NEWSBrooke Burke-Charvet Talks About Thyroid Surgery & Her Scar
Jan. 17 2013, Published 7:47 a.m. ET
When Brooke Burke-Charvet was told she had thyroid cancer and that she would need surgery, she was in shock.
The 41-year-old couldn't understand how someone healthy and active like her could get such a disease, but nevertheless she powered through it and now she's sharing her traumatic experience.
The DWTS host sat down with Katie Couric and openly chatted about what she's been through.
"It's something that you never think that you're going to experience and I sort of went, 'Oh, okay. I'm gonna call you next week,'" she said. "And the doctor said, 'No, no, no Brooke. You need to have a thyroidectomy done and you need to schedule this.'"
She continued: "My doctor felt a very questionable, tiny little lump," she explained. "He said to get an ultrasound, and I got an ultrasound, and then they suggested a biopsy. I had my first biopsy and my results came back atypical … they couldn't confirm whether it was cancer or not."
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"Some people at that point would do nothing and go back in six months and check it but I wanted more information, so I went and I had seven biopsies done with some new genetic testing and three days later I got the call from the doctor, who said, 'Yeah, you have 75 percent positive for cancer and you need to have a thyroidectomy,'" the 41-year-old said.
Brooke, who is married to Baywatch alum David Charvet credited her husband for being there for her and said he was her "rock."
One of the hardest parts of the ordeal was telling her daughters who range in ages from 4 to 12.
"My youngest didn't really get it. My six-year-old was so strong and we're so close, she said, 'Mommy, I'm going to be there for you, I'm going to hold your hand. My oldest daughter took it the hardest, because she had to see it on the news, and all of her friends were reading about it and everybody was going, 'Oh my gosh, your mom, we're so sorry. She cried a lot and just wanted to know that I was going to be okay."
But Brooke is thankful it wasn't worse and told Katie how grateful she is.
"Minus the scar, I'm pretty darn lucky and happy," she said. "I took a whole month off, which is big for me because I've never done that. ... I relaxed and caught up on some great movies and had some downtime with my family and read a little bit and really just slowed down and let my body heal."
