He noticed unusual stomach and back pain at 27. Months later, he learned he had testicular cancer.

Nate Shalom, 27, pictured with his girlfriend, started experiencing abdominal and back pain before he was diagnosed with stage 2 testicular cancer.

Nate Shalom Nate Shalom, 27, didn't know about rising cancer rates in young, healthy people.

On a work trip, he happened to meet a woman whose 30-year-old son died from stage 4 colon cancer.

Her story pushed him to get his symptoms checked out.

He was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

As for many healthy young people , cancer was not on Nate Shalom's radar.

The 27-year-old, who lives in St.

Petersburg, Florida, described his lifestyle as "really active." "In a funny way, blame my girlfriend," Shalom told Business Insider.

"We both just cannot sit on the couch." The couple spent most of their time traveling, socializing with their friend group, and training for fitness challenges such as a half marathon or 75 Hard, a 75-day program that calls for two daily workouts, a gallon of water a day, and abstaining from alcohol.

It wasn't until Shalom met Kathy Lemoine, a woman whose 30-year-old son, Andrew Reaster, died from colon cancer , that Shalom learned about the rising rates of cancer among young people — including those who are fit and follow clean diets.

Shalom, who runs a business selling devices to med spas, met Lemoine in November 2025 while working at a cosmetic laser certification course in Georgia.

Shalom and Lemoine struck up a conversation.

Lemoine shared how her son's only symptom before his stage 4 diagnosis was a stomach ache and how he died six months later.

Kathy Lemoine (center), was shocked by her son, Andrew Reaster's (left) stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis.