STRYPER's MICHAEL SWEET Opens Up About His Latest Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis: 'I Just Wanna Get It Out Of There'

During an appearance on the December 11 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet opened up about his recent revelation that he has been diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, the most common type of thyroid cancer. The diagnosis came less than a month after he underwent a biopsy of a nodule in the right lobe of his thyroid. Sweet said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, 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. 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. And they just kept an eye on those for a number of years. And they got bigger, they got larger, and then one in particular, 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. My right side, I have Hashimoto's [chronic autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid gland] and I had a nodule on that side, but it wasn't suspicious. They didn't think I'd have any issues with that. 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."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk to clarify if this is the same kind of operation he already underwent two years ago but just in "another part of the thyroid", Sweet said: "That's correct. Yeah, they left it in my right thyroid, with that nodule, 'cause they weren't concerned about it. Obviously things have a way of working themselves out, uh, different from what you might think and plans change, and that's what happened with me. So I've gotta go have the same surgery…"

Michael continued: "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. 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."

Sweet also talked about the importance of early cancer detection, because it drastically improves treatment effectiveness, increases survival rates, and often allows for less invasive treatment, making it easier and cheaper to cure, catching cancers before they spread. Asked if there were any symptoms that he noticed before getting diagnosed, Michael said: "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. So I went to go get checked to see if I had any polyps on my vocal folds, and I didn't. And 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. And chances are it's not gonna be anything. I'm in the very rare minimum and few that it develops into cancer. I wanna say, I believe it's four or five percent. Well, I'm that guy. And it's happened twice. So, it's one of those things. And 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. Don't put off for tomorrow what you should deal with today regarding your health. Don't do it. Colonoscopy — I was scared to death to get a colonoscopy. I don't know why. I just was. I finally got one. I waited till I was 53. Thank God there were no issues at all. I'm good, but don't wait. Go deal with it."

When Sweet first went public with his latest cancer diagnosis on December 9, he wrote on his social media: "A lot of you have been asking about my health and well being so I wanted to give you an update.

"First, thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. It always means the world and I can't thank you enough for taking the time to think of me.

"I spoke to my endocrinologist and unfortunately the biopsy that was performed on 11/17 (a nodule in my right thyroid) came back positive. Malignant.

"I'm scheduled for a CT and an ultrasound next Monday 12/15 (following the Christmas show) and then I'll be meeting with my doctor/surgeon on 12/22 to figure out a plan moving forward.

"We start recording the new STRYPER album on 12/28 and that will remain on schedule. Once we finish tracking, I'll be undergoing another surgery to remove my right thyroid and the nodule itself.

"This is papillary thyroid cancer, so the good news that it's slow growing and something that my doctor seems very optimistic about.

"Interestingly enough, I sang the album 'When We Were Kings' 2 months (to the day) after my first thyroidectomy, and I never felt better vocally.

"Unfortunately (and more recently),I've been experiencing a few issues vocally and it feels a little more 'crowded' in there. Now I understand why.

"My sincere apologies for not being to perform at 100% lately. It's been a bit of a burden to be honest, but I'm confident that things will get better.

"Even though it's concerning to even hear the 'C' word (much less be diagnosed with it),I believe that it will be behind me soon enough. I'll get in and deal with it and heal up and be ready for 2026.

"Please don't worry about me as I know and trust that God has a plan.

"I've always felt some kind of peace in being able to ask for prayer here. Whether it's for someone else or for myself, you always take the time to do that and it is a true blessing. It's been a constant in my life and I believe that you all are friends. Family.

"I love you guys and I can't wait to see you on the road in 2026.

"Merry Christmas and I hope you all are enjoying the new STRYPER Christmas album!

"Always remember - He Is The Reason For The Season".

According to the Columbia University Department Of Surgery, papillary thyroid cancer makes up about 80% of all cases of thyroid cancer. It is also the thyroid cancer with the best prognosis and most patients can be cured if treated appropriately and early enough.

In December 2023, Sweet underwent partial thyroidectomy, the surgery to remove part of his thyroid gland. Five months later, he told Steve Mascord of White Line Fever TV about the procedure: "I had nodules a nodule in each side of my thyroid, so thyroid nodules. And one of those got larger and larger. It was biopsied and it was cancer. So they removed half of my thyroid, [the left] half. [The right] half I still have. I have a nodule there still that's cystic they're gonna keep an eye on. I had to start thyroid medication. But I had the surgery back in December — December 15th [of 2023]."

Regarding how the operation affected his singing voice, Sweet said at the time: "I could feel the pressure of the room and the space in that area with those nodules getting larger. I could feel it. And it's been like that for a few years. I've had 'em for a while, but I had to have it removed because of the cancer, and I dealt with it right away. But having the side of that thyroid removed, they had to cut through some muscles. So I can really feel it — it just feels different, it's the only way I can describe it. My vocal nerve was not damaged. I went to the best doctor in Boston who specializes in that, specifically not damaging the vocal nerve. He uses a very particular monitoring system, and he kind of wrote the book on that. And no damage to my vocal nerve — thank God. But still, it feels weird when I sing. It feels like someone kind of has their hand on my throat. It's the only way I can describe it."

STRYPER released its long-awaited Christmas album, "The Greatest Gift Of All", on November 21 via Frontiers Music Srl. The 10-song effort includes five original Christmas tracks and five traditional Christmas cuts, including remakes of "Reason For The Season" and "Winter Wonderland", both of which originally appeared on a 1985 single and were also made available on the 1986 re-release of STRYPER's debut EP, "The Yellow And Black Attack".

STRYPER guitarist Oz Fox recently sat out the band's Latin American tour on advice of his doctor. The 64-year-old musician, who underwent a brain surgery in May 2024, was once again temporarily replaced by Howie Simon (JEFF SCOTT SOTO, GRAHAM BONNET),who previously filled in for Fox on several tours in the past.

STRYPER's latest all-original studio album, "When We Were Kings", came out in September 2024.