News anchor set to have ‘cancerous’ tumour removed after eagle-eyed viewers spot strange growth on her throat
A NEWS anchor will undergo surgery to remove a “cancerous” tumour from her throat after eagle-eyed viewers spotted a strange growth.
Kristen Kennedy, who anchors WKYT’s News at Noon, used a segment in Wednesday’s bulletin to thank viewers who had contacted her and to let them know she was having surgery next week to remove the growth.
She admitted that when she got the first email about the lump she didn’t pay it any attention.
Kennedy said: “I got another email. And, I think about by the third one, it came from a retired physician, and that was when I started listening.”
She told viewers: “I have surgery scheduled soon for the removal of this.
“It is a mass on my thyroid that I would have never had noticed if it were not for you, our viewers.
“I started getting emails about two months ago. Viewers had genuine concerns. So, did my doctors.
What is thyroid cancer and how is it treated?
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops in the tissues of the thyroid gland.
It has the potential to spread to other areas of the body.
Its presence is usually indicated by a swelling in the neck.
There are four main types: papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, medullary thyroid cancer and anaplastic thyroid cancer.
An ultrasound is normally used to diagnose the condition.
It can be treated with surgery to remove the growth or radiation therapy including chemotherapy.
According to the 52,890 cases of thyroid cancer have been detected so far this year, with 2,180 people dying from it.
“Testing shows there is a 50 percent risk it is cancer so they are going to remove it next week.”
Kennedy is planning to be back with the Kentucky station based in Lexington on December 28.
In an interview with the station’s Sam Dick for The Breakdown on Wednesday night, Kennedy said after seeing a couple of doctors she had a “4cm mass” on the right side of her thyroid and revealed she had a 50 per cent chance of it being cancerous so surgeons were “going to pull it out”.
Despite the diagnosis she added she was “staying on the optimistic side” and was “confident” she wasn’t dealing with cancer.
She added that doctors were going to remove around half of her thyroid on the right side to ensure all the growth was cut out.
Kennedy is married with two children and her husband Lee K Howard also works for the station on the sports desk.
