Tv - Brooke Burke Charvet Heaps Praise On Husband After Cancer Scare

The Dancing with the Stars host, who has long struggled with autoimmune condition Hashimoto's thyroiditis, was diagnosed with the disease after her doctor found a "very questionable, tiny little lump" during a regular physical late last year (12).

An initial biopsy proved inconclusive, so she underwent seven more as part of a new genetic testing process, and it was then that she decided to go public with her health crisis in November (12).

Surgery to remove her thyroid gland in December (12) was a success and now Burke Charvet is readjusting to normal life, but she claims she wouldn't have been able to get through the emotional period without the support of former Baywatch hunk David Charvet.

She tells U.S. talk show host Katie Couric, "My husband was like a rock. He was so strong. He didn't bring it up (cancer) but he listened when I wanted to talk about it."

Burke Charvet admits her diagnosis came as a shock because she had always considered herself to be extremely healthy and she had never experienced any symptoms.

Now she is encouraging others to undergo regular medical check-ups to prevent any potential health troubles.

The recovering mum-of-four says, "I felt great, I was at the top of my game. I was working on my fitness Dvds, full of energy, I had no symptoms whatsoever, so had I not been responsible enough to do my regular physical, I wouldn't have known..."

Burke Charvet will undergo doctor's tests every six months to make sure the cancer doesn't return, but she remains positive about her future.

She adds, "I am only a month out of surgery... Minus the scar (on her neck from surgery), I'm pretty darn lucky... I'm hoping that this will be the end of the story."