Ringing the Bell After Beating Testicular Cancer [Video]

Jon DeWitt had been dealing with pain down below. “I think I felt a mass on the side of my left my left testicle. I’m like, I think this is something we should probably get checked out.”

At 34 years old, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He said, “I immediately went in and saw Dr. Klink, and within a day he had surgery lined up, had the CAT scans done, had read the CAT scans, and had a game plan to attack it as fast as possible.”

Dr. Joseph Klink surgically removed the cancerous testicle and put in a prosthetic. Since it spread to his stomach and lung, he still needed chemotherapy. He went through 4 rounds of chemo at the new Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Cancer Clinic at the Bonita Health Center. “Absolutely awesome care,” said DeWitt. “I mean, never once did I feel uncomfortable. It didn’t, never once did I feel like I couldn’t talk to somebody about what was going on, how I was feeling, different side effects from the treatment. I was able to be very clear and vocal about everything.”

Jon’s wife works for the Lee Health Cancer Institute. More than a year before his own cancer diagnosis, Jon purchased and donated the bells that patients ring when they complete their treatment. “That was a little surreal. I didn’t think I’d ever be the one ringing that bell. I got it for other people to enjoy, and it turned out something that I got to enjoy,” said DeWitt. “It’s like running a marathon and crossing that ribbon at the finish line. Like, it’s a celebration of you accomplished something, and your team of doctors and nurses helped you accomplish something that, you know, 10, 15 years ago might have been a death sentence for somebody.” Jon is now doing much better thanks to early detection and personalized care.

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Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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