TCM just showed Brian's Song. I hadn't seen it since it first aired on ABC in 1971. I was a freshman at TCU, living in Waits Dorm. When it ended, I went down the hall to the communal bathroom to wash my tear-stained face. As I did, all the other doors opened with gals doing the same. And after 53 years, I think I teared up just as much this time. It was short - 1hr and 13 min - but groundbreaking. Nielsen ratings back then showed that it was viewed on 1/3 of all televisions in the US.
Although the movie intimated that Brian Piccolo had lung cancer, a post on Imdb stated the following:
"While it was not mentioned in the film for reasons of delicacy on prime time TV,
Brian Piccolo had a metastasized version of testicular cancer ("testicle" was a censored word). He underwent multiple, extremely painful surgeries that, among other things, included a mastectomy, the removal of a chest wall, and a orchiectomy (removal of the testicle). The surgeon was later described as being too gung-ho because at the time and with the cancer at such an advanced state, there was nothing that could actually be done and the best thing should have been to focus on quality of life, as Brian's chances were virtually zero."
Thank goodness, medicine has certainly progressed since then. Testicular cancer is much more treatable now.