'Dancing' co-host Brooke Burke has thyroid cancer
NEW YORK (AP) - "Dancing with the Stars" co-host Brooke Burke says she has thyroid cancer.
Burke posted a video message Thursday on YouTube disclosing her condition and her plans for surgery to remove her thyroid.
The 41-year-old mother of four says a lump on her thyroid was found during a routine biopsy.
She says in the video that the surgery has been scheduled, but she doesn't specify when. She says it will leave "a nice big scar right here," tracing a line across her throat.
Although initially shocked by the diagnosis, Burke says she now feels strong and confident and her doctors are optimistic. She vows to make "a positive out of this negative thing."
Found in the front of the neck, the thyroid secretes several hormones that influence metabolism, growth and development.
Very sad. I wish her the best. Little confused, though. She says she was shocked to learn of the diagnosis, but also states it was found in a routine biopsy. Are biopsies routine?
Can't say I have had a routine biopsy in the last 50 years or so.
 @dkgiovenco I've never had a biopsy, ever. I'm thinking she had some early signs and was routinely having biopsies. Which would be the right thing to do. Catch it early.
 @Lips Probably not. She (or her doctor) probably noticed a lump or slight protrusion during a routine exam (or, even, if she went in to be treated for strep throat, say, the doctor might notice a small nodule that needed to be biopsied).
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The good thing, though, is thyroid cancer is frequently caught early enough that treating it successfully is quick. Usually people with thyroid cancer aren't needing chemotherapy -- surgery and radiation (sometimes requiring isolation for a week or two) usually clear it up.
There are over 50,000 cases of thyroid cancer each year in the U.S.
Cancer should not even be in our vocabulary. Â If we would have spent the amount of money on cancer research and cures in stead of wasting it on AIDS, this disease would have been eliminated. Â This just proves that our priorities are very screwed up. Â Or at least the priorities of those who have the money and power to do the right thing.
 @boomer Um, hate to break it to you, but all that research that's been and is still being done on HIV/AIDS has benefited not only victims of that virus, but many other diseases as well. The one thing about a well-funded research program, especially where you're tackling a new unknown, is that you really never know how much good will come from it.
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The thing about HIV is that it does not actually kill its victims, but weakens their immune systems to the point that many other diseases can get a foothold. So HIV research has been a blessing to many who have suffered from rare, untreatable diseases and many who suffer from the degeneration of their immune system that has nothing to do with HIV.
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Sometimes, what appears to be a curse can truly be a blessing. And although many wonderful people have died from HIV-related illnesses, many more will live longer, more productive lives.
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And your inference that people with HIV are less worth saving than those with other diseases marks you as a really narrow minded bigot. I've known many people who have died from HIV-related illnesses and from other diseases as well, and can't think of a one of them that was any less human because of their particular illness.
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Shame on you.
 @Mikey  @boomer So true. Research for AID/HIV has helped in so many different areas I don't think the general population even has a clue: the common cold, autoimmune disorders, treatment of certain cancers (as well as their immunodeficient causes), obesity and wasting diseases, certain arthritis causes, diabetes, and countless others. Before AIDS/HIV research, the term retrovirus was unheard of.
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I also think the money funneled into Livestrong and breast cancers far outweigh the research dollars ever spent on HIV and AIDS research.
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We are on a cellular cusp of knowledge and have HIV/AIDS to thank for creating the idea to even research some of these. Using technology designed by nature might even cure certain diseases (including cancers) as we learn to reverse-engineer the DNA coding to be able to insert the remedy into the "bad" virus to end up with a favorable result.
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It really is an amazing science still very much in its infancy and worthy of further exploration.
I know cancer is going to get me eventually, in one form or another. That's why, while I'm healthy, I wake up every day thankful for my health, for the health of my friends and family, and I try to live for every moment. I wish her a speedy recovery and a long healthy life ahead.
 @paulelijah We are all just one heartbeat away from the next stage of our journey.
But given how long we have been and will be around, this life is but the blink of an eye.
:-)
 @Mikey I couldn't agree with you more Mikey, take care!
Meanwhile, while we're worried about drug wars and terrorism, cancer drags away our friends and loves ones, and perhaps ourselves, one after another.
Get well soon Brooke.