Survivor star Ken McNickle shares shocking cancer diagnosis after ignoring symptoms for a year

Ken McNickle, the runner-up from Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X in 2016, has dropped a shocking health update on social media this week. The 43-year-old shared his cancer diagnosis on Instagram on June 2, posting a photo of himself sitting in a doctor’s office. “That moment when you hear the words ‘it’s cancer’ and everything becomes muted,” he wrote.

Ken didn’t reveal what type of cancer he has or his treatments plans, but his post included photos of himself at the doctor’s office with white patches on his chest. In the caption, he said that he debated sharing the news for a while but “ultimately decided to because I’m hoping this chapter in my story can help others.” The Survivor season 33 star admitted that he’s made some mistakes in the process and should have taken better care of himself sooner.

He waited almost a year to get his symptoms checked

In a follow-up video, Ken admits he waited almost a year until his “skin was tearing open” before going to the doctor’s to get it checked. “Had I gone in sooner it would’ve been a simple procedure, not a three inch hole in my chest,” he devastatingly admits.

Ken waited for almost three months “seeing blood fill the stool every morning” before deciding to go to the doctor’s. It was confirmed at that point that his “insides were tearing open.”

Another one of his symptoms that he ignored was a lump that developed on his testes to the size of the other two.

Now he’s trying to raise awareness

The post quickly became about something bigger than a scary health update. “There’s an epidemic in regards to men’s health and we’re not giving it enough attention,” he wrote. “We need to be talking more about why men are 50 per cent less likely to go to a doctor for physical ailments and 60 per cent less likely to get help with mental and emotional issues.”

Despite the road ahead, Ken says that he’s choosing optimism. “Because there’s always a choice. And I’m choosing optimism, health, happiness and the knowing that the spirit has me. And most importantly, I’m choosing love.”

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