Survivor alum Ken McNickle has announced that he's been diagnosed with cancer.

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Ken, 43, took to Instagram on Monday, June 1 and posted a photo of him sitting in the hospital.

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Ken -- who finished as the runner-up on Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, the show's 33rd season -- captioned his photo, "That moment when you hear the words 'it's cancer' and everything becomes muted."

Ken, clearly trying to make light of a difficult situation, compared the doctor's voice to the teacher in Charlie Brown, who is impossible to comprehend and understand.

"You realize nothing is registering other than that one word," Ken admitted.

"And then the flood of questions. Why now? What did I do to deserve this? Why didn't I come in sooner? After everything else, now this? And then the feeling of defeat and you hear the words 'f-ck it' start to creep in."

Ken recalled beginning the process of "giving up" and then trying to bounce back from it.

"And then I think about my daughter, my lady and the life we want and how there's another option... to fight. Because there's always a choice," Ken noted.

"And I'm choosing optimism, health, happiness and knowing that the spirit has me. And most importantly, I'm choosing love."

Ken admitted that he briefly considered not sharing his diagnosis publicly.

However, he ultimately decided that sharing his story would be worth it if it helps others.

Ken also promised to give more details about his health crisis going forward.

"If you have a health concern, don't sit on it," he added. "Get yourself checked. There's no valid reason not to. Not one."

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While Ken didn't get into detail about what type of cancer he has, he later posted a video sharing some of the symptoms he's been dealing with.

"I waited almost a year until my skin was tearing open to get this checked. And had I gone in sooner it would have been a simple procedure, not a 3-inch hole in my chest," he said.

"I waited for almost three months seeing blood fill the stool every morning before getting it checked out and confirmed that my insides were tearing open. And I waited until that lump on my testes had grown to the size of the other two before getting it checked."

Ken criticized himself for being "so f-cking stupid," but he continued, "And then it hit me this morning. Flashes from my childhood and adolescence, hearing the words, 'Stop crying. Don't be a baby. Don't be a bitch. Stop being a p--y. Just be a man.' And yeah, I'm thinking that had something to do with it."

Ken then asked his male followers and fans to be more proactive about their health. 

"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% less likely to go to a doctor for physical ailments and 60% less likely to get help with mental and emotional issues. Why do you think it is? What needs to change?"

Ken made it to the Final 3 on his Survivor season alongside Hannah Shapiro and Adam Klein.

Adam ended up being crowned the winner and "Sole Survivor" of Season 33 in a unanimous vote.

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Ken isn't the only castaway from Survivor's 33rd season who's faced a cancer battle.

Sunday Burquest -- who finished Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X in seventh place -- was diagnosed with esophageal and ovarian cancer after her stint on the CBS reality series and died from the disease in 2021 at age 50.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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