Survivor star, 43, reveals he has cancer — and…
A “Survivor” fan favourite is going through his most tough problem yet.
Ken McNickle, a finalist in Season 33 of the hit actuality show, shared his cancer diagnosis this week in an Instagram post and, in a follow-up video, revealed the three indicators he ignored.
“I deliberated for a while about whether to share or not, but I ultimately decided to because I’m hoping this chapter in my story can help others,” McNickle captioned the unique post, which featured a carousel of photos of him at a doctor’s appointment, trying contemplative with medical patches connected to his chest.
Ken McNickle, a finalist in Season 33 of the hit actuality show, shared his diagnosis this week in an Instagram post. Instagram/thekencole
“I’ve made some mistakes in the process and should have taken care of myself better and sooner,” McNickle admitted, urging others to be proactive about treatment.
“If you have a health concern, don’t sit on it,” he said. “Get yourself checked. There’s no valid reason not to. Not one.”
In a follow-up video, McNickle outlined the three symptoms and warning indicators he ignored, introducing the clip with a “trigger warning.”
“If you don’t like gross medical details, get out now,” he cautioned.
“I waited almost a year until my skin was tearing open to get this checked,” he said, pointing toward his coronary heart. “Had I gone in sooner, it would have been a simple procedure — not a three-inch hole in my chest.”
McNickle added that despite seeing blood in his stool every morning, he delayed looking for treatment for practically three months, at which level it was “confirmed” that his “insides were tearing open.”
While the type of cancer McNickle is battling stays unclear, blood in the stool is a telltale signal of colorectal cancer.
An ER doc beforehand called the symptom the “one condition where you should go to the emergency room today.”
McNickle also admitted he postponed looking for medical consideration until a groin growth had reached alarming proportions. Instagram/thekencole
McNickle, a former model and a father of one, also admitted he postponed looking for medical consideration until a groin growth had reached alarming proportions.
“I waited until that lump on my testes had grown to the size of the other two before getting it checked,” he added.
Again, while McNickle has yet to disclose the precise cancer diagnosis, the lump might point out testicular cancer, which has the best prevalence in males between 20 and 40.
Reflecting on his selections, McNickle lamented, “I have been so f–king stupid.”
He acknowledged how a childhood steeped in poisonous masculinity and the lifelong stress to carry out it contributed to his grownup health disaster.
“I heard the words, ‘Stop crying. Don’t be a baby. Don’t be a bitch. Don’t be a p—y. Just be a man,” he said. “And yeah, I am thinking that had something to do with it.”
McNickle acknowledged that his expertise just isn’t an exception, calling out the “epidemic” of males’s health.
McNickle’s season of Survivor aired in 2016 and was themed “Millennials vs. Gen X.” CBS via Getty Images
“We need to be talking more about why men are 50% less likely to go to a doctor for physical ailments and 60% less likely to get help with mental and emotional issues,” he captioned the video.
Fans have been fast to flood the feedback part with phrases of help and appreciation.
“Thank you for sharing all this. It’s so incredibly important to talk about and normalize men struggling and not getting the help they need,” said one.
“You aren’t the only man who put off the doctor for far too long. Hopefully, your story can help others to understand this,” said a second.
“Your honesty and vulnerability are really brave. That’s being a true man. Sending hugs and hope for a healing journey,” added a third.
McNickle’s season of Survivor aired in 2016 and was themed “Millennials vs. Gen X.” He made it all the best way to the ultimate three before shedding to Adam Klein in an nameless vote.
McNickle’s designation as a millennial cancer affected person is in holding with a disturbing pattern. Research suggests millennial Americans are at a increased risk of developing 17 cancers in contrast to older generations.
Indeed, millennials are twice as seemingly to get colorectal cancer in contrast to their boomer counterparts.
Meanwhile, charges of appendix cancer have quadrupled among millennials, outlined as the era born between 1981 and 1996.
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