Rower's drug test reveals cancer

Ruhe with a full head of hair

Random drug tests in rowing rank somewhere in line with a necessary inconvenience. For stroke of Germany’s Olympic eight Michael Ruhe, it may have saved his life.

A random doping test for Ruhe just before this year’s Lucerne World Cup came back with an irregularity. ?The hormone (bHCG) which women produce when they are pregnant was high,? says Ruhe. ?It also indicates in men that they have testicular cancer.?

Ruhe has been rowing since he was 12 years old. He is a junior champion, has numerous World Cup medals and two World Championship medals and last year he stroked Germany’s premier boat, the men’s eight, to an Olympic fourth place finish. Ruhe is 25 years old. There is no history of cancer in his family.

?At first I couldn’t really believe what it meant for me. Before this I always thought that I could participate at the World Championships, but at this point it didn’t matter any more.?

There is nothing unusual about an athlete ignoring pain so it is only in retrospect that Ruhe can appreciate the signs. ?One week before (diagnosis) I could feel something hard in my testicles, but I couldn’t think what it could be. Also I got heavier after the Munich World Cup. I didn’t know why. We were training hard so normally I wouldn’t gain weight. But nothing hurt. I felt ok.?

The reaction of Ruhe’s friends and team mates was one of shock. ?Everyone could tell me a story about someone that they know who had cancer. They tried to bolster me.?

Ruhe after chemotherapy with team mate Johannes Doberschütz

Three days after racing at Lucerne Ruhe was admitted to hospital. The next day he underwent an operation to take out the primary cancer. But the cancer had spread and two weeks later Ruhe endured a second operation. ?They took out lymph nodes in my stomach,? describes Ruhe. ?They took out 14, six with cancer.?

Ruhe says the first operation wasn’t so bad. ?I have a cut of 7-8 cm.? The second operation was harder and an 18cm scar now runs across Ruhe’s stomach. Ruhe then had to endure two circuits of chemotherapy. 

During chemotherapy treatment Ruhe admits he couldn’t do much sport. ?The team doctor said I could train up to a heart rate of 130 (beats per minute), but at first just putting on my training clothes already put me at 135.?

The most famous son of testicular cancer, Lance Armstrong was Ruhe’s inspiration during treatment. Armstrong was also 25 when he was treated for testicular cancer. Armstrong then came back to win the Tour de France seven times.  ?My first week in hospital was the time of the Tour de France and the only thing I could do was watch TV,? says Ruhe. ?I also read the two books of Lance. This was good inspiration.? 

 ?A lot of people ask me if having cancer has changed my outlook on life. It hasn’t really. I realised during the time what I’d done before was fun for me. I liked my life before, so I don’t want to change it ? the rowing part and my private life ? I like both.?

Ruhe (with Hanno Wienhausen) at the German trials earlier this year

For the next couple of years Ruhe must have a check up every three months. Then after five years the chance of a relapse are slim and the risk of getting testicular cancer again run at about three percent.

Testicular cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer for men aged 15-35 and during the last couple of decades the number of cases has been steadily rising. There is no known reason for it but it is known to be more common in men with a history of undescended testicles and also more common amongst white males than blacks and Asians. If detected early it is highly treatable with a 90 percent cure rate.

Ruhe has every intention of trying out for the German national team again, but for now he is focusing on his studies in economics before returning to training.

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