In a deeply personal revelation, actor David Ramsey has disclosed this week that he waged a private, under-the-radar battle against cancer earlier in his career. Ramsey, aged 54, shared the details during Monday's episode of Michael Rosenbaum's Inside Of You podcast, where he opened up about his diagnosis of testicular cancer years ago.
A Private Struggle Revealed
The Arrow star, whose colleague Stephen Amell recently courted controversy with his comments on the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, detailed how he underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatments to combat the condition. Ultimately, he lost a testicle to the disease. During his conversation with Rosenbaum, Ramsey reflected on why he had never divulged his diagnosis until this moment.
'I mean, listen, there’s a part of my personality that’s, in general, a little more, kind of, laid back and "Hey, as it comes it comes and I’m enjoying it. I love it. Period, no problem." That’s how I see the world and it’s worked for me,' he explained, via Just Jared. 'I think that’s kind of reflected in me not really sharing the story.'
He added that it wasn't that he didn't 'want to' tell his tale. 'It’s just not really my personality,' he clarified. 'Now, in more recent years, there’s an uptick in testicular cancer, there’s an uptick in cancer in general, and I should talk about this more.'
The Initial Discovery
Ramsey explained that he first noticed a problem because he was 'kickboxing a lot,' and he observed that 'one of the testes was significantly smaller than the other.' He continued, 'Now that’s true no matter what. They’re not the same. It’s like the side of your face, right? They don’t match, right? So that’s real no matter what. But one was significant. So I went to the doctor.'
According to Ramsey, his doctor initially advised him to monitor his testicles, which they did periodically over the next decade, starting when he was 28. He joked that he thought at the time, 'Do you want to take the testicle right now?' Doctors became concerned after spotting a condition called microlithiasis on ultrasounds.
People with this rare condition typically have no symptoms, but in a small number of cases, they may experience chronic fatigue, depression, hormonal imbalances, pain, or swelling of the testicles. In even rarer instances, it can lead to painful prostate stones. However, microlithiasis is not correlated with testicular cancer in most individuals, except for those with existing risk factors.
'Anyone that’s kind of gone through testicular cancer will understand "microlithiasis,"' Ramsey explained. 'That’s present if there’s cancer, but it can be present without cancer. So, they’re watching.'
The Sudden Turn
Then, around eight and a half years after his doctor first told him to watch and wait, one of his testicles swelled up to the size of his fist 'out of the blue,' though he emphasized it was 'never painful.' A trip to the doctor about the growth led to surgery to remove the testicle, followed by a chemotherapy regimen.
Although chemotherapy was challenging, Ramsey said the worst part was seeing the children who shared the waiting room with him. 'What was tougher was seeing the other kids in there going through it. You’re sitting right there and you’re kind of locked in, you’re kind of getting the stuff pumped into you and you’ve got your laptop or whatever and you’re looking to some kid who has no hair and he’s 12 years old and his mother is right there next to him,' Ramsey recalled. 'And there’s another kid and then there’s a man who’s 70 and it’s just kind of like, "I’m all right." You know what I mean? I’m all right.'
A Changed Perspective
He added that the experience transformed his approach to acting, making him more grateful for the roles he won. 'You go back to the acting and like, "Oh, you know, you’re guest starring and now it’s my time." It’s just not my perspective. My perspective is, "This is f***ing awesome, bro,"' he said. 'That’s always my perspective. All the time.'
Ramsey has been appearing in films since the late 1980s, but his big break came with the lead role in the UPN series Good News, which aired for one season starting in 1997. He had extensive roles on film and TV afterward, including a recurring role as Anton Briggs on Dexter from 2008 to 2009, and a recurring part on Blue Bloods starting in 2011.
His most prominent role to date has been in the main cast of the superhero series Arrow as Spartan, with appearances in crossover episodes of The Flash, Legends Of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman, and Superman & Lois. More recently, he appeared on two episodes of the dramatic Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot, simply titled Bel-Air.
