O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 26

BOUNCING BACK
The dream and the diagnosis
Hurtado grew up in Venezuela and developed a passion
for playing basketball at a young age.
“When I started playing, I just fell in love with the sport,”
Hurtado said.
His talent took him to UAB, where he is now a student in
the Collat School of Business. In his second season as a
Blazer, Hurtado was working out all the time, trying to
get in the best shape of his life.
“In practice, there were times that my back hurt,”
Hurtado said. “I thought everything was good.”
In addition to the back pain, he began to experience
intense abdominal discomfort. Hurtado went for testing
and soon learned his diagnosis – testicular cancer.
“At this age, it’s like, why is this happening to you? You
don’t understand,” Hurtado said. “I just was crying
because, at the time, I didn’t know what was going on.”
Former UAB basketball coach Rob Ehsan remembers
feeling thankful that Hurtado was at a university with
a world-renowned medical center that is home to the
O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB.
“When we found out who the UAB doctors were and
what they could do for him and the success rate and how
healthy he was,” Ehsan said, “it put a quick ease to our
minds and our concerns that, while this was going to be
difficult, he was going to get through it.”
The team approach
Like basketball, medical care requires teamwork.
Hurtado’s medical team included urologists, oncologists
and UAB sports medicine staff including O’Neal Cancer
Center physician-scientists Jeffrey Nix, M.D., and Mollie
deShazo, M.D. Nix performed Hurtado’s surgery, while
deShazo supervised his chemotherapy treatment.
“Being at a large hospital like this, we have great
communication,” deShazo said. “We all have each
other’s cellphones and are talking all the time – all day
long – about patients that we share.”
Heath Hale, M.D., medical director and head team
physician for UAB Athletics, said the coordination of care
was crucial for Hurtado.
“It really was just a great example of a team effort by
our providers here at UAB wanting to support the
success of one of our student-athletes,” Hale said.
According to deShazo, testicular cancer can be common
in younger men, a population who may not be as
generally concerned about their health as other age
groups. She emphasized the importance of Hurtado’s
sharing his story to encourage others his age to pay
close attention to their health.
“There’s nothing he did to get this cancer. It’s just bad
luck, as most cancers are,” deShazo said. “He has dealt
with it head-on, and I hope that it increases awareness
for this younger population.”
In June 2019, Hurtado celebrated his last chemotherapy
treatment. When basketball season resumed, deShazo
was not surprised to see him out on the court.
“I got this text of him playing basketball that Dr. Hale
sent me. Like, ‘Here he is, back at it,’” deShazo said. “It’s
rewarding as a physician to think, ‘He’s come a long way,
and look at him now.’ He’s such a great person, such a
role model.”
“This was a grind with a lot of unknowns,” said Hale of
Hurtado’s treatment. “He faced it with courage and just
remained steady. He never seemed to lose hope and
always displayed a lot of character that proved to be and
continues to be such an inspiration to us all.”
Comeback on the court
Hurtado worked hard to get back into good enough
shape to play basketball. The support of his doctors,
teammates, family and friends fueled his comeback.
“That was awesome, how much people really bought
into my recovery and bought into ‘He’s going to be well.
He’s going to be back to himself again,’” Hurtado said.
When his first shot attempt, the 3-pointer, fell through
the net during his first game back, Hurtado had to fight
back tears.
“I wanted to call a timeout and cry and sit on the bench
for the rest of the game,” Hurtado said. “The shot goes
in, and it’s like, like God has a purpose for me, and I was
so thankful for the opportunity.”
“When the ball left his hand, I knew it was in,” Ehsan said.
“You talk about just a moment from up above.”
Watch UAB basketball player Luis Hurtado
open up about his testicular cancer
diagnosis and his road to recovery:
go.uab.edu/bouncingback
24 O’NEAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER AT UAB