Celebrity

Survivor Finalist, 43, Reveals Shock Diagnosis

IN FOR A BATTLE

He’s urging millennial men not to tough out possible symptoms.

Ken McNickle
CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

A one-time Survivor finalist has revealed his cancer diagnosis—and is urging his fellow millennials, particularly men, not to hesitate to go to the doctor when something feels off. Ken McNickle, 43, made the shocking announcement on Instagram, writing that he had ignored telltale signs that should have prompted him to seek treatment. Instead, he said that he tried to man up and ignore the symptoms, but now has a “three-inch hole in my chest” and a long battle ahead, opposed to what would have otherwise required only a “simple procedure.” McNickle shared a photo of himself wearing medical patches in a hospital and wrote that he is “hoping this chapter in my story can help others.” He did not disclose what type of cancer he has been diagnosed with, but The New York Post noted that the symptoms he described—like an abnormal groin growth and blood in his stool—are tied to testicular cancer, which has the highest prevalence in men between 20 and 40, and colorectal cancer. McNickle made it to the final three of Survivor’s 2016 season, themed “Millennials vs. Gen X,” but lost to Adam Klein in an anonymous vote.

Read it at New York Post