Ken McNickle, the runner-up for season 33 of \u201cSurvivor,\u201d has revealed his cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n
The 43-year-old shared the news on Instagram on Monday, posting a photo of himself sitting in a doctor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat moment when you hear the words \u2018it\u2019s cancer\u2019 and everything becomes muted,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe doctor sounding like the teacher from \u2018Charlie Brown.\u2019 You realize nothing is registering other than that one word.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, writing that he felt a \u201cflood of questions\u201d about why and how it happened and admitted a \u201cfeeling of defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I think about my daughter, my lady and the life we want and how there\u2019s another option to fight. Because there\u2019s always a choice. And I\u2019m choosing optimism, health, happiness and knowing that the spirit has me. And most importantly, I\u2019m choosing love,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
McNickle wrote in the caption that he considered not sharing his diagnosis, but decided to go public to hopefully inspire others to take care of their health.<\/p>\n
In a follow up video to his post<\/a>, he revealed he \u201cwaited almost a year until my skin was tearing open to get this checked.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHad I gone in sooner, it would have been a simple procedure,\u201d he explained. \u201cNot a three-inch hole in my chest.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cI waited for almost three months seeing blood fill the stool every morning before getting it checked out and confirmed that my insides were tearing open. And I waited until that lump on my testes had grown to the size of the other two before getting it checked.\u201d<\/p>\n McNickle also highlighted that men tend to avoid going to the doctor, leading to larger crises that could be prevented.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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. Why do you think it is? What needs to change?\u201d<\/p>\n Follow us on Instagram @WeArePauseRewind<\/a> for all your pop culture obsessions.<\/p>\n