Victoria Price has thanked the viewer for spotting her cancer. Picture: Twitter/@WFLAVictoria ''Had I never received that email, I never would have called my doctor''.
A TV reporter in the US has thanked a “wonderful” eagle eyed viewer who noticed a strange lump on her neck while watching a report.
Victoria Price, who works for TV station WFLA in Tampa Bay, Florida, says she was working day and night covering the Covid-19 pandemic in the states, and hadn't given a thought to her own health and well-being.
However that all changed last month when a viewer sent in an email about her on-air appearance.
The anonymous woman made mention of a small lump on Ms Price’s neck, which in fact turned out to be thyroid cancer - a condition the viewer said she had herself.
She urged the journalist to visit a doctor, and Ms Price was eventually diagnosed with the disease.
Taking to Twitter to confirm the news on Friday, Ms Price said it was a “scary” time but that she was “grateful” for the potentially lifesaving email
“A bit of personal news to share. Turns out, I have cancer. And I owe it to one of our wonderful @WFLA viewers for bringing it to my attention. I’ll be off work for a bit after tomorrow, but I’ll see y’all soon,” she tweeted.
“As a journalist, it’s been full throttle since the pandemic began. Never-ending shifts in a never-ending news cycle. Adjusting to remote workflows and in my case, taking on a new investigative role. We were covering the most important health story in a century, but my own health was the farthest thing from my mind,” Ms Price wrote.
“Until a viewer emailed me last month. She saw a lump on my neck. Said it reminded her of her own. Hers was cancer. Turns out, mine is too.
Ms Price (right) said the telltale lump was more visible in this grab. Picture: Twitter“COVID created some diagnostic delays but I’ll finally be undergoing surgery this Monday to remove the tumour, my thyroid, and a couple of the nearby lymph nodes. Doctor says it’s spreading, but not too much, and we’re hopeful this will be my first and last procedure.”
She explained that if she had never received the email, she would not have visited her doctor and would likely still be unaware of the disease.
“Had I never received that email, I never would have called my doctor. The cancer would have continued to spread. It’s a scary and humbling thought,” she said.
“I will forever be thankful to the woman who went out of her way to email me, a complete stranger. She had zero obligation to, but she did anyway. Talk about being on your side, huh?
“The world is a tough place these days. Don’t forget to take care of yourself. Take care of each other.”
