NHL defenseman reveals cancer diagnosis

Awful news. All the best.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
NHL defenseman reveals cancer diagnosis
Zuma Press

On the even of the Vegas Golden Knights’ training camp defenseman Shea Theodore shared the very personal details of his offseason. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent a procedure to remove the disease from his body.

The surgery was a success and now, for the first time, Theodore is sharing his story in an exclusive essay for The Players’ Tribune titled, “To My Golden Knights Family.”

You can check out the column here:



Theodore reveals that he was first diagnosed while he was overseas competing with Team Canada in the IIHF World Championships. When Theodore failed a mandated drug test he and the tournament doctors knew something wasn’t right. 

“They explained to me that the hormone that triggered my specific failed test was called hCG, and that it’s usually only found in women during pregnancy”, says Theodore. “But then they explained that in some cases, hCG can be a sign of testicular cancer.”

When Theodore got back home to Canada further tests confirmed that he had a 5mm cancerous growth on one of his testicles. The doctors assured him that, because the cancer was detected early and because Theodore is so young, that a procedure to remove the cancer would be relatively routine. Still… he had cancer and he was scared… or at least he would have been if he could even process what was happening.

From Theodore’s article:

At that point, I wouldn’t even say I was scared. Everything was just happening really fast, you know? Almost too fast to process. The doctors sent me to get an ultrasound scan to look for tumors….. and I’ll tell you what —it didn’t play out like in the movies. When they sat me down for the results, there was no dramatic music. No dramatic pause.

Today though, Theodore is cancer free and preparing himself for a pivotal season. He has come out on the other side of cancer healthy and with a renewed sense of just how lucky he is, not only to be alive but to have such tremendous support. I mean, just check out this quote from Theodore about teammate Max Pacioretty sending Theodore and his girlfriend meal service:

And by the way, if you thought I was exaggerating about the first-class guys we have on the Knights, Max Pacioretty and his wife had a three-day meal service sent to our house so I didn’t have to worry about anything while I was stuck on the couch. Really appreciated that.

Incredible. Again, for the full story please check out the link above so you can read it in Theodore’s own words.