“I didn’t really feel anything, just in one of the scans they do on a yearly basis they detected the nodule. In my case, it was so small – if it’s really small it’s hard to detect unless you already have a thyroid condition.”
Dublin fitness coach Sylvia Diaz is warning others to get checked after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer at just 29-years-old.
Because of an underactive thyroid, the health influencer who is now living in County Laois had a regular check-up. During one appointment, a nodule was discovered which turned out to be cancerous.
Sylvia who first moved to Dublin seven and a half years ago was sadly diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer in December of 2019. The social media star is now sharing her story to raise awareness for Daffodil Day.
The coach was sent for surgery to remove the nodule. However, thankfully the surgery was successful and Sylvia didn’t need any further treatment.
Doctors first noticed the suspicious nodule in 2016, but it was left unchecked until 2019, as they hadn’t seen her in two years due to a ‘missed appointment.’
She told RSVP Live “October 2019 was when they really started to suspect that this was suspicious. They told me ‘we need to remove it because we don’t know if it’s good or not.’
“At first I was in shock. They saw this a long time ago, but it didn’t grow – this was in 2016.
“They did the operation in December of 2019, two days before Christmas, on the 23rd of December. They told me it was bad, and that it was cancer. When I heard that word I was in shock, I started crying.”
“It was bad, it was cancer, but thankfully I didn’t need any more treatment after the surgery. Usually, they would get rid of the other half of the thyroid, but because the nodule was so small they didn’t have to.”
Sylvia fortunately also didn’t end up needing chemo at the time.
“After more or less one month I started feeling the symptoms. The thyroid controls your mood, how tired you are, everything. I was always super energetic, and as a fitness coach as well, doing many classes, having clients.
“I was feeling super tired, sleeping sixteen hours. Before I could do six classes a day, I was super active and never got tired but after the operation, I couldn’t get out of bed.”
A fitness coach by profession, Sylvia was tired a lot of the time which in turn negatively affected her work. Her mood was low too and she didn’t feel good for a long time after her surgery.
Thankfully, Sylvia’s energy levels have since improved after her doctor altered her dosage of medication in December of 2020 – however, she still doesn’t feel totally recovered.
“I feel way way better than I did one month after, but, I’m still not feeling 100 per cent, I don’t know if it was because I was 29 and now I’m 31. I don’t feel the same energy, maybe it’s the lockdown.”
The influencer began sharing her story online via her blog and website after women began to reach out and ask how they can get checked.
She added: “I didn’t feel anything in my neck, that’s what people were asking me because the nodule was seven millimetres, it was very small. But, I already had a thyroid condition, there is over and underactive thyroids, I have over so I have to take medication.”
Sylvia is encouraging people to get tested for a thyroid condition if they feel super tired or super energetic – as prevention is the best way to stay safe.
She said: “I didn’t really feel anything, just in one of the scans they do on a yearly basis they detected the nodule.
“In my case, it was so small. You don’t feel these things unless it was in the glands or more in the throat – if it’s really small it’s hard to detect, unless you already have a thyroid condition.”
You can follow Sylvia’s journey here on her website, Instagram, or Facebook.
The Irish Cancer Society ‘s Daffodil Day 2021 is kindly supported by Boots.