Last May, Fernando Llaneza was competing at the Europe Semifinals.
The 28-year-old from Spain, who started CrossFit 11 years ago, was competing well, finishing a respectable 24th overall at his first Semifinal competition.
Competing against some of the fittest athletes in the world seems like a lifetime ago, though, as Llaneza finds himself going through chemotherapy for testicular cancer.
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How It Went Down
During Semifinals, however, Llaneza started experiencing some back pain.
- He wasn’t worried, as “CrossFit athletes have everyday pain, so I thought it was typical back pain,” he explained in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up.
So he popped some anti-inflammatories and continued with the competition.
The pain got worse after Semifinals. And it didn’t feel muscular; it felt more internal and started to move to his abdomen.
Still, Llaneza, the owner of ANTWORK Training Center in Madrid, Spain, brushed it off, increased the pain medication a bit, and continued to train.
By the end of the summer, he had increased his pain meds from two to three each day. At that moment, he realized, “I think I have to go to the doctor.”
After that, everything happened quickly. Llaneza was diagnosed with testicular cancer; however, his tumor was in his intestines.
He had surgery to remove his testicle on September 4 and started chemotherapy to shrink and hopefully kill the tumor on September 17, his birthday.
- “It was really hard news when we discovered I have cancer. I was coming off my best performance and was doing so well, and then suddenly I had cancer,” Llaneza said.
Where He Is Today
Llaneza is two months into chemotherapy, and with one cycle to go, he has lost 33 pounds. In many ways, he feels like a shell of his former self.
- “It’s a roller coaster. One minute, I can be feeling good and with energy, but then I need sleep and I wake up feeling so bad. I don’t have one day where the entire day is good feelings,” he said.
What does help, however, is continuing to train at home on the days when he’s feeling strong.
- “In the first cycle of [chemotherapy], it was impossible to work out because the pain was so high, but now I am doing a little bit of training. I’m not going to call it CrossFit, not at the level I was at, but when I work out, I feel so much better,” he said.
He added: “Mentally, it is helping me so much…It’s something that gives me life.”
Llaneza also said he’s thankful for the greater Spanish CrossFit community, which has supported him since his diagnosis. He’s especially for his coaching team, who quickly stepped in to cover everything that needs to be done to keep his gym running as he’s recovering at home.
Ultimately, as difficult as the last three months have been, Llaneza is confident that he will reclaim the fitness he had.
- “When I have bad days, I can’t imagine doing the same things that I was doing, but when I have good days, I feel strong, and I feel it is possible,” he said.
He concluded: “I’m going to fight to be as fit as I was before. I will do everything, everything I can to be back.”
LLaneza’s Request: If someone is reading this who has experienced, or is experiencing, a similar type of cancer, Llaneza said he would love for them to reach out to him.
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Featured image: @flako.media / Instagram
