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Tarek El Moussa Reveals How a Fan Diagnosed His Cancer on TV: ‘I’m Grateful to Be Alive’
Flip or Flop star Tarek El Moussa has a complete stranger to thank for still being around today.
The 37-year-old will soon be appearing in the new digital video series, Chasing the Cure, where he will discuss the time a viewer — who happened to be a nurse — of his popular HGTV series actually reached out to tell him he may want to go to a doctor. “It was the beginning of season two of Flip or Flop. I’m shooting my show. I’m returning emails and text messages. I’m busy with work. And then I get the email from the nurse in Texas,” the TV star says in the preview clip above.
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The father-of-two then proceeds to read the email. “This is not a joke. I am a registered nurse. I’ve been watching Flip or Flop. I noticed that Tarek, the host, has a large nodule on his thyroid and he needs to have it checked out.”
Tarek reveals his “heart dropped,” and the following day he headed to his doc. “I knew that if a nurse took the time, energy and effort to send an email from Texas to mention my neck, there was probably something wrong,” he explains. Thanks to the nurse, Tarek learned he had stage-three thyroid cancer in 2013. He underwent surgery to have his thyroid and multiple lymph nodes removed. He is now cancer free.
“Every day I wake up and I’m grateful to be alive. I’m grateful for the life I have. I’m grateful for my family and I’m just happy,” Tarek says. He shares two children — Taylor, 8, and son Brayden, 3 — with his ex-wife Christina Anstead.
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“I’m thrilled to be sharing my story because I might be able to save another life,” the real estate broker adds. “At the end of the day, I know the power of TV and I know the power of medicine. I know the power of people, and when you combine all those three, it’s life changing and it’s absolutely incredible.”
We are so happy Tarek is now completely healthy! The series will premiere on August 8 on TBS and TNT.
