"Dancing with the Stars" hostess Brooke Burke-Charvet has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The mom of four posted a video on her Modern Mom YouTube channel, telling fans, "I need to have thyroid surgery and a thyroidectomy, which means I'm going to have a nice big scar right here across my neck."
While she has known about her cancer diagnosis since a biopsy last July, it took Brooke a few months to let the news sink in, but now says she has booked her surgery.
"I'm ready to deal with it, and I'm going to be fine," she said. "I feel really, really strong. Doctors say this is a 'good' kind of cancer to have... My doctor did tell me this is a happily ever after ending kind of thing."
While thyroid cancer is one of the most treatable cancers there is, it doesn't make the diagnosis any less scary. Here are some other celebs who've battled thyroid cancer.
Sofia Vergara
"Modern Family" star Sofia Vergara was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was 28 years old. She later told Self magazine, "I had my thyroid gland removed, then radiation. It was hard, but now I'm in remission, and the scar doesn't bother me. After the surgery in 2003, I had my son Photoshop a Frankenstein scar on my neck and sent it to my friends and said, 'I'm fine, I look perfect!' It was really funny."
Jennifer Grey
Actress Jennifer Grey may just have Brooke Burke-Charvet's show to thank for finding out her own cancer diagnosis. The "Dirty Dancing" alum said that a routine exam she had to do before competing on the 11th season of "Dancing With the Stars" revealed that she had an enlarged thyroid, which was later found to be cancerous. In a clip from the show, she said, "I found out I had cancer, and my spinal cord was compressed. " She also said, "'Dancing With the Stars' was the catalyst for saving my life."
Rod Stewart
Singer Rod Stewart had his own cancer scare in 2000, when a lump was spotted during a routine CAT scan. In an interview on "Good Morning America," the rock star said, "I always thought I was so fit. You know, I play soccer and I work out every day. I mean, the big 'C' was the furthest thing from my mind ... yeah, it was a terrible shock. I mean, I just went into total silence for a few days." After his thyroid surgery, it took nine months for Stewart to get his voice completely back.
Roger Ebert
Film critic Roger Ebert had a less successful outcome with his thyroid cancer battle, but he remains optimistic nonetheless. During a 2010 appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Ebert said he would not undergo any more surgeries to correct the facial deformities from his previous surgeries, which left him without a jaw and unable to close his mouth. "Nobody looks perfect, we have to find peace with the way we look and get on with life," he said. Today Ebert eats through a feeding tube and sometimes asks his wife to eat the foods he misses so he can enjoy them through her.
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