Patriots OT Nate Solder reveals son is battling kidney cancer

Nate Solder, who has battled cancer himself, revealed Monday night his infant son, Hudson, is fighting kidney cancer.

Speaking at the "Above and Beyond The Gratitude Gala," a fundraiser to benefit the Joe Andruzzi foundation, Solder announced his son has already gone through a number of rounds of chemotherapy.

"Joe asked me to speak here tonight because in April of 2014, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer," said Solder. "By the grace of God, I was able to make a full recovery and my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Hudson.

"With such a simple and easy recovery from cancer, it sure would be nice to talk about myself tonight," he continued. "However, I have nothing more about myself to say. Actually, I totally forgot about myself on October 19, the day that our three-month old baby boy was diagnosed with cancerous tumors in both of his kidneys. They called it nephroblastomatosis and a Wilms' tumor, but to us it was our worst nightmare coming true.

"Very few people here are aware of this tonight, because the ink is still wet and his battle has just begun. Personally, I didn't want to talk about Hudson tonight. However, my wife, being the courageous, caring person that she is, encouraged me to be up here tonight. It was one of the first things she said once we were able to take a pause from crying. She adamantly told me, 'Now, you have to speak at Joe's event.'

"My wife and I do not believe in accidents or coincidence. We believe that we live for a purpose and maybe part of our purpose, that our brand new child getting cancer was because tomorrow, somebody else will receive the exact same news. Maybe knowing someone else is going through the same thing, you can be a source of comfort and strength.

"Everything changed for us when I felt a strange bulge in his side one night while giving him a bath. A phone call to our pediatrician and a trip to a radiology lab in Waltham, eventually led us to the emergency room at Boston Children's Hospital, just hours later.

"The night of October 19 was a night of firsts. The first time we didn't have 'tubby time' before bed. The first time we didn't get to read a children's bible to him. The first time we spent a night away from home. The first time he had an I.V. The first time he was given anasthesia. The first time a snuggle from his mother wouldn't be enough to cure what ailed him."

Cox Media Group