Stryper vocalist and guitarist Michael Sweet recently opened up about his ongoing battle with thyroid cancer and how the diagnosis has profoundly reshaped his worldview. During an interview with the “Christian Music Guys” podcast, Michael explained that facing his own mortality forced him to reevaluate his daily priorities and ultimately surrender control of his situation.
“Well, look, I tell you, I’ve been going through some health issues. I think most people know that. And I’m just kind of putting everything in God’s hands. And one thing that it’s taught me is how to do just that. And I found that until I was diagnosed — I have thyroid cancer, so they’re keeping an eye on everything, and I’m doing fine at the moment — but until I was diagnosed, I didn’t really think much about my mortality or the ever after, just being honest. But then the minute you’re faced with something like that, you do think about that. And it’s something we all better think about, because we’re all gonna face it. And what it did, in my mind, in my heart, is made me want to change my perspective and my priorities on life and try to put what’s important at the top of the list and what’s not important at the bottom of the list. That’s easier said than done, but if you can do that, you’re gonna be a lot better off by doing so. And I think that’s something that — my diagnosis has helped me somewhat to do that, and I’m very happy about that. And then just losing so many people, man,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The musician then reflected on the fragility of life, pointing to the sudden and tragic passing of his former Boston bandmate, Tommy DeCarlo, as a sobering reminder that tomorrow is never guaranteed.
“I don’t know about you guys, but it’s something I’ve really noticed the past year is how many people have gone. Just recently, Tommy DeCarlo. I was singing with Tommy in Boston. He’s gone. And if you had asked me a year ago if I would see that happening, I would say ‘no way’. But it’s reality. And not to sound morbid, but it’s coming for us all. And that’s why it’s important to stay humble and put God first. And let God lead your path and lead your way. And wake up every morning and say a simple prayer. Go to bed every night and say a simple prayer. Start and end your days with prayer. It doesn’t have to be anything long. Bring God into your day. Let him be a part of it. And if you do, you are gonna be a lot better off.”
In December last year, Sweet announced that despite his thyroid cancer returning, his medical team has placed him under active surveillance rather than proceeding with immediate surgery due to the slow-growing nature of the malignant nodule.
“I wanted to give you all an update. I met with my doctor/team and apparently I’m a prime candidate for ‘active surveillance’. What that means is they’re going to do an ultrasound in 6 months to see if there has been any change to the nodule in my right thyroid,” Sweet wrote at the time.
He continued: “It is malignant, but the good news is it’s self contained and surrounded by healthy tissue. It’s also small enough that they feel it makes more sense to ‘keep an eye on it’ instead of rushing surgery at this point in time. They feel that surgery itself is more risky than the nodule itself. At least for now. So, I’ll have an ultrasound in June and we’ll go from there. My hopes and prayers are to see it disappear. Maybe through diet, hope and prayers, it will.”
He concluded his message with gratitude for the outpouring of support he has received since the initial diagnosis: “Thank you all for taking the time to think of me and to prayer for me. It’s comforting to know that there are so many friends out there and I love you all.”
Only two weeks before that update, during an appearance on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Sweet seemed resigned to the inevitability of another operation. He revealed that his thyroid issues have been a decade-long struggle, culminating in a partial thyroidectomy two years ago to remove a malignant nodule on the left side.
“I went in and got checked and they scoped me and did an ultrasound and they discovered that I had some nodules on my thyroid on each side,” Sweet told host Eddie Trunk. “And they just kept an eye on those for a number of years. And they got bigger… the one on my left side, got large enough where they wanted to biopsy it, and it came back malignant. I had surgery two years ago to have that removed.”
“There was some new calcification in that nodule and they did a biopsy and it came back malignant. So I gotta go through it again,” he continued.
In that same interview, Sweet expressed a strong desire to be proactive, dismissing alternative treatments in favor of surgical removal to prevent metastasis.
“I’ve got all these people who… are reaching out to me about holistic medicine and natural healing and this and that. And to be honest with you, I just wanna get it out of there. And I don’t wanna mess around with it,” Sweet admitted. “It’s papillary, slow growing. It’s at a stage where I’m okay, but if I ignore it and I’m not proactive, it’ll get to a point where it will eventually spread, and then I’ve got real issues.”
