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.”
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.
“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.”