Sangita Patel reflects on having an 'ugly cry' after being diagnosed with cancer: 'I've never had a breakdown'
Sangita Patel is reflecting on her journey with a rare form of thyroid cancer. In a interview released in March for "Carry The Fire," a podcast from the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation hosted by Canadian journalist Lisa LaFlamme, Patel opened up about receiving her diagnosis at the peak of her professional life.
The Toronto-born TV host was told she had encapsulated angioinvasive oncoytic carcinoma in 2023. Although she's now cancer-free, she said she's only now begun healing emotionally from the life-changing diagnosis, surgeries and treatment.
This April is Cancer Awareness Month, otherwise known as Daffodil Month. In honour of the special month, here's everything we learned about Patel's recent conversation with LaFlamme.
Patel is a strong person, both physically and mentally. The former ET Canada host has cultivated an online presence filled with fitness, healthy recipes and positivity.
This article was first published in March 2025.
However, when LaFlamme asked the 46-year-old mother of two about her biggest takeaway from cancer, Patel had a surprising answer.
"That I'm allowed to be weak," Patel said, adding that for her, weakness looks like "vulnerability." Despite the lesson, Patel added she's still learning how to put it into practice.
Patel was understandably nervous when the lump on her throat was biopsied and when she underwent surgery to have one side of her thyroid removed.
However, following the surgery, Patel's pathology report revealed she had encapsulated angioinvasive oncoytic carcinoma, also known as Hürthle cell carcinoma. It's a form of thyroid cancer that can be more aggressive and potentially spread to the lungs or bones.
Patel said she understood the pathology report was serious because her husband, a radiologist named Samir, was quiet when reading the results.
"It's bullshit. I was just like, 'I can't believe this is happening,'" Patel said. "I thought I've done my part. I'm healing. Life is good. I've done what I had to do ... and I'm like, 'What's wrong with me? What is happening right now?'"
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Sangita Patel (@sangita.patel)
Patel and her family decided to retreat to Barbados following the official diagnosis. Although the trip was supposed to be restorative, she said she experienced a new emotional low point.
"I've never had a breakdown in my 45 years. I don't even know what happened. Something my daughter said. And we were at dinner, and I went back to our hotel room and I had the ugly cry," she said. "I don't remember the last time I ever had an ugly cry like that. And my husband was there, and I'm thinking about death, and I'm thinking about everything, just things I would never think about. I finally said, 'Holy shit, I could die.'"
Patel said her husband admitted he had a similar breakdown after learning of her cancer and said she was going to do more to see how Samir's feeling even now that she's cancer-free.
Patel's surgeon, Dr. Jesse Pasternak of University Health Network in Toronto, removed the rest of her thyroid. For both surgeries, Pasternak used a cutting edge method called TOETVA (transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy-vestibular approach).
TOETVA involves making incisions inside the mouth to access the thyroid, instead of accessing the gland through the neck, meaning there's no visible scarring. Pasternak is the only surgeon in Canada using the method, and although the surgery was successful, he ordered more treatment to help prevent future cancer recurrences.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Sangita Patel (@sangita.patel)
"Radioactive iodine is an iodine pill that you take that has, instead of the regular iodine that we eat in our iodine salt, it's got a radioactive particle attached to it," he explained to LaFlamme. "Interestingly, only thyroid cells in the body use iodine, and so the iodine only goes to the thyroid cells, and then it basically explodes once it gets to those thyroid cells and kills the thyroid cell with it."
While Patel is on the mend emotionally, she now focusing on new projects. That includes establishing a wellness brand, which she compared to Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop.
"Building my brand is what my goal is for the next few years, and I take it step by step. If there's one thing I do is I definitely stay on my own journey," she said. "I don't look to the left. I don't look to the right. I stay on my journey.
"I don't even know how I got here, but it's partly because I stayed on my journey. And that's my next step, is to actually explode internationally, to be in that space, knowing there's a whole world out there."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
34 minutes ago
Air quality worsens in eastern US as Canadian wildfire smoke hangs over Midwest
PORTLAND, Maine -- Smoke from Canadian wildfires started making air quality worse in the eastern U.S. on Wednesday as several Midwestern states battled conditions deemed unhealthy by the federal government. The fires have forced thousands of Canadians to flee their homes and sent smoke as far as Europe. In the U.S., the Midwest is bearing the brunt. Smoke lingered on the skylines of cities from Kansas City to Minneapolis, and a swath of the region had unhealthy air quality Wednesday, according to an Environmental Protection Agency map. Iowa issued a statewide air quality alert through early Thursday, urging residents to limit certain outdoor activities and warning of possible health effects due to the thick smoke. Wisconsin officials made similar suggestions as the smoke drifted southeast across the state. In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, authorities advised people shut windows at night, avoid strenuous activity outside and watch for breathing issues. Parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York had areas of moderate air quality concern, and officials advised sensitive people to consider reducing outdoor activity. New Hampshire authorities hoped conditions would improve by late Wednesday. 'The particle air pollution event is the result of extensive wildfires in central and western Canada,' the state's Department of Environmental Services said. 'Wind patterns are forecasted to transport plumes of smoke from these fires across much of New England and New Hampshire.' The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an alert for almost the entire state into Wednesday, but the Twin Cities area got the worst of it in the Midwest on Tuesday. 'As the smoke continues to move across the state Tuesday, air quality will slowly improve from northwest to southeast for the remainder of the alert area,' the agency said. 'The smoke is expected to leave the state by Wednesday at noon.' The Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned that air quality in a band from the state's southwest corner to the northeast could fall into the unhealthy category through Thursday morning. The agency recommended that people, especially those with heart and lung disease, avoid long or intense activities and to take extra breaks while doing strenuous actions outdoors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's AirNow map showed a swath of red for 'unhealthy' conditions across Wisconsin and northern Iowa. Northern Michigan was also the site of many unhealthy zones, the agency said. The Air Quality Index was around 160 in many parts of the upper Midwest, indicating unhealthy conditions. The Air Quality Index — AQI — measures how clean or polluted the air is, focusing on health effects that might be experienced within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Particulates are the main issue from the fires The index ranges from green, where the air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. That level comes with health warnings of emergency conditions where everyone is more likely to be affected, according to AirNow. There were areas of reduced air quality all over the U.S. on Wednesday, with numerous advisories about moderate air quality concerns as far away as Kansas and Georgia. Canada is having another bad wildfire season. Most of the smoke reaching the American Midwest has been coming from fires northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg in Manitoba. Canada's worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months. Canada's wildfires are so large and intense that the smoke is even reaching Europe, where it is causing hazy skies but isn't expected to affect surface-air quality, according the European climate service Copernicus. ___
USA Today
42 minutes ago
- USA Today
Canadian wildfire smoke is fouling U.S. air quality. We show where.
