Survivor star El Rowland on the terrifying health scare that changed her life.

Former Survivor star El Rowland has revealed a cancer diagnosis six years ago changed the course of her life, offering a new found sense of perspective and appreciation for the people around her.

Writing on Instagram beneath an image of the paperwork detailing her diagnosis, Rowland wrote the experience is something so many probably aren’t aware of, nor would they understand the profound impact it has had on the way she lives her life today.

“This time 6 years ago I had an incident that changed my life,” she began.

“I was diagnosed with Malignant Thyroid Cancer which meant I would have to undergo surgery, go through radiation treatment, be on thyroid replacement medication for the rest of my life and be on guard for more cancer around my body.”

Not alot of people know this story about me but this time 6 years ago I had an incident that changed my life. I was diagnosed with Malignant Thyroid Cancer which meant I would have to undergo surgery, go through radiation treatment, be on thyroid replacement medication for the rest of my life and be on guard for more cancer around my body. This diagnosis came after I found a lump in my neck whilst on a humanitarian mission in Padang with the Army and was flown home to undergo a number of tests. When they couldn’t diagnose it, the last piece of the puzzle was a biopsy of the lump. In this process they stick a needle in your neck and take out the cells so they can read if it is cancerous or not. When the results came back, I’ll never forget the words that came out of the doctors mouth “I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this El, but it looks like you have malignant thyroid cancer”. My world crumbled around me as I tried to swallow this very difficult news. The doctors rushed to get the lump cut out and my family and friends prayed for a miracle. I was booked in for surgery a week after my diagnosis and it was the longest week of my life. My mind was playing tricks on me as I couldn’t eat or sleep because I was so terrified. On the day of my surgery I was scared and I expected the weeks after to be hard as my radiation therapy started, but what happened next was an absolute miracle. When I woke up from my surgery, the surgeon came up to me very confused as he began to tell me that when they took out the lump they put it under the microscope and it was miraculously benign. He didn’t understand how this happened as the proof was in the biology results. I never forget the relief that swelled in my body in waves of beauty as I told my family the good news. To this day this experience made me believe in miracles and that they can happen to all of us. Just look at the picture of the paperwork I found recently with my diagnosis on it. I am so thankful for this horrible experience because now I can encourage others that miracles exist because I am living proof. J.K. Rowling — ‘Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

A photo posted by El Rowland (@elerowland_) on Nov 27, 2016 at 11:32pm PST

Rowland wrote that the diagnosis came after she found a lump in her neck while on humanitarian mission in Padang with the Army.

“When the results came back, I’ll never forget the words that came out of the doctors mouth “I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you this El, but it looks like you have malignant thyroid cancer”.

“My world crumbled around me as I tried to swallow this very difficult news. The doctors rushed to get the lump cut out and my family and friends prayed for a miracle.”

As Rowland details in her post, doctors wasted no time trying to retrieve the malignant tumour in her neck, booking her in for surgery a week after her diagnosis. It was a week the Survivor star says was spent fearing the worst and one that saw her struggle to eat and sleep.

A photo posted by El Rowland (@elerowland_) on Oct 3, 2016 at 10:48pm PDT

“On the day of my surgery I was scared and I expected the weeks after to be hard as my radiation therapy started, but what happened next was an absolute miracle.

“When I woke up from my surgery, the surgeon came up to me very confused as he began to tell me that when they took out the lump they put it under the microscope and it was miraculously benign. He didn’t understand how this happened as the proof was in the biology results. I never forget the relief that swelled in my body in waves of beauty as I told my family the good news. ”

It was miracle and an experience that Rowland says she does not take for granted, and one she intends to talk about with others to give hope that “miracles do exist.”