In one version of this tale, Dan Abrams keeps all information to himself. No public advocacy, no Today show segment, and no “check your balls” advice given with the bluntness only a man who has truly faced his own mortality can muster. In that version, he handles it discreetly, resumes his work, and moves on. In actuality, that was his initial plan.
In 2003, Abrams, who was 37 at the time, single, and working on-air at MSNBC, “completely freaked out” after finding a lump. Testicular cancer was the final diagnosis. He was informed by the Memorial Sloan Kettering doctors that there was about a 50% chance it had spread to his lymph nodes. He kept his coworkers in the dark. He did not have a press conference. He underwent treatment, kept his head down, and told hardly anyone. Such stoicism is not uncommon. But what followed was.
He learned that Sean Kimerling, a weekend sports reporter for a TV station in New York City, had also received a testicular cancer diagnosis in 2003; he was the same age as Abrams, had the same kind of cancer, and was receiving treatment at the same hospital at the same time. Within a month of receiving his diagnosis, Kimerling passed away. He hadn’t discovered it in time. Abrams did. “He almost looked like me,” Abrams later remarked, despite the fact that the two men were strangers. “That could have been me.”
Whatever barrier Abrams had erected around the encounter was breached by that insight. Prior to anything public, he made a quiet, private effort to get in touch with Kimerling’s parents. In 2004, he discussed everything on the Today show. In hindsight, it’s the kind of moment that’s easy to undervalue. Men were much less likely to talk openly about testicular cancer at the time due to its unique social discomfort and the stigma associated with masculinity and anatomy. Nevertheless, Abrams spoke.
Twenty years later, it’s remarkable how fully he appears to have processed the experience. Some people allow their illness to become their identity’s organizing principle and the prism through which everything else is viewed. Abrams specifically objected to that. He described his strategy as “Deal with it and forget about it” in general. In 2013, he no longer required yearly screenings. At one point, the cancer chapter truly came to an end.
But the tangible proof is still there. During a profile interview earlier this year, Abrams lifted his shirt to reveal a 12-inch surgical scar that ran from his chest downward. This type of scar makes it impossible to pretend the past didn’t happen, even if you’ve mostly moved on emotionally. He’s considering making a book cover out of it. Scars, Sanity, and a Six-Pack at 60 is the working title. It’s either a really good idea or, perhaps more accurately, a very Dan Abrams idea.
The man’s output is still nearly aggressive in scope at sixty. He is the chief legal analyst at ABC News, hosts a SiriusXM show, owns a vineyard named after his two children, runs the content studio Law&Crime, which recently acquired Court TV, hosts On Patrol: Live on Reelz, and recently opened a bistro in Manhattan’s Flatiron District that is actually hard to get a reservation at. George Stephanopoulos, his friend, describes him as someone who is constantly on the lookout for opportunities and has the drive to seize them. That makes sense.
Observing someone perform at this specific pitch makes it difficult to avoid wondering how much the cancer influenced it. That interpretation would likely be rejected by Abrams. However, there’s something about the way he describes the experience that suggests it left a mark deeper than any scar, such as his pride in speaking up, the counseling he’s offered to other men with the same diagnosis, and the casual directness with which he now discusses the entire thing. As a point of reference rather than as a defining trauma. A drama-free reminder of what really counts, stored somewhere practical and occasionally brought up.
He found the cancer on his own. Before deciding not to, he kept it a secret. He made it out alive. And now, twenty years later, he seems more interested in continuing with what seems to be a truly full life—wine, television, legal commentary, restaurant reservations, and all—than in becoming a symbol of anything.
FAQs
1. When was Dan Abrams diagnosed with testicular cancer?
He was diagnosed in 2003 while working on-air at MSNBC.
2. How did Dan Abrams discover his cancer?
He self-discovered the lump himself before seeking medical confirmation.
3. Why did Dan Abrams finally go public with his diagnosis?
Fellow journalist Sean Kimerling’s death from the same cancer compelled him.
4. Is Dan Abrams still cancer-free today?
Yes — he stopped needing annual screenings in 2013.
5. Where was Dan Abrams treated for testicular cancer?
He received treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.