He noticed unusual stomach and back pain at 27. Months later, he learned he had testicular cancer.

• Nate Shalom, 27, didn't know about rising cancer rates in young, healthy people.
• On a work trip, he happened to meet a woman whose 30-year-old son died from stage 4 colon cancer.
• Her story pushed him to get his symptoms checked out. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

As for many healthy young people, cancer was not on Nate Shalom's radar.

The 27-year-old, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, described his lifestyle as "really active." "In a funny way, blame my girlfriend," Shalom told Business Insider. "We both just cannot sit on the couch."

The couple spent most of their time traveling, socializing with their friend group, and training for fitness challenges such as a half marathon or 75 Hard, a 75-day program that calls for two daily workouts, a gallon of water a day, and abstaining from alcohol.

It wasn't until Shalom met Kathy Lemoine, a woman whose 30-year-old son, Andrew Reaster, died from colon cancer, that Shalom learned about the rising rates of cancer among young people — including those who are fit and follow clean diets.

Shalom, who runs a business selling devices to med spas, met Lemoine in November 2025 while working at a cosmetic laser certification course in Georgia.

Shalom and Lemoine struck up a conversation. Lemoine shared how her son's only symptom before his stage 4 diagnosis was a stomach ache and how he died six months later.

"Her story was really eye-opening," Shalom said. Lemoine was proactive about spreading the word and encouraging young people to get symptoms checked out. "I'm like, 'Ok, I'm the exact age group as her son.'"

Six months later, when he started experiencing pain in his right testicle, abdomen, and lower back, Shalom followed her advice.

That's when he learned he had stage 2 testicular cancer.

His doctor first thought it was an infection

Shalom's first symptom was a dull pain in just his right testicle — something he hadn't experienced before.

"Typically, if you get hit down there, both hurt," Shalom said. Then, his testicle doubled in size, followed by the stomach and back pain.

Shalom asked his close friends if they ever had similar symptoms. When they all said no, he knew the pain was not going away on its own.

He booked an appointment in May 2026 with a urologist, who suspected Shalom just had an infection and told Shalom that his symptoms didn't really line up with cancer. Still, as a precaution, the doctor offered to perform an ultrasound. Shalom agreed.

"After the first appointment, I was pretty optimistic," Shalom said, anticipating taking a simple prescription medication.

A few weeks later, Shalom got a call from the office. A mass was found in his right testicle. By June, an MRI confirmed that he had stage 2 testicular cancer because the cancer had spread to an abdominal lymph node.

Shalom was in shock, and worried about how to break the news to his family. Even after he heard Lemoine's story, he remembered thinking the likelihood that he would also have cancer was pretty much impossible, especially given that he had no family history of cancer.

"I know it's very cliché to say when people are like, 'Oh, I never thought it'd be me,'" Shalom said. "But actually, in that moment, I'm like, 'Ok, I'm now going to have to deal with cancer, and I never thought I would have to.'"

Navigating treatment was tricky

While Shalom said the advantage of being an entrepreneur has been flexible hours, the downside is figuring out how to balance work with treatment, including scheduling appointments.

"Everything falls on me," Shalom said, whose work requires a lot of travel and in-person meetings. "I'm very behind on everything. I've missed out on deals, for sure."

Following his ultrasound, Shalom was scheduled for surgery to remove his right testicle in early June, and he was told the next available appointment for the accompanying MRI, which would confirm if the cancer had spread, was in August, two months later.

He said it took him "probably 2 to 3 hours" out of his day to push for an earlier MRI appointment, scheduled the day before his surgery.

Shalom also had to navigate his health insurance, adding supplemental surgical coverage — an extra $300 per month — which he didn't realize he needed until one of his family members told him to.

"There are just a bunch of little things that you figure on the way that you're like, 'I didn't even think of this,'" Shalom said. "'And thank God that one person just mentioned that.'"

Ultimately, he said that Lemoine's story reminded him of the importance of acting quickly: "It kept me from brushing it off or being comfortable waiting longer."

He stays in touch with the woman who warned him first

Shalom is currently halfway through a three-round chemotherapy treatment, expected to end in late September. Each round has involved him staying at the hospital for five days in a row, getting infusions for five hours per day, then having one infusion visit per week for the next two weeks.

So far, he's experienced some strong side effects, including losing all his hair and feeling constantly nauseous and fatigued. He said he's grateful for his support system, including his girlfriend, parents, stepdad, and friends, who've gone to appointments with him and frequently check in.

He's also thankful he met Lemoine, who came down to Florida to surprise him after his surgery. He said her story made him realize how easy it was to brush off symptoms, particularly when you're young and healthy.

What stuck out to him was her wishing her son had gotten some sort of screening sooner, even though Reaster had no known symptoms prior to his stomach ache right before diagnosis.

"She was like, 'If we just got it checked out a year ago, maybe it could have been different,'" Shalom said. "If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would've really gotten checked out."

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