EVANSTON, Ill. Aaron Baltaytis, a Northwestern University varsity swimmer, knows about diving into the deep end. He spends almost every morning in the Norris Aquatics Center pool testing his strength and stamina during team practices.

But in May, the 19-year-old peak performer in perfect health was about to make a splash for all the wrong reasons.

“My heart definitely sunk, but I feel like I was just in so much shock that I, like my body, didn’t really feel anything,” Baltaytis said.

He had just received a devastating diagnosis: testicular cancer.

Neck deep in uncertainty, he confided in his room-and-team mate, Chris Leung.

“It just all hit me at once,” Leung said. “I just started bursting into tears in the middle of the room. Just gave him a hug.”

Then, he reached out to head coach Rachel Stratton-Mills.

“I just got a text from him that says, ‘I need to see you now. It’s important,’” she said. “This was very serious. He needed to go home the next day to get it taken care of.”

The sophomore jetted home to New Jersey. His tumor was removed at the renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer center in New York City.

Then, the deep end.

“I thought there’s a chance that I wouldn’t swim again,” Baltaytis said.

Doctors found 27 more tumors. The cancer had spread through his lymph nodes in his abdomen.

“Just hearing that I had 27 tumors inside me and I had no idea. Well, 28, is it was just crazy,” he said.

The tumors, called “teratomas” were resistant to chemotherapy. He had 12 weeks of chemotherapy anyway, just to be sure the cancer cells were killed.

During the treatment, his coach paid him a surprise visit, only to have the surprise table turned.

“I didn’t recognize him,” said Stratton-Mills. “I think that was that was hard. You know, you have this vision of this athletic, strong guy and, you know, logically what they’re going through and to walk in. His cheeks were swollen from the chemo. He had no hair. You could pick him out because he was by far the youngest person in this waiting room.”

Seeing his coach was just the motivation he needed.

“It gave me energy, and it reminded me of what I was working towards, like getting back to,” Baltaytis said.

But before he could get back to campus, he required a 9-hour surgery to remove the remaining tumors.

Just three months later he was making waves back in the pool, practicing with his team during a ‘red shirt” season.

His battle now on full public display – the scar from surgery is a symbol of survival.

“Actually, seeing it on yourself is kind of crazy,” he said. “There were like 48 staples to keep it all together, but I feel like I’ve come to love it, and it’s just it’s just a part of me now, and it’s a reminder of what I’ve been through.”