"Flip or Flop" Star Tarek El Moussa Celebrates 3 Years of Being Cancer-Free
Tarek El Moussa has been in the news quite a bit over the last few months - and not just for his insane house flipping skills.
With his surprising divorce from wife and Flip or Flop partner Christina El Moussa pending, Tarek, a father of two, was seriously in need of a boost. Thankfully, he received just that yesterday, in the form of a clean bill of health.
Drum roll, please: The HGTV star is officially three years thyroid cancer free. He posted a text conversation with his doctor yesterday on Instagram, which related the good news. "Thank you so much!!" he wrote to his doctor. "I'm relieved."
In the photo's caption, Tarek revealed his struggle post-surgery, especially with finding balance with his medications. "People don't know but I was very over medicated with rapid heart rate and palpitations to the point where I wore a heart monitor," he wrote. Tarek is "finally at UCLA," where he's getting the care he needs.
Tarek was first diagnosed in 2013, when fan Ryan Read, a registered nurse, noticed a questionable lesion on Tarek's throat while she was binge watching Flip or Flop. She quickly emailed the show's production company with her concerns - that lump, she said, needed to get checked out. Her email prompted Tarek to go to the doctor where it was quickly confirmed that he had stage 2 thyroid cancer. Tarek underwent thyroid and lymph node removal surgery within the month and began iodine radiation.
The diagnosis is a bizarre story - apparently fame has life-saving benefits - but eventually led to a happy ending. Despite the diagnosis, Tarek and Christina continued to try for a second child via IVF. After a few failed attempts and bedrest, Christina delivered a healthy baby boy in August 2015, two years after the diagnosis. By that time, Tarek had been cancer-free for a year and a half.
Now, Tarek gets to extend that record, something that brings incredible relief. "Have cancer is a very scary thing," he wrote in his post. "I always get nervous going into each checkup and today I got great news."
[h/t Daily Mail]
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