Christopher Reeve’s Son Reveals Heartbreaking Diagnosis

Christopher Reeve’s son Will Reeve has revealed he spent much of this year quietly battling testicular cancer after discovering a lump he initially believed was nothing to worry about.

The 34-year-old ABC News correspondent opened up about the frightening diagnosis Tuesday, revealing that he underwent two surgeries and chemotherapy before receiving the news earlier this month that he is now cancer-free.

Reeve said the ordeal began in April when he noticed a tender lump on his left testicle while showering.

At first, he assumed it would simply disappear.

His wife, Amanda Dubin Reeve, whom he married in January, urged him not to ignore it and encouraged him to see a doctor when the lump remained.

That decision may have made a major difference.

An ultrasound revealed a mass, and Reeve underwent surgery in early May to remove the affected testicle. Testing showed that the tumor was predominantly embryonal carcinoma, an aggressive form of testicular cancer.

Doctors soon discovered the disease had reached lymph nodes in his abdomen.

In June, Reeve underwent a grueling six-hour operation known as a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection, during which doctors removed dozens of lymph nodes.

Several were found to contain cancer.

Reeve then decided to undergo two rounds of chemotherapy in an effort to dramatically reduce the risk of the disease returning.

He began treatment in July at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where his late mother, Dana Reeve, had also received cancer treatment two decades earlier.

The experience created an emotional connection between Reeve and the parents he lost at a young age.

Christopher Reeve, best known for portraying Superman, was left paralyzed from the neck down following a horseback riding accident in 1995. He later became one of the country’s most prominent advocates for spinal cord injury research before his death in 2004 at age 52.

Dana Reeve continued that advocacy following her husband’s death. She was later diagnosed with lung cancer and died in 2006 at just 44 years old.

Will was only 13.

Now, 20 years after his mother’s death, Reeve found himself receiving cancer treatment inside the same medical institution.

“The irony is not lost on me that 20 years after my mom died of lung cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering, there I was in the same building getting treated for cancer,” Reeve told PEOPLE.

He said the experience allowed him to understand his parents’ struggles in a way he never had before.

As a cancer patient, Reeve said he gained a new perspective on what his mother endured during treatment. At the same time, relying heavily on Amanda gave him greater insight into what his father experienced while depending on Dana and the rest of the family for care following his paralysis.

Reeve also endured significant side effects from chemotherapy, including bone pain, headaches, night sweats, ringing in his ears and blood clots.

By the end of July, however, he was able to ring the bell at Memorial Sloan Kettering marking the completion of treatment.

Then came the news he had been hoping for.

At a follow-up appointment on September 8, Reeve said testing showed he was cancer-free.

Now he is speaking publicly about the diagnosis partly because of the example set by his parents.

“I was raised to share one’s struggles if, in doing so, that might help others,” Reeve told PEOPLE.

He said watching his parents turn devastating circumstances into advocacy and hope had a lasting influence on the way he approaches his own life.

Reeve also hopes his experience encourages other men not to brush off unusual changes in their bodies.

Testicular cancer is relatively uncommon, but it disproportionately affects younger men. The American Cancer Society says the average age at diagnosis is about 33 — almost exactly Reeve’s age when his cancer was discovered.

The organization estimates roughly 9,810 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2026. While any cancer diagnosis is frightening, testicular cancer is generally highly treatable, particularly when detected and treated appropriately.

For Reeve, the past several months have also reinforced how much the people around him mean to him.

He credited Amanda, his family, friends and even strangers for helping carry him through the ordeal.

“I’m going to be fine,” Reeve said. “But this was a heck of a chapter.”

After losing both parents before he was 14, Reeve said facing his own serious illness brought their experiences back into focus — while also reminding him of the support system he has built for himself as an adult.

This time, Reeve was able to walk away with the news his family had desperately hoped to hear years earlier.

For now, he remains under medical monitoring following treatment and says he wants his experience to serve as a reminder that an unusual lump or other unexplained change should not simply be ignored.