A survivor season 33 came second Ken McNickle revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer, sharing details about her symptoms in a powerful message.
“So here we go … I thought for a while about sharing or not accepting them but in the end I made a decision because I hope that this chapter of my story can help others,” wrote McNickle, 43, via Instagram on Wednesday, June 3. “I made some mistakes in this process and I should have taken care of myself better and faster.
McNickle noted that he will share more information soon, adding, “But that's enough for today. Like I said before, if you have a health problem, don't dwell on it. Get it checked out. There's no good reason not to.”
In a social media post, McNickle shared his initial reaction to his diagnosis.
“That's when everything goes silent. The doctor sounds like the teacher from Charlie Brown. You see that nothing is registered except for that one name,” he said of a photo of himself in the doctor's office. “Then questions arise. Why now, what did I do to deserve this situation?
McNickle recalls how he struggled to accept his new reality. “Then the feeling of defeat when you hear the words 'f*** it' kicks in,” he wrote. “It's the beginning of the process of quitting. Then I think about my daughter and my lady and the life we want and how there is another way.”
He continued: “Because there is always a choice. I choose to have hope, health, happiness and knowing that the spirit is with me. Most importantly, I choose love.”
The former reality star posted the following video where she candidly discusses the symptoms that led her to seek treatment.
“I waited almost a year until my skin opened up to be tested, if I had gone in sooner, it would have been an easier process,” he explained. “There is no three inch hole in my chest.”
McNickle expressed his regret for waiting “for almost three months seeing blood in the stool every morning before the test and making sure my insides were open.”
“I waited until that lump in my testicles had grown to the size of the other two before I went for an examination,” he added. “I wondered why I had been so stupid so many times. Then it hit me, it flashed from my childhood and youth when I heard the words, 'Stop crying. Don't be a child. Don't be a dog. Don't be a pussy. Be a man.' And yes, I think it had something to do with it. “
McNickle ended his career with a call to action. “There is an epidemic affecting men's health and we are not paying enough attention to it,” he explained. “We need to talk more about why men are 50 percent less likely to go to the doctor for physical ailments and 60 percent less likely to get help for mental and emotional problems.” Why do you think that is? [sic] do you need to change?”
Fans met McNickle in 2016 during season 33 of the long-running CBS competition series, which was themed Millennials vs. Gen X. Him and another finalist. Hannah Shapiro you lost Adam Klein, who was voted unanimously as the winner by all 10 votes of the judges.
