Cal swimming alum Nathan Adrian reveals his bout with testicular cancer

“The natural tendency is to not talk about it. A part of you wants to cocoon into a little ball,”

Adrian said. “But then I had so many people I knew that said to me, ‘Oh yeah, me, too. I had to deal with this.’ Yet so many guys wait too long.”

So, Adrian is talking about it. He’s sharing his experience to help shed light on the form of cancer that is most prevalent among young men. One that is frequently dealt with in silence.

There are a few reasons for that. Testicular cancer can exist without a lot of pain or discomfort until the symptoms get serious. And young men generally don’t schedule regular visits to the doctor. “That’s a huge factor,”

Adrian said. “It’s a men’s health issue. Men don’t go to the doctor as often as women. Men are ashamed of having a problem in their genital area. Just sticking your head in the sand doesn’t change anything. Hopefully, you get good news, and you can go on your manly way. But if it’s bad news, it doesn’t make sense to wait.”