Inside Edition's Deborah Norville Smiles After Waking Up From Surgery to Remove Cancerous Thyroid Nodule

Good wishes are pouring in for Inside Edition anchor Deborah Norville after she revealed that she was undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid nodule.  

On "CBS This Morning," the "Today" show and "Good Morning America," hosts wished Deborah the best, while viewers wrote in to tell her she's in their prayers. 

"I am overwhelmed by the kindness and good wishes that have come my way!" Deborah posted on Instagram. "The world IS filled with kind people. Thank you all!"

She is recovering post-surgery Tuesday and shared an image taken one hour after she came out of the procedure.

Deborah's announcement prompted plenty of headlines, as well as interest in thyroid cancer, particularly among women. It's the most rapidly increasing cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.

It's important to keep an eye on any changes in your body. Deborah had the nodule in question checked out routinely after a viewer reached out to say something about a lump on her neck years ago. 

"For years, it was nothing. Until recently," Deborah said in her video message Monday. "It was something."

She's not alone. In 2013, Tarek El Moussa, host of "Flip or Flop," was diagnosed with thyroid cancer after a viewer raised their concerns about a bump on his own neck. He is now cancer-free.

"It's a miracle, to be honest with you. I think the biggest thing that we all learn is people need to speak up," El Moussa told Inside Edition.

There's speculation that thyroid cancer is on the rise because of radiation exposure during to mammograms, but Dr. Mehmet Oz told Inside Edition that's not the case. 

"There are three times more women than men affected by thyroid cancer," Oz said. "... I don't think mammograms are the cause of the increased instances of thyroid cancer."

But just in case, he added: "Women should try to guard their thyroid with guards if they're going to have radiation to their breasts."

However, some have argued that when you put the guard on, it can interfere with some of the views of the breast, Oz noted. Radiation exposure also makes some women fearful of getting a mammogram at all, he added.

Still, it doesn't mean you should skip the routine screening.

The Mayo Clinic offers this advice: "Don't let a fear of thyroid cancer keep you from having a mammogram."

RELATED STORIES