New England Patriots offensive co-captain Nate Solder prefers to keep the spotlight on his team rather than on himself—unless it means saving lives.
Nate went public with his bout with testicular cancer on NESN in April 2015, a year after his diagnosis and treatment. Just 26 at the time, Nate mentioned during a routine team physical that he felt something odd around his testicle. An ultrasound revealed the cancer, and Nate underwent surgery three days later. Nate missed a few off-season workouts, but went on to start every game of the 2014 season, which culminated in the Patriots winning Super Bowl XLIX. Nate attributes his excellent outcome to early detection and strongly urges men to perform regular self-examinations.
Nate and his family’s cancer journey, unfortunately, did not end there. Four months after welcoming their baby boy, Hudson, in July 2015, Nate and his wife, Lexi, revealed that a Wilms’ tumor, also known as a nephroblastoma, had been discovered in the infant’s kidneys. Nate shared the news at a benefit for the Joe Andruzzi Foundation and tweeted a photo of a smiling Hudson taken at Boston Children’s Hospital where he is undergoing chemotherapy. Nate hoped he could provide comfort and strength to other families undergoing the same struggle.
“For Nate to share his family’s story so openly is incredibly brave,” says Jason Efstathiou, MD, PhD, director of the Genitourinary Services in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mass General. “He has brought invaluable awareness to both the importance of early detection of testicular cancer and the need for funding childhood cancer research.”
