It's ironic that as I've been speaking and writing for years on the subject of thyroid health, I've personally been experiencing an undiagnosed condition called Hashimoto's thyroiditis. My only symptom was unexplained weight gain during the past year and a half. I was given a full panel thyroid test - complete with antibody testing - and the diagnosis was clear. Since my thyroid was slightly enlarged, I received an ultrasound which came back "suspicious." This was followed with a biopsy that led to the diagnosis.

This very common type of hypothyroidism, say the osteopath and my world-renowned thyroidologist, can eventually compromise the cells when it goes untreated and lead to thyroid cancer. This is a very slow-growing cancer and I was told that it was fine to wait a few months before having surgery. During those months I tried many alternative health regimens and cancer-free protocols to see if the cancer responded. It did not. So, two weeks ago I had a total thyroidectomy (complete removal of the thyroid gland) and all the cancer is gone.

I'll need to follow up with radioactive iodine. This strikes me as quite humorous, since I'm never too close to microwaves and I don't even use electric blankets (I don't want the radiation)! Now I'll be glowing in the dark (not true) and setting off the metal detectors (true) at the airports for quite a while.