TV Host Announces Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis After Viewer Spots Lump

Deborah Norville is used to being in the public eye as the host of “Inside Edition” for over 20 years. She says she gets comments from viewers all the time on her clothes, hair and makeup, but she never expected one viewer’s comment to save her life.

In a video Norville shared on YouTube, she revealed a viewer reached out a few years ago about spotting a lump on her neck. “We live in a world of ‘see something, say something,’ and I’m really glad we do,” she said.

Norville had the lump checked out, and at the time doctors said it was nothing to be worried about. She continued to have it checked every year. “For years, it was nothing,” she said. “Until recently, it was something.”

Norville will have surgery this week to remove the cancerous thyroid nodule.

She is thankful for her alert viewer, but it is important to know how to spot a thyroid cancer lump and when it’s time to see a physician.

“Thyroid nodules are very common, occurring in half of the population,” said Dr. Julie Hallanger-Johnson, an endocrinologist in Moffitt Cancer Center’s Head and Neck Oncology Program. Eighty five to 95 percent of the time, they are benign, non-cancerous. However, when thyroid cancer is found, often surgery is all that is needed. Fortunately, most thyroid cancers are found in the early stages.”

It is estimated that there will be around 52,000 new cases of thyroid cancer in 2019. Factors that may lead to thyroid cancer include diets low in iodine and radiation exposure, but a family history of the disease greatly increases one’s risk.

Click here to learn how to self-examine for thyroid cancer.