Armstrong was also fortunate, in a sense, not to be among the minority of testes cancer patients who require abdominal lymph node surgery. In this procedure, surgeons slice the patient open from breastbone to crotch, removing the internal organs and placing them on the chest in order to reach infected lymph node patches. One of the ironies of Armstrong's illness is that since his cancer went directly from the testicle into his bloodstream, it threatened his vital organs but not his lymph nodes. Williams, still smarting at the waist, wonders whether Armstrong could have managed a Tour de France-level tour de force after lymph node surgery. I just can't believe he would have recovered as quickly.
Time is, obviously, critical.
Skater Scott Hamilton, subway shooter Bernard Goetz, Alexander Solzhenitsyn and the panda Hsing-Hsing all survived testicular cancer, but none stepped forward as role models. Armstrong has gripped the role with quiet gusto. Only six months after his diagnosis he set up a foundation to disburse grants for testicular cancer research. And his example is squarely inspirational. Hyman found out in May 1998 he had testicular cancer after being misdiagnosed for two months.