FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots left tackle Nate Solder takes pride in his team-first approach, which means he often avoids speaking about himself. He's making an exception on this topic with the hope he might help others.

Solder was diagnosed with testicular cancer in April 2014, which shocked him because he felt healthy and there was no history of it in his family.

Doctors determined the cancer was restricted to one testicle and hadn't spread, removed the testicle, and Solder went on to experience one of the most rewarding football seasons in his life. He started every game and served as quarterback Tom Brady's blindside protector in a season that culminated with a Super Bowl XLIX championship.

One year after the initial diagnosis, Solder is now sharing his story. The timing feels right, as April is National Testicular Cancer Awareness month.

"I knew nothing about it. It was a complete surprise," said Solder, who turned 27 on April 12 and enters his fifth NFL season in 2015. "You Google something like that and it kind of scares you, so I was like, 'I'm not going to freak out about this.' Had I not had a routine physical, I probably wouldn't have checked it, saying, 'Oh, it's just in my head, I'm going to be fine.'"

According to the American Cancer Society, testicular cancer can develop in males of any age, including infants and elderly men. Almost half of all cases are in men between the ages of 20 and 34.

A man's lifetime chance of getting testicular cancer is about one in 263, and the risk of dying from the cancer is about one in 5,000.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4780526/patriots-nate-solder-diagnosed-with-testicular-cancer-in-14-spreads-awareness