Published Jun 12, 2020

A Mother’s Love & Baseball Dreams: 22-Year-old Pitcher Eric Orze, A Two Time Cancer Survivor Will Be a Met!

Diagnosed with testicular cancer at 21, the college pitcher with the 90-mph fastball, got the all-clear after two surgeries. Then cancer struck again.

Constance Costas

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Eric Orze, 22, said one of the hardest phone calls he ever had to make was to his mother, Lynn. “Every time I tell the story, I break down,” Lynn Orze told nola.com. “It was a shocker. Reality set in and it was pretty hard to wrap our minds around it.”

She and her husband, Rick, were on a plane from Illinois to Louisiana, where Eric was the University of New Orleans’ star pitcher.

Awakened by excruciating pain in his lower abdomen the night before that phone call, Orze — who was drafted to the New York Mets Thursday — was 900 miles from home when the doctor delivered stunning news. Orze, 21, had testicular cancer.

Cancer Wasn’t an Option

“Cancer wasn’t even on the list,” Orze said of his 2018 diagnosis. “I remember just laughing at the doctor and saying ‘that wasn’t an option.’ What are you talking about?’ At 21 years old, you don’t ever think you might have cancer,” he told nola.com. “And I started crying like a baby,” Orze said.

His father, Rick, says his son went from “feeling sorry for himself to ‘screw this, let’s go.” The University of New Orleans pitcher scheduled surgery right away. “It’s an athlete thing,” says Rick Orze, “You’re faced with a problem and you have a choice: You either attack it head on or you run from it.”

Two Surgeries, Then Shock

Orze attacked. His first surgery removed the tumor. Swollen lymph nodes prompted a second surgery followed by good news: the cancer hadn’t spread. Orze was ready to get his 90 mph fastball back on track. But just days after his second surgery, he returned to the ER with fluid in his lungs.

His lungs would be fine, but during that visit, the doctor noticed a mole on Orze’s back and suggested he see a dermatologist.

A Second Inning: Melanoma

This time, the diagnosis was skin cancer. Melanoma. “So now it’s a whole ‘nother process,” Orze said. “OK, I’m finally cancer-free, good to go, time to get this rehab and get back to the field and then it’s like ‘wait, wait, you got some skin cancer.’ At that point, it was more just aggravated and frustrated. I wasn’t upset. It was just frustrating that there was something else. Not to say skin cancer isn’t a big deal because it is. But the surgery isn’t as invasive.”

The deadliest skin cancer, melanoma is far more likely than other skin cancers to spread if not caught and treated early, according to the American Cancer Society. Although melanoma accounts for only about 1% of skin cancers, it causes the majority of skin cancer deaths.

When the New York Mets picked Orze in the draft on Thursday, the Orze family had more than one reason to celebrate:

Proud moment for @THEORZETEAM. The @Mets are getting a STUD#NOLAsTeamâš”ï¸ | #MLBDraft @MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/OozlzMSi9A
New Orleans âš¾ï¸ (@PrivateersBSB) June 12, 2020

How Treatable Is Testicular Cancer?

Most often, testicular cancer begins in the “germ cells,” or the cells that make sperm, and is most frequently diagnosed in men between ages 20 and 34, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Testicular cancer usually can be treated successfully, so a man's lifetime risk of dying from this cancer is very low: about 1 in 5,000.

Symptoms of testicular cancer, the institute says, can include but are not limited to: painless lump or swelling in either testicle; change in how the testicle feels; dull ache in the lower abdomen or the groin; sudden build-up of fluid in the scrotum; and pain or discomfort in a testicle or in the scrotum.

Living with Testicular Cancer

Many testicular cancer survivors find ways to live full lives with cancer. Tripp Hornick, for instance, spoke with SurvivorNet about being diagnosed with testicular cancer in college, and how he kept moving toward the goals he had set for himself.

Testicular cancer survivor Tripp Hornick talks about continuing to live his dreams during testicular cancer.

Even though he was undergoing radiation in New York, he both graduated on time from the University of Pennsylvania and performed in a musical in which he’d been cast.

"It's very important,” Tripp said, “that if you're able to, to keep on living your life.”

“Cancer Kicked Me Into Overdrive”

Although Orze missed the 2019 baseball season due to cancer, it confirmed his dedication to the game: “Having that taken away from me opened my eyes to how much I appreciated and loved the game and how much I’m willing to do for it,” Orze said.

I always tell everybody, as bizarre as it sounds, having cancer was actually good for me. It kinda opened my eyes to just how much I want to do this and how little time I have to prove … I have the ability to play at the next level,” he told nola.com.

“Cancer kicked me into overdrive,” he said, adding, “rise above everything. Fly above it. Hold yourself to a higher standard.”

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Constance Costas is a writer for SurvivorNet.

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