Sofía Vergara used World Cancer Day 2022 as an opportunity to open up about being a cancer survivor. On February 4, the actor posted an old photo of herself taken shortly after she underwent thyroid cancer surgery more than 20 years ago. In the caption, Vergara reflected on how cancer “became part of my story” and how lucky she feels to be alive.
“At 28, ‘cancer’ was not a word I expected to hear,” Vergara, 49, wrote of the doctor's appointment when she first learned she had thyroid cancer. “It was just a routine checkup. But the doctors found a lump in my throat, and that word became part of my story.” Following her diagnosis, Vergara started a lengthy cancer treatment process. “I spent countless hours in radiation treatments, and, eventually, in surgery,” she wrote. “Today, I get to call myself a cancer survivor.”
In the photo, Vergara has a scar over her thyroid—the small, butterfly-shaped, hormone-producing gland on the lower front part of the neck. “This was my first acting class after diagnosis and treatment,” Vergara explained in the caption, “and seeing the scar on my throat reminds me of how blessed I felt that day—and every day since.”
Vergara said she feels “lucky and grateful to be in a position to share my story and say: early prevention is so important!!” The Modern Family star urged people to keep up with their routine medical appointments. "Schedule your annual check up for this year if you haven’t already," she wrote.
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Doctors don't understand what causes the majority of thyroid cancer cases, according to the Mayo Clinic, so they don't know what people at average risk can do to prevent or lower their risk of getting the disease. (For people at above-average risk, due to certain inherited genetic mutations or living very close a nuclear power plant, preventive surgery or medication may be an option, per the Mayo Clinic.) However, doctors have gotten better at detecting thyroid cancer early. Today, most cases are found sooner than has historically been the case, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), and can be treated successfully.
Signs and symptoms are uncommon in the early stages of thyroid cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic, but as the tumor grows it can cause swelling or a nodule (lump) on the gland. Most cases of thyroid cancer that are caught early are found when a person feels or sees a nodule and makes an appointment with their doctor to have it checked out, the ACS says. Other potential signs and symptoms that merit a doctor's visit include pain in the front of the neck, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing or breathing, and a persistent cough not connected to illness. (Most lumps on the thyroid gland are benign, and all of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions. So it's important to get checked out so your doctor can do a physical exam, discuss your medical history, and potentially order diagnostic tests, such as an imaging test or biopsy, if they suspect cancer, the ACS explains.)
Additionally, there is no routine screening for detecting thyroid cancer early that is recommended for people at average risk, according to the ACS. (For people at an increased risk, such as those with a family history of the disease, blood tests and ultrasounds can detect changes in the thyroid's function or structure to help screen for cancer.) But the disease can sometimes be found during a routine checkup, according to the ACS, before the person notices any signs or symptoms. This was the case for Vergara, for instance. She told Health in 2011 that her cancer was found during an endocrinologist appointment for her son. “While we were there, the doctor wanted to check me, too, and he found a lump in my neck," she said. “I felt no symptoms.”
There are a variety of treatment options for thyroid cancer. The best course depends on factors like the size, location, and stage of the cancer, as well as the person's overall health. According to the Mayo Clinic, most people undergo surgery to remove the thyroid gland (or a portion of it), as Vergara did. It is also common for people to receive additional treatments after the operation, such as radioactive iodine treatment (which Vergara did) to help destroy any remaining thyroid issue or cancer.
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