Stryper vocalist Michael Sweet is facing a second battle with thyroid cancer, and he is wasting no time in addressing it. During a candid conversation on the December 11 episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” the singer revealed that he has been diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer—a recurrence that comes just two years after he had half of his thyroid removed.
Sweet explained that while he appreciates the influx of advice from well-meaning fans suggesting alternative remedies, his priority is immediate and decisive action.
“I’ve got all these people who — God bless them, and I appreciate it — are reaching out to me about holistic medicine and natural healing and this and that,” Sweet told host Eddie Trunk (via Blabbermouth). “And to be honest with you, I just wanna get it out of there. And I don’t wanna mess around with it… 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.”
The diagnosis follows a biopsy performed less than a month ago on a nodule in the right lobe of his thyroid. Sweet had previously undergone surgery two years ago to remove the left side of the gland after a similar malignancy was found. At that time, doctors decided to leave the right side intact, as the nodules there appeared benign. However, the situation has since evolved.
“My right side, I have Hashimoto’s [chronic autoimmune disease] and I had a nodule on that side, but it wasn’t suspicious. They didn’t think I’d have any issues with that,” Sweet said. “Having the other side removed and going on medication, well, obviously things took a different direction. 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.”
The singer admitted that he had been experiencing vocal issues for a decade, which he initially dismissed as natural aging.
“I’ve noticed over the past 10 years some issues with my neck and my voice, a little more difficulty singing like I wanna sing. And I just wrote it off to getting older and age and whatnot.”
Sweet is now using his platform to urge fans to pay attention to their bodies, specifically warning about the subtle signs that are easily overlooked. He noted that persistent hoarseness was a major red flag in his case.
“There are symptoms, and I had those symptoms. I mean, probably the biggest symptom that you will notice is a hoarseness. You can probably hear it in my throat right now. I never had a hoarseness in my throat,” he explained. “When you have any type of prolonged hoarseness or sore throat, and then the obvious, if you have any protrusions in your neck, when you tilt your head back, any lumps, anything you see it, don’t mess with it. Go.”
Despite the statistical unlikelihood of his situation—he noted he falls into the “four or five percent” where these nodules develop into cancer—Sweet remains pragmatic rather than self-pitying. His message is one of vigilance.
“I’m not gonna sit here and whine about it or anything. I mean, everybody has their issues — we all do — but I think the key is being proactive,” Sweet advised. “Don’t put off for tomorrow what you should deal with today regarding your health. Don’t do it… Don’t wait. Go deal with it.”
