‘Life altering, insurance loathing, hope, and scary’

Jake Lynch of Kansas City, Missouri, said he wouldn’t have kids if he hadn’t had cancer.

“About a year and a half after I was married, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Luckily, I found it very early, and all I needed was surgery. That will be six years ago next month.

“Being a cancer survivor, cancer has impacted my life in multiple ways. The biggest way it has impacted me is that it made me reevaluate my life, and gave insight on how important it was to me to have a family.

“It is terrifying. However, I learned that you need to have a good attitude through the whole thing and be able to joke about it. It sounds morbid, but if you can't laugh, then it will eat you alive.”

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Jake’s six words to describe his cancer experience are “Life altering, insurance loathing, hope, and scary.” Share your six words here.

Jake’s words, which were shared digitally through Tell KC, have been lightly edited for clarity.

As part of a local reporting project around the upcoming Ken Burns documentary series, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, KCPT presents Cancer in KC.

We want to learn more about how cancer affects our community. How has cancer impacted your life? Share your story.