Canadian wildfire smoke is fouling U.S. air quality. We show where. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is engulfing much of the eastern and central United States and will last through the week. The wildfires are releasing large amounts of smoke into the atmosphere. Over the Great Plains, the high-level flow of winds has been pushing the smoke south, and shifting upper-level winds from the west will drag the smoke over the eastern states, according to The Weather Channel. Where Canadian smoke blankets the U.S. Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them. Is climate change worsening Canadian wildfires? Some Canadian officials say climate change is playing a part in the blazes. 'It is a simple fact that Canada is experiencing the impacts of climate change, including more frequent and more extreme wildfires,' Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a CTV News report. Higher temperatures are leading to drier conditions, which makes it easier for forest fires to start. Erratic winds allow the fires to spread, CTV said. How wildfire smoke can travel thousands of miles Wildfire smoke worsens air quality Wildfire smoke has been fouling U.S. air quality for several days, starting in states bordering Canada, including the Dakotas, Minnesota and other Midwestern states. The smoke has drifted south and east, creating moderate air quality levels for a large swath of central and southeastern states, according to By the morning of June 3, air quality in Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida, was at a moderate level. How wildfire smoke can endanger your health Inhaling smoke can result in a variety of ailments, from minor irritability to more serious problems like respiratory and cardiovascular disorders. According to the EPA, particulate matter, also known as PM 2.5, is a main component of wildfire smoke and is the air pollutant of greatest concern to public health. The fine particles are inhaled and enter your lungs and bloodstream where they can cause damage to other organs. Exposure has been linked to a higher risk of lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes and brain damage. If the air quality becomes unhealthy, avoid physical exertion, including indoors. While inside, keep windows and doors shut. Leave off any air conditioning or fan systems that pull air from outside, and use air filters or air purifiers. You can monitor air quality in your area at More: U.S and Canada wildfire and smoke tracker. See air quality warnings near you. More: Which states will see smoke from Canadian wildfires? EPA issues air quality warnings. CONTRIBUTING Jeanine Santucci and Chad Murphy, USA TODAY Network SOURCE The Air Quality Index, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NASA, NOAA This story was updated to add new information.
USA Today
42 minutes ago
- USA Today
Saharan dust and Canadian smoke will cover U.S. together this week
Hear this story In a rare atmospheric convergence, the East Coast will experience both drifting smoke from Canadian wildfires and a sweeping plume of Saharan dust during the next few days. While residents in the Midwest recently endured the worst of the wildfire smoke—bringing air quality to near-dangerous levels—conditions are now improving. According to AccuWeather, air quality in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa is expected to clear following the recent haze. An easterly wind pattern has carried the smoke eastward, reaching as far south as Florida. But, the smoke remains generally high in the atmosphere, likely resulting only in vivid red sunrises and sunsets rather than ground-level health concerns. Adding to the spectacle, a plume of Saharan dust is making its way from South Florida toward the Gulf Coast. This dust will further enhance the brilliance of sunrises and sunsets across the region throughout the week. The paths of the Canadian wildfire smoke and Saharan dust Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them. AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva, in a report released by the forecasting company on June 2, said that the plume is roughly 2,000 miles wide from west to east and 750 miles long from north to south. The plume appears to be the largest to reach America so far this year. Alan Reppert, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, told USA TODAY June 2 that the plume will likely make it over Florida on June 4 and move over the Gulf Coast the following two days. Where Canadian smoke blankets the U.S. There are over 200 wildfires burning in Canada as of June 3, with over 100 classified as "out of control," according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The fires have forced thousands to evacuate. On June 2, the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, announced that 150 federal firefighting personnel from the United States are headed across the border to help fight fires in the provinces of Alberta and Manitoba. Contributing: James Powel, Julia Gomez and Jeanine Santucci
