A Florida journalist said he discovered he had cancer after a viewer e-mailed him concerned about a lump in his neck.
Victoria Price, a reporter for NBC affiliate WFLA-TV in Tampa, said the viewer sent her an email last month and encouraged Price to see her doctor.
“As a journalist, you have been at full speed since the pandemic began. Endless changes in an endless news cycle. Adjusting to remote workflows and, in my case, taking on a new investigative role,” Price wrote on its pages. social networks. Thursday. “We were covering the most important health story in a century, but my health was the furthest thing from my mind.”
The reporter shared the email she received from the viewer.
“Hi, I just saw your news report. What worries me is the lump on your neck. Please check your thyroid,” it said. “It reminds me of my neck. Mine turned out to be cancer. Take care of yourself.”
Price said the lump in his neck is cancerous and is in the middle of his thyroid, pushing the gland up and out, causing a “subtle bulge.” He will undergo surgery on Monday to remove the tumor, his thyroid and a pair of nearby lymph nodes.
“The doctor says it is spreading, but not too much, and we hope this is my first and last procedure,” he wrote. “If I had never received that email, I would never have called my doctor. The cancer would have continued to spread. It is a terrifying and humiliating thought.”
Price ended his post by saying that he will “always be grateful” to the viewer who sent him an email.
“She had no obligation, but she did it anyway. Talk about being on your side, huh? The world is a difficult place these days. Don’t forget to take care of yourself. Take care of each other. I love everyone and see you soon, “he wrote.
Thyroid cancer, until recently, was the fastest growing cancer in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. This is largely due to increased detection and “appears to be the result of using more sensitive diagnostic procedures” that can detect small incidental thyroid nodules that may not have been found in the past.
Women are three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than men, the organization said.
The WFLA tweeted Price’s post on Twitter and said they were “sending all our love” and wished him a speedy recovery.
Several journalists sent the journalist encouraging messages.
“Wow truly ‘8 on your side’ @WFLA @WFLAVictoria sending you DC support,” Nexstar Media Group Washington correspondent Kellie Meyer tweeted. “Amazing story. Thanks for sharing and you have this girl!”
“I’m sorry to hear this, I wish you well,” KLBK meteorologist Nick Kraynok tweeted. “I had cancer, along with six weeks of chemotherapy eight years ago, if you need anything or have any questions, please let me know!”
WTVT reporter Haley Hinds called the viewer who e-mailed Price a “guardian angel.”
“What a blessing they are, to have taken the time and care to arrive. To send you a lot of love for a successful procedure and a speedy recovery,” he tweeted.
Last year, “Inside Edition” presenter Deborah Norville underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her neck after a viewer discovered a lump on her neck.
