Fan Rings the Alarm After Spotting Unusual Appearance of ‘Flip or Flop’ Host’s Neck

Fan Rings the Alarm After Spotting Unusual Appearance of ‘Flip or Flop’ Host’s Neck

HGTV is my escape from politics. Well, that and Grimm and a few other shows, but you get my drift. Flip or Flop is a great show and it is one I have always enjoyed. Two and a half years ago, a fan of the show noticed something odd about the host Tarek El Moussa’s neck. He had a lump above his collar bone. The fan was a registered nurse, so she emailed the producer of the show and told them that Tarek needed to see a doctor right away. He had been having trouble swallowing and had already gone to one doctor who told him it was nothing to worry about. When he got that email, he decided to get a second opinion. Good thing he did. It was cancer and it had spread to his lymph nodes. The thyroid cancer was irradiated and he is now in remission. He’s a very lucky guy and here today because a fan cared enough to take action.

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From Lift Bump:

Two-and-a-half years ago, HGTV star Tarek El Moussa was diagnosed with thyroid cancer after the producer of his show, “Flip or Flop,” forwarded him an email sent by a fan.

According to the Independent, Ryan Read, a registered nurse, was watching an episode of the show when she noticed a nodule on Tarek’s thyroid.

The email reads:

“This is not a joke. I’m a registered nurse. I’ve been watching Flip or Flop. I noticed that the host Tarek has a large nodule on his thyroid, and he needs to have it checked out.”

Tarek reportedly noticed the lump before, but doctors assured him nothing was wrong. Still, the email from Ryan prompted him to get a second opinion.

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This time around, an ultrasound led doctors to schedule a biopsy that confirmed Tarek’s family’s biggest fear; the lump was cancerous and it spread to his lymph nodes.

“When I woke up, my wife was crying and the first thing I asked was, ‘It’s cancer, isn’t it?’,” Tarek tells People. “And she said, ‘Yeah.’”

Tarek then had to undergo radioactive iodine therapy, which meant he wasn’t allowed near his wife, Christine, or five-year-old daughter, Taylor, for more than a few minutes at a time. The real estate guru called it “a nightmare.”

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Thankfully, his cancer didn’t spread beyond his neck and the 34-year-old is now in remission.

In August 2015, Tarek and Christina welcomed their second child, Brayden James, and Tarek admits to People that his cancer diagnoses changed his life quite a bit.

“I’ve always been very work, work, work. I stepped back and re-evaluated what I wanted, like spending time with my family and all that good stuff.”

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Tarek says aside from feeling “jet-legged” some of the time, he feels good and with each moment that passes, it means there is less of a chance that the cancer will come back.

Tarek has a beautiful wife and at the time a little girl. Now he has a little boy as well and his outlook is very promising. Sometimes he gets a bit tired, but not often. He’s also slowed down a bit realizing now that there is more to this life than just work all the time. His life-saving fan was Ryan Read, 31, a registered nurse, who was watching a marathon day of season one when she noticed a lump on El Moussa’s neck. HGTV must be very thankful she did. “She didn’t want to seem like a crazy fan,” says El Moussa’s wife and co-host, Christina. “Instead of writing to us, she Googled and found the production company and sent an email saying, ‘This is not a joke. I’m a registered nurse. I’ve been watching Flip or Flop. I noticed that the host Tarek has a large nodule on his thyroid, and he needs to have it checked out.’” Tarek, 32, knew something was amiss. “I was having a harder time swallowing, and this lump was getting bigger,” he said. “I actually went to the doctor twice for it, and they said it’s nothing. So, once I saw [the note from Read], I was like, ‘You know what? I need to get a second opinion.’” An ultrasound initially showed a 5 percent chance of the lump being cancerous. But when the doctors conducted a biopsy on June 12, they realized it was cancer and the lump had to be removed entirely. The whole nightmarish journey has now ended well for Tarek and his growing family. I still watch his show and I hope he and his wonderful wife will make many more episodes.

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is an editor and writer for Right Wing News. She owns and blogs at NoisyRoom.net. She is a Constitutional Conservative and NoisyRoom focuses on political and national issues of interest to the American public. Terresa is the editor at Trevor Loudon's site, New Zeal - trevorloudon.com. She also does research at KeyWiki.org. You can email Terresa here. NoisyRoom can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.

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