Nate Solder was diagnosed with Cancer last year.

That Solder is a hard nut to crack.

shmessy said:

Amazing that, FOR A FULL YEAR, nothing got out of Foxboro about Solder's testicular cancer or Armond Armstead's second heart attack, however, the NFL could not handle their internal waterfall of leaks during the MERE 5 DAYS they had control of the Deflategate investigation.

The NFL is bush league compared to the New England Patriots.

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I thought Matt Light's Crohn's disease was a shocker, and that didn't come out 'til his career was over. I can't imagine a pro athlete enduring that, especially a lineman who needs to maintain size.

Ross12 said:

@PatriotsSB49: Only @ProFootballTalk's report of Solder surviving cancer would include a lede suggesting that the Patriots fudged the injury report.

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Yeah that was truly stupid by the PFF writer, Darin Gantt, as the whole thing occurred between April 12th and his return on June 30th - - there were NO injury reports due to "fudge" in that timespan - - Ganntt is just a rumor monger trying to sensationalize with that.

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12coltsfan12 says:Apr 21, 2015 9:05 AM

"Wish we could get players like this."

Colts fan

Great job by Nate of not just fighting this but still being an anchor on our championshop line.

Figures that ESPN puts this is a non-story because they would rather focus on Tebow and LeBron

Doctors determined the cancer was restricted to one testicle and hadn't spread, removed the testicle, and Solder went on to experience one of the most rewarding football seasons in his life.

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Of all the players who have probably said "I'd give my left (or right) one for a Super Bowl ring," Solder is the first to actually do it.

Kudos to Solder for pushing through and fighting a truly courageous fight.

The fans who calmly said that Solder's play was subpar and perhaps there was an undisclosed medical reason for it did nothing wrong IMO.

2 cancer survivors on the OL, wow.

Keeping it quiet for a whole year though...not too surprising they managed to keep Light having Crohnes quiet his entire career and Mankins played near enough a full season on a torn ACL (but that was just him not telling anyone right?). Government agencies aren't as water tight with information as the Patriots are!

rookBoston said:

Can I just say how proud I am of the organization and of the culture on the team that the first we've heard of this is from Solder himself, and as part of National Testicular Cancer Awareness month?

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Absolutely, even professional athletes have a right to privacy. (When it comes to medical privacy, a legal right.) Kudos to everyone who respected Solder's privacy, and to the man himself for sacrificing that privacy to help others.

As for whether fans should beat themselves up for noticing his shaky start to the season, of course not. Better to focus on a new appreciation of his incredible efforts under challenging circumstances.

It can happen to anyone..no matter how healthy or how sick. Real scary thing to think about but glad he is OK

It does put his performance in a different light. I criticized his play, I don't feel bad about it though. I never said "Solder is playing badly, what a horrible person!" or anything like that.

Rob0729 said:

I bet people who trashed him all last year probably feel guilty. Then again, probably not.

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In fairness, I don't think anyone could've anticipated he was dealing with this.

Amazing story. Impressive kid. That's pretty damn amazing.

NSPF said:

It does put his performance in a different light. I criticized his play, I don't feel bad about it though. I never said "Solder is playing badly, what a horrible person!" or anything like that.

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Exactly. The poster who earlier wrote that people who criticized his play should smash their faces into a mirror needs to ask himself where that came from.

shmessy said:

Yeah that was truly stupid by the PFF writer, Darin Gantt, as the whole thing occurred between April 12th and his return on June 30th - - there were NO injury reports due to "fudge" in that timespan - - Ganntt is just a rumor monger trying to sensationalize with that.

Best comment from the readers?

12coltsfan12 says:Apr 21, 2015 9:05 AM

"Wish we could get players like this."

Colts fan

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Who the hell is thumbing down all those comments of support? He or she must be one messed up mofo.

patchick said:

Absolutely, even professional athletes have a right to privacy. (When it comes to medical privacy, a legal right.) Kudos to everyone who respected Solder's privacy, and to the man himself for sacrificing that privacy to help others..

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I guess not an absolute legal right concerning all things, given the fact that the NFL requires injury reports. . . .

glad nate is doing well.

Let's hope he doesn't lose his other ball...then he'll start crying after someone touches him.

Luxusdk said:

And people complained about Solders play early on last year... Mayby those people should look into a mirror at smash their face into it.

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I'll hold you back Luxus, that's probably a little too far.

But I DEFINITELY understand your reaction. And: just as there's nothing wrong with anyone voicing their opinion about Solder's "decline," "poor play", "inflated contract value," or "need for a stellar guard next to him," all theories about which I was informed this year, there's nothing wrong with anyone voicing their opinion about other posters and the quality of their material.

Interesting thread. I was one of the fans that jumped on Solder's play at the beginning of the year.He looked like he had fallen off a cliff talent wise. Now I know why. I understand COMPLETELY what he went through and I understand what he underwent to get back to playing at an NFL level.

I heard the snarky 98.5 submongoloidal fecal fest a few hours ago as they fumbled around like blind lobotomy cases. I'd like to educate them and anyone else to what Solder REALLY went through.

There are TWO options when diagnosed with testicular cancer. Removal of the diseased testicle followed by an RPLND(lymph node disection). This is done in stage one cases.If no cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes, there is no chemo/radiation.

Stage 2 through 4 involves removal of the testicle and radiation/chemo. No RPLND. In some stage 1 cases there can be followup radiation and no RPLND but most urologists would want to stick with the protocols.

Since there has been no report of a two foot long scar on Solder's stomach and chest, I would assume he underwent chemo and/or radiation.That Nate Solder came back to play in the NFL and took the vicious slurs from media and fans alike is a testament to his TOUGHNESS. I, for one, will never doubt THAT or him again.

BTW testicular cancer strikes adult males between the ages of 18-34...as a rule. There is a GIGANTIC exception in our southern New England area though, where cases of TC are 5000(FIVE THOUSAND) perc cent higher than the national norm. It has struck men well into their FORTIES in our area, another outlier that many find astounding. One of the theories as to why is the prevalence of the jewelry industry in the region during the 40's, 50's ,60' and 70's and the illegal dumping of used electroplating chemicals that somehow leeched into the groundwater/reservoir supply. Just a little heads up for any of you that may feel they are exhibiting symptoms. TC is one of the most highly curable cancers there are. There is the ill-informed, basically ignorant thought process that losing a testicle somehow makes you less of a man. The truth is, at any time in a man's life ,he uses only ONE of his testicles to produce sperm. Lose one the other switches to on. There is no reason to not get checked and certainly no reason to hide from it.

If im not mistaken Nene Hilario from the Washington Wizards had the same problem when playing for the Nuggets a few years ago, took a leave of absence during the season and came back a couple months later.

What a tremendous player and person. So glad he is OK.