An Email That May Have Saved a Life

It’s not hard to give someone a compliment. It just might make their day and it could become a dose of positivity that could make a difference in someone’s life. If you are thinking it, say it!

Sharing your thoughts or observations might also save someone’s life as evidence by this story involving a reporter, Victoria Price, from the NBC affiliate WFLA-TV in Tampa who received an email from a concerned viewer who recognized some disturbing symptoms. A lump in Price’s neck looked familiar to an anonymous viewer who fought through a bout with thyroid cancer.

Price is scheduled for surgery to remove what doctors confirmed is a cancerous tumor.

Make someone’s day today!

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"8 On Your Side" isn't just a catchphrase at @wfla. It’s our cornerstone. But the roles recently reversed when I found a viewer on MY side, and I couldn't be more grateful. As a journalist, it's been full throttle since the pandemic began. Never-ending shifts in a never-ending news cycle. Adjusting to remote workflows and in my case, taking on a new investigative role. We were covering the most important health story in a century, but my own health was the farthest thing from my mind. Until a viewer emailed me last month. She saw a lump on my neck. Said it reminded her of her own. Hers was cancer. Turns out, mine is too. COVID created some diagnostic delays but I'll finally be undergoing surgery this Monday to remove the tumor, my thyroid, and a couple of the nearby lymph nodes. Doctor says it's spreading, but not too much, and we're hopeful this will be my first and last procedure. Had I never received that email, I never would have called my doctor. The cancer would have continued to spread. It's a scary and humbling thought. I will forever be thankful to the woman who went out of her way to email me, a total stranger. She had zero obligation to, but she did anyway. Talk about being on your side, huh? The world is a tough place these days. Don't forget to take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Love y'all and see you soon. VP 💕

A post shared by victoria price (@victoriapricetv) on Jul 23, 2020 at 4:32pm PDT