For the third time in the past year, a member of the U of L Pronghorns Men’s Hockey team is facing a battle with testicular cancer. Lethbridge native and ‘Horns captain Brock Hirsche revealed Tuesday night that he’s been diagnosed with the disease.
“Friday, right before the game in Regina we were driving on the bus to the rink and I got a message to call my doctor,” said Hirsche.
Hirsche, who hadn’t been feeling well, had undergone tests in prior weeks to find out what was wrong.
“I mean, it wasn’t a huge shock,” said Hirsche. “You can only feel bad for so long, and you know your body. Feeling bad for four to six weeks you’re like, ‘I’m not just sick, something’s wrong.’”
The team’s goaltender Dylan Tait and athletic therapist Brennan Mahon faced the same battle and successfully won.
“We’ve dealt with this twice before now, with myself and Brennan,” said Tait. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to do this one more time for Brock. Then basically you’re just ready to drop absolutely everything, and do whatever needs.”
Tait’s been right by Hirsche’s side since the diagnosis, doing his best to share his experience and support his friend. He joined his captain at a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday.
“I was in there writing notes furiously most of the time so we could take a step back after and look at everything,” said Tait. “You wouldn’t have been able to drag me out of that room today.”
Hirsche, who’s known Tait since his minor hockey years, appreciates the support.
“The first night I found out we talked for about two hours and he ran me through everything,” said Hirsche. “I can’t thank Dylan enough for being by my side.”
Hirsche is set to start chemotherapy on Monday which he says is planned to take place over the next nine weeks. But the man his teammates call ‘the moose’ because of his toughness is ready to fight.
“It is what it is, I’m not going to stress about it really,” said Hirsche. “It’s going to be a tough road here for the next few weeks. But I’m fully prepared to beat it, we’ve had guys beat it before.”
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