ABC News correspondent Will Reeve, 34, revealed that he and his wife, Amanda Dubin Reeve, banked sperm following his April testicular cancer diagnosis before undergoing an orchiectomy and subsequent chemotherapy. Speaking on Good Morning America, Reeve confirmed he was declared cancer-free on September 8 and is now proceeding with medically necessary in vitro fertilization.
In Plain English: Fertility Preservation and Recovery
Early Detection and Surgical Staging at Memorial Sloan Kettering
Reeve discovered a painful lump in his left testicle in April, prompting his wife Amanda to encourage a medical evaluation. An ultrasound revealed a mass, leading physicians to perform an orchiectomy. Pathology reports confirmed that 95% of the tumor was embryonal carcinoma, an aggressive form of testicular cancer typically found in young to middle-aged individuals.
To help prevent the cancer from spreading, medical teams performed a six-hour retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in June. Surgeons removed dozens of abdominal lymph nodes, discovering that three tested positive for cancer cells. This finding necessitated a regimen of two cycles of chemotherapy beginning in July to lower the odds of the cancer returning to nearly 1%.
Managing Chemotherapy Toxicity and Utilizing Cold Capping
During his chemotherapy protocol at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Reeve underwent nine-hour treatment days alongside his wife. Each session combined two hours of chemotherapy with seven hours of cold capping, a treatment used to help prevent hair loss.
Recovery between treatment cycles involved managing side effects including bone pain, ringing ears, night sweats, blood clots, and headaches. Despite these complications, he completed his regimen and rang the bell at Sloan Kettering on July 31, reflecting on his late mother Dana Reeve, who passed away from lung cancer at the same institution in 2006.
| Procedure / Treatment | Clinical Purpose | Key Clinical Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sperm Cryopreservation | Fertility preservation | Completed immediately after diagnosis to enable future IVF. |
| Orchiectomy | Surgical resection | Removes the testicle. |
| Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection | Prevent cancer from spreading | Six-hour operation removing dozens of abdominal nodes. |
| Cold Capping | Prevent hair loss | Seven-hour scalp cooling session paired with chemotherapy. |
Pathophysiology and the Necessity of Post-Surgical IVF
Testicular cancer develops in the tissues of one or both testicles. While an orchiectomy removes the affected testicle, aggressive subtypes like embryonal carcinoma require staging procedures like lymph node dissection and chemotherapy.
By engaging in cryopreservation before intervention, Reeve and his wife secured the ability to have children through medically necessary in-vitro fertilization.
Contraindications & When to Consult a Doctor
Reeve shared his diagnosis to help raise awareness of testicular cancer. He noted that while the diagnosis is shocking and awkward to discuss, patients almost always end up okay.
References
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Library of Medicine: Testicular Cancer Overview.
