In 2000, Tom Green was at the height of his career. The Canadian comedian’s eponymous cable access program, The Tom Green Show, launched him to stardom after it moved to MTV, and he landed roles in big box office hits like Charlie’s Angels and Road Trip.
But that same year, Green, then 28, received the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. “It definitely was a complete life-changing experience,” he tells Q‘s Tom Power. “It was terrifying — completely terrifying and traumatic.”
Following his diagnosis, Green had his right testical and his lymph nodes removed. He says the timing couldn’t have been worse for the show, as the whole crew had only just recently moved from New York to Los Angeles before having to press pause on the whole production as he recovered from surgery.
WATCH | Tom Green’s interview with Tom Power:
With The Tom Green Show at the top of the ratings, Green didn’t want to stop — and then he got an idea. “I started realizing this is something we could make a special about,” he says.
In a candid one-hour MTV special titled The Tom Green Cancer Special, Green used his signature brand of shock humour to document the time leading up to his surgeries, including graphic footage of his procedures.
It changed me in many positive ways. It made me realize what’s important.– Tom Green
The episode received widespread critical acclaim for raising awareness of testicular cancer, and the comedian also established a charity called Tom Green’s Nuts Cancer Fund to raise money for cancer research.
“There was definitely a good week there where I had no intention of telling anybody that I had testicular cancer, let alone doing a television special about it,” Green tells Power. “[But] I started to realize this would actually help people because young men get testicular cancer between the ages of 15 and 35 … which was totally our audience.”
As shocking and painful as the experience was, Green now looks back on it as “a very positive thing” in his life because it changed his perspective on work and ambition, making him pay attention to the things that really matter in life.
“I actually am glad that I got testicular cancer,” he says. “I actually am. It changed me in many positive ways. It made me realize what’s important and I don’t think I’d be the person I am today if I hadn’t been through that.”
And Green still hasn’t lost his sense of humour about it. “They took my right testicle, I still have the left one — it’s the middle one now,” he jokes.
The full interview with Tom Green is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Tom Green produced by Lise Hosein.