and his family. The physicians are there to advise. She wishes she'd followed through and taken a trip to Hawaii and always regretted it.
When he weighs it out for himself and says he'd take the Olympic Experience over the treatment for right now, my hat is off to him.
This board could armchair quarterback this topic until the cows come home but we really have no business other than wishing him well.
Eric: If you ever read this- keep up the PMA- Positive Mental Attitude
Semper Fi
Tree
Ripple,
Testicular cancer typically is a cancer that a young man may get. Probably the age range is 20's to 40's. Prostate cancer is usually reserved for the 50's to 80's age range. Self examination can find testicular cancer early.
If we are hearing more about this it is because cancer is no longer a hush hush subject. It used to be referred to as the "C" word. Now discussions of cancer are out in the open........and that is a good thing.
Being the same age as Eric Shanteau, I can't even begin to imagine what this would be like. I wonder if these types of things are caught in routine physicals - as a young 20 something I don't tend to make regular doctor check-ups. Looks like I might try and make yearly exams more of a habit!
Best of luck to Eric in both the Olympics and in treatment - thoughts and prayers with him and his family!
I thought in the article I read he was going to undergo frequent exams and have CT scans every two weeks. At the slightest hint of disease progression I thought he would reevaluate his decision to swim.
I don't know how advanced Shaneau's cancer is. I seem to recall that Lance Armstrong's had already metastasized before it was discovered. If Shanteau's hasn't yet, the prognosis should be very good. (The Wikipedia page suggests essentially 100% cure rate if it hasn't and says it has one of the highest cure rates.)
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