ATLANTA — “Golden Bachelor” Gerry Turner announced Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with incurable cancer.
Turner told People Magazine that he was diagnosed with slow-growing bone marrow cancer in March.
During the reality competition show, Turner chose Theresa Nist as his bride in November 2023. The couple announced in January that they had wed, and three months after marriage, they said they were divorcing.
At the time, the couple said that distance had played a factor as they had lived in different states.
But the 72-year-old Turner told People that finding his way with Nist “became less of a priority.”
“As Theresa and I were trying very hard to find our lifestyle and where we were going to live and how we were going to make our life work, I was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer,” Turner told the magazine.
Turner said he injured his shoulder three years ago, but never went to have it checked out.
“I got around to going and the orthopedic surgeon said, ‘Yeah Gerry, there’s not much we can do for your shoulder, but there are some unusual blood markers here,’” Turner said. “And so an orthopedic surgeon went to my family doctor, my family doctor referred me to an oncologist, and now I’m working with a hematology-oncology group in Fort Wayne.”
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Turner was ultimately diagnosed with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. He said, according to the Mayo Clinic, the disease changes white blood cells into cancer cells and builds up in the bone marrow.
“Unfortunately, there’s no cure for it. So that weighs heavily in every decision I make,” Turner told the magazine. “It was like 10 tons of concrete were just dropped on me. And I was a bit in denial for a while, I didn’t want to admit to it.”
After learning about the diagnosis, he told Nist what he knew at the time.
“Certainly, it was hard for me,” Turner said. “But the conversation was brief and I think [she was] a little bit awestruck by the news. So understandable.”
“I wanted my life to continue on as normal as possible, and that led me to believing that as normal as possible more meant spending time with my family, my two daughters, my two son-in-laws, my granddaughters,” he said. “And the importance of finding the way with Theresa was still there, but it became less of a priority.”
Turner says he wishes Nist all the best and he plans on enjoying every moment of his life.
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