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‘Deadliest Catch’: Does Nick Have Cancer? Mystery Illness Dogs Summer Bay Crewmember

By Aaron Homer
Published on: 06:16 PST, Apr 27, 2017

Deadliest Catch star Nick is afraid he has cancer, although it appears he’s unwilling to get it checked out and find out for certain.

As you can see in the clip below via the Discovery Channel, Summer Bay deck boss Nick McGlashan has been “operating at half speed” for some time due to an undisclosed illness.

Clearly his boss, Captain Jake Anderson, is worried.

“I honestly don’t know what to think is gonna happen to Nicky when he gets into town. They’re gonna tell him, ‘You need to get hospitalized.'”

In the clip, you can hear Nick’s colleagues begging him to get help. And as it turns out, he’s been seen for his mystery illness before, but he didn’t follow through with treatment.

“I spent a while in the hospital, back in April… They told me that my white blood cell count is supposed to be a five to a seven, mine was in the 60’s. And so I just left the hospital. Like ‘Alright, I’m out.’ Pull my IV’s out and go.”

So why did he bail on the doctors as soon as he realized that things weren’t right? For the same reason that he’s reluctant to go be seen again.

“I’m scared. Like, I’m so f***ing scared of what the doctor’s gonna tell me. It’s something much more serious than an infection in my lungs.”

So does this mean that Nick has cancer? It’s impossible to tell, of course, absent an official diagnosis from a medical professional, combined with an official statement from either Nick himself or his bosses at the Discovery Channel. Further, armchair medical diagnosis of a stranger you only know on TV is a dangerous game to play.

However, Nick’s symptoms don’t necessarily point to cancer (they could point to any number of things, including but not limited to cancer). Further, it’s not clear if he has any other symptoms of cancer. Let’s take a look at the facts.

Fatigue, Confusion, High White Blood Cell Count

Nick appears to have touched upon a likely reason for his mystery illness when talking to his fellow crew members about it: an infection, possibly in his lungs. If this were the case, he’d have very little energy (as evidenced by his actions on the show) and his white blood cell count would be high (and by the way: when a doctor tells you your white blood cell count is ten times normal limits, that is NOT an indication that you need to flee the hospital).

Further, his job would make him a prime candidate for a lung infection. Being exposed to all of the pathogens that plague the crabs he and his crew bring up, the cold and wet conditions of the open Bering Sea, and the grueling physical labor of his job all make him a prime candidate for infection. And the good news for Nick is that the majority of bacterial infections are easily treatable these days.

Does Nick Have Other Symptoms of Cancer?

According to the American Cancer Society, there are some generalized signs and symptoms of cancer to be on the lookout for. Those do include fatigue, but they also include swollen glands and lymph nodes, unexplained weight loss, and diarrhea. If Nick has those symptoms, the Discovery Channel isn’t showing them.

Go Get Help, Nick!

It’s understandable that Nick would be afraid of getting diagnosed with cancer, but he’s not going to be any better off by ignoring it. What’s more, while cancer is no picnic, it’s hardly the death sentence that it once was. Specifically, according to WebMD, testicular, thyroid, and prostate cancer, to name a few, are all quite curable.

If you’re reading this, Nick (or anyone else who suspects they may have cancer), go get it checked out immediately if not sooner. While many forms of cancer are treatable, the longer you ignore it, the worse off you’ll be.

[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]

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