Summer House newbie Jesse Solomon revealed he’s a two-time cancer survivor during the Bravo show’s February 29 episode, and now, he’s offering more insight into the initial diagnosis.
“I felt like a twinge of pain in my testicle. I didn’t really think anything of it,” Solomon, 31, told Today in a profile published on Thursday, March 14. “The doctor said, ‘You know it’s probably nothing but go get an ultrasound.’”
Initially, Solomon was convinced that he had “chlamydia or something,” but the ultrasound, which he received in 2017, revealed that he had testicular cancer.
“The doctor was like, ‘Hey, so it looks like you have cancer. We won’t know for sure until we remove the testicle but that’s likely the next step,’” the Bravo star recounted. “It was a bit of a shock.”
Solomon recalled the “painful” surgery to remove his testicle, comparing it to “piranhas jumping around in your stomach while getting kicked in the nuts by a small child.”
Nearly a year after the surgery, Solomon’s doctor found cancer in the lymphnodes in his stomach — meaning he had stage 2 testicular cancer. He underwent four rounds of chemotherapy, which spanned from July to September 2018.
“I was nauseous all the time and didn’t feel great,” Solomon told Today. “I definitely lost my hair, like my eyebrows towards the end. I definitely had like tingling in the fingers and the toes and ringing in my ears.”
Solomon joined the cast of Bravo’s Summer House during season 8, which premiered last month. He hoped to raise awareness of testicular cancer with his appearance on the show.
“I thought my story could help people,” Solomon said. “A lot of people know someone who’s going through something similar whether it’s cancer or any sort of illness.”
Solomon admitted that he wasn’t “particularly concerned” with the thought of cancer before it happened to him.
“I just thought I was living a pretty healthy lifestyle and [cancer] wouldn’t affect me,” he explained. “But cancer doesn’t care about who you are, how old you are, your gender. It just affects everybody.”
During the second episode of Summer House season 8, Solomon revealed that he’s a two-time cancer survivor during a full cast dinner, noting that his five-year check-up was set to take place in August. (Summer House season 8 filmed throughout summer 2023 and his check-up is set to be featured on the show.)
“I want men to know that they should be giving themselves regular physical exams because that’s the best way to be able to tell if there’s something going on,” Solomon also told Today. “I caught it early … Maybe it will encourage other people to go and get checked.”
Summer House airs on Bravo Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
