By Jeromy Corrigan

Waite

Waite back to focusing on hockey following battle with cancer

Jun 2, 2020 | 4:15 PM

While everyone has been dealing with the challenges of Covid-19 over the span of the last 3 months, Spruce Kings blueliner Mason Waite has faced some other challenges this off-season, one which he is now completely free of.

“I wasn’t feeling sick or anything. I just had a certain suspicion that maybe I should get this checked out,” stated Waite.

That’s how an extremely difficult month started for the Spruce Kings defenceman while he was back home in Winnipeg. He then called his doctor, beginning the process of getting a check up with both doctors and a specialist on a Thursday and Friday, went in for blood work Monday and then the next day received an update.

“Tuesday morning I got an ultrasound and then Tuesday night I had already received the call from the specialist that I had testicular cancer.”

Despite the shocking news and the ongoing pandemic, Waite was fortunate enough to receive a phone call the very next day from the surgeon asking if he wanted to get the surgery done that day, and he did. A whirlwind 48 hours for the 19-year-old.

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“I was never scared or anything like that because I think I was expecting it and then for it all to happen so quickly from the first phone call from Thursday to Wednesday for that to all happen and to be under for surgery, you don’t have much time to process those types of things,” shared Waite.

While it was a shocking moment for his entire family, Waite remained positive during the whole situation and one month following the surgery he received the call saying he was cancer-free.

“I got a call from cancer care about two or three weeks ago saying I was all cleared and my previous blood test came back all good. I was really fortunate I didn’t have to go through chemo and I got the all-clear about basically the same day as that 4 week period of when I wasn’t supposed to lift. So I got that call and within 3 hours I was back in my garage lifting with my buddy.”

After an extremely difficult month for Waite and his entire family, now his attention turns to getting ready for his final year of Junior hockey, and he is looking forward to getting back on the ice with his teammates.

“I’m super excited. Great group of guys and a majority of them are coming back. So it won’t be like last year where everyone took a couple of months to warm up to each other. So we are coming back with 12-13 same guys and it’s going to be good right from the start and I am just really excited to get back on the ice.”