Television journalist Antoinette Lattouf has told of how a viewer spotted a potentially deadly cyst on her throat during her segment on Studio 10 and wrote in to the show to express her concern.
Lattouf, a mother of two and reporter for Network 10 was participating in her usual segment when the viewer spotted the cyst, and her editor later called her over to discuss the message that the concerned watcher had sent in to the show's official Facebook page.
This isn't the first instance of its kind either. A woman who appeared on HGTV found out she had cancer after a viewer spotted a lump:"Has Antoinette Lattouf had her thyroid checked? I am not being smart or trolling just concerned with what I saw on TV today?” wrote Wendy McCoy, who hails from Werribee, Victoria in a private message. McCoy professed that she wasn't a doctor, but said that the lump reminded her of a similar instance with one of her friends;
“No medical but reminded me of my friends. On her left side of neck.
“I felt concerned and thought I should say something.”
Writing for 10 Daily, Lattouf admits that while taken aback, she initially "scoffed" at the message. But then she watched the clip in question back.
“I was left shocked. It looked like I had an Adam’s apple. Something was definitely protruding from my neck,” she recalls. Lattouf decided to visit her GP, since she has a family history of thyroid cancer.
“Three blood tests, an ultrasound and a CT scan later, it turns out Wendy was the real McCoy and I have a large cyst that needs surgery as well as an auto-immune disease”.
The cyst was not cancerous, Lattouf says, but if left untreated could have interfered with her ability to breathe, swallow, and speak:
“This condition most commonly begins when you’re a child, and as the cyst grows and protrudes, it starts to put pressure on other vital structures in the neck,” she went on:
“Women are at more at risk, and if untreated or misdiagnosed, thyroid illnesses can impact mental health, weight, hair and nails, fatigue, voice, muscle strength, bone health, heart rate and in some cases result in death.”
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And Lattouf had a message of gratitude to share with Wendy McCoy, who wrote in to express her concern but revealed to the journalist she nearly didn't as she didn't want to be seen as "meddling":
“To Wendy, I say, thank you for caring enough to reach out to me, a complete stranger, and urging me to see a doctor.
“Your random act of kindness probably saved my career.”
H/T: 10 Daily
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