8/20/2014
'Flip or Flop' Host Tarek El Moussa Battling Thyroid Cancer : People.com
TIME INC. NETWORK :
PEOPLE
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
TIME
INSTYLE
REAL SIMPLE
FOOD & WINE
NEW! Exclusively for Our Digital Subscribers
Like
HOME
NEWS
PHOTOS
STYLE
4.4m
EMMYS
Zac Efron & Michelle
Rodriguez Split After
Follow
VIDEO
COUNTRY
MORE
Learn about V.I.P.
All Celebs
5.6M followers
Search
ROYALS
Sign In
PEOPLE EN ESPANOL
TV
BABIES
Elizabeth Vargas and Marc
Cohn to Divorce: Source
Dating for Two Months
FOOD
PETS
#UNFILTERED
MAGAZINE
MOST WATCHED
PEOPLE PREMIUM
Can You Believe Amy
First Look: Jill & Deric
Adams is 40?! See Her
Dillard Are Having a B
Changing Looks
Flip or Flop Host Tarek El Moussa
Battling Thyroid Cancer
5.4k
S U B S C RIB E
S HARES
Jill & Derick Dillard Tell PEOPLE About
Learning They're Expecting
What Was Behind the
Melanie Griffith and Antonio
Banderas Split?
Brooklyn Decker Jokes
About Why She 'Resents'
Husband Andy Roddick
recommended by
SEE MORE VIDEOS
ADVE RTIS E ME N T
Christina El Moussa and Tarek El Moussa
COURTESY CHRISTINA EL MOUSSA
B Y RAHA LEWIS 0 9 /10 /20 13 10 :0 0 AM
HGTV's Flip or Flop has loads of fans, but one in particular changed
host Tarek El Moussa's life entirely.
Ryan Read, 31, a registered nurse, was watching a marathon day of
season one earlier this year when she noticed a lump on El Moussa's
neck.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20733201,00.html
1/10
8/20/2014
'Flip or Flop' Host Tarek El Moussa Battling Thyroid Cancer : People.com
"She didn't want to seem like a crazy fan," says El Moussa's wife and
co-host, Christina. "Instead of writing to us, she Googled and found
Jersey Shore Stars Ronnie and Sammi
Call It Quits
the production company and sent an email saying, 'This is not a joke.
I'm a registered nurse. I've been watching Flip or Flop . I noticed that
the host Tarek has a large nodule on his thyroid, and he needs to have
it checked out.' "
Tarek, 32, knew something was amiss. "I was having a harder time
swallowing, and this lump was getting bigger," he tells PEOPLE. "I
5 Best & Worst Looks of the Week:
Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner & More
actually went to the doctor twice for it, and they said it's nothing. So,
once I saw [the note from Read], I was like, 'You know what? I need to
FROM OUR PARTNERS
get a second opinion.' "
Robert Pattinson's Ice Bucket
An ultrasound initially showed a 5 percent chance of the lump being
Challenge Is Completely
cancerous. But when the doctors conducted a biopsy on June 12,
Charming
READ IT
they realized it was cancer, and the lump had to be removed entirely.
"They said they would remove half of it and be done in an hour," says
Tarek. "But it ended up being four hours, it was cancer, and they
In Honor Of The VMAs, Here Are Miley
Cyrus' Most Undressed Moments
Rihanna Takes Short Shorts To New Heights
ended up removing my entire thyroid. … When I woke up, my wife
was crying and the first thing I asked was, 'It's cancer, isn't it?' And she
said, 'Yeah.' "
Nick Offerman Narrating 'Shower Thoughts'
Is Why The Internet Exists
How Obama Killed A Controversial SNL Skit
The bad news didn't end there.
'American Horror Story: Freak Show' Just
Got Its First Teaser & Premiere Date
The cancer had spread to his
lymph nodes, and he had to
undergo radioactive iodine
therapy, which meant he had to
be isolated from his family for
their protection.
Savannah Guthrie, baby Vale send adorable
birthday wishes to Al Roker
Expansive Telluride mountain retreat grew out
of past
Leonardo DiCaprio fights 'carbon monster' in
new eco-documentary
"It was a nightmare," he says.
"They stay in a different
bedroom, and I can't stay with
my daughter for more than a
few minutes at a time. She
Christina El Moussa and Tarek El Moussa and their
daughter Taylor
COURTESY CHRISTINA EL MOUSSA
wanted to hug me and watch TV
every night and give kisses, and
we couldn't do that."
STAR
TR A CKS
Last Friday, Tarek did get some good news. "I was told that the cancer
Rihanna's Star Turn
didn't spread beyond my neck," he says. "I'm hopeful now. We're
filming a bunch of episodes and going on with life as best we can."
The singer is the center of attention as she leaves
a lunch date in New York City. Plus: The Sin City
premiere, Jared Leto & more!
Tarek and Christina will discuss their battle with cancer Thursday on an
episode of the syndicated talk show The Doctors.
Tarek will find out in the next week if he is cancer free, but he has
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20733201,00.html
2/10
8/20/2014
'Flip or Flop' Host Tarek El Moussa Battling Thyroid Cancer : People.com
Fashion Faceoff: Taylor vs. Reese vs.
already learned plenty from the experience. "I've always been very
Rocsi vs. Jessica
work, work, work," he says. "So, I stepped back and re-evaluated what
I wanted, like spending time with my family and all that good stuff."
Share this story:
Your reaction:
10
V O TES
Jill & Derick Dillard Tell PEOPLE About
2
0
7
1
0
Learning They're Expecting
AROUND THE WE B
Can You Guess the Best Series Emmy
Meet the 12 Most
Loyal Dogs Ever
15 Stars Who are
Bankrupt
Puppytoob
She Budgets
1000”s of Cancer
Patients Now Know
Why Chemotherapy
Failed Them
Next Generation
Cancer Genomic
Testing In a Real
World Setting
Envita
Robb Report
Nominations?
more info
THE LATE ST
VIDEO: Jimmy Fallon Debates the Pros
& Cons of Juice Cleanses
Find Out What's in Kourtney
Kardashian's Kitchen Pantry
Matthew McConaughey Wears a
What If MTV Ran the Emmy Awards?
Fanny Pack, Defends Its Honor on
Live TV
10 Looks We Want to See at the Emmys
Teen Who Survived Two Plane
Cover Story First Look: 8 Weeks
Crashes Plays His First College
After Her First Kiss, a Duggar
Basketball Game
Daughter Is Expecting!
Victor Cruz: 'I Even Put Cologne on for
Practice'
THI S WE E K'S I SSUE
Sign up for our newsletter
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20733201,00.html
3/10