'Everything Went Great': 'Inside Edition' Anchor Deborah Norville Has Thyroid Cancer Surgery After Viewer Spots Lump On Neck

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A viewer may have saved Deborah Norville's life. The "Inside Edition" anchor announced that she had surgery for thyroid cancer. The surgery went "great," her assistant tweeted.

Doctors say cancer of the thyroid is usually is not life-threatening. Women over 40 are most at risk.

"We live in a world where see something, say something," Norville said, "and I'm really glad we do."

The "Inside Edition" anchor explained how a viewer may have saved her life, calling attention to what has now been diagnosed as thyroid cancer.

"A long time ago, an 'Inside Edition' viewer reached out to say that she'd seen something on my neck," Norville said. "It was a lump. I never noticed the thing, but I did have it checked out and the doctor said it was nothing – a thyroid nodules."

Most of the time thyroid nodules are benign, doctors say, but as in Norville's case, they can become cancerous.

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On Monday, the 60-year-old anchor said she was having surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid nodule from her neck. She said it's a "very localized form of cancer."

"The thyroid is an organ in our neck that is responsible for making hormones, important for many bodily functions," Dr. John Leighton said.

Leighton, the chairman of hematology and medical oncology at Einstein Medical Center, said lumps, or an abnormal feeling in the neck, could be a sign of thyroid cancer.

Thyroid cancer is usually confirmed with imaging.

"Thyroid cancer is a very treatable and very survivable disease," Leighton said. "Many of the thyroid cancers are diagnosed very early, where they can be treated and cured and people can live fairly normal lives."

In:
• Philadelphia