DoctorOz: Sofia Vergara's Thyroid Cancer Battle & Personal Insecurities

Please welcome Sofia Vergara. I am so happy to have you here. I'm so happy to be here. Very excited. I'm a big fan. Well, I'm a fan as well. So, you're an iconic sex symbol. You play up those beautiful curves fantastically on Modern Family. But I gotta say, it is remarkable. I'm gonna say this very clearly. Casting directors over the years have been telling you to lose weight, to get a breast reduction. I mean, how do you handle that criticism of your weight and your appearance? Well, now it's fine. It was a little bit at the beginning. I was a little bit more plump. Plump? I don't know. Because coming from the Latin culture, I mean, the more you have, you know, the better. And I always felt fabulous, you know. And when I realized that when you come to Hollywood, it is difficult to be in the cameras and you do look a little bigger in the cameras. So a lot of people were telling me, we think that you should, you know, try to be a little bit more like the standard size. And also because when you're starting, you need clothes for the event. And usually the designers send you like the, how do you say, the sample sizes. Sample sizes. From the runways, which are girls that are size zero. And so for me, it was a torture. It was like I was feeding on Cinderella's, like I was the stepsister of Cinderella. Yes. Trying to fit in her shoes. So I would try to, you know, put these dresses on that were like three sizes smaller than me. Did you ever think of taking their advice? Well, yes and no. Because I, you know, of course, as a woman, you want to look good. And in this career, you have to look good. And I found a balance. You know, I started exercising, which I had never done very much. And my body changed, you know, just by exercising. I don't like dieting. And I enjoy food a lot. But I do make healthy choices now. So I think it's better for me. But of course, I still, you know, wanted to look like me. Some of these requests that were being made are invasive. A breast reduction. Would you ever have had a breast reduction? I mean, I sat down and I told my mother, Mom, what do you think? And she's like, God is going to punish you. You can't do that. I mean, you know how many women are risking their lives to have what you get? And now you're just going to go. I'm like, OK. So I ended up right there. Well, while you're trying to make your career, and I did not know this until we were getting ready for this show, I learned that you actually were a single mother at age 20. There's a lot of stress raising a child like that. How did that work for you? What kind of toll did that take on you? Well, I think with kids, you also have to give them a good example. So you cannot just do whatever you feel like doing, you know, or just partying and drinking and eating like an animal in front of them. Because then you can ask them to do different. Yeah, but your kids are going to treat themselves the way you treat yourself, not the way you treat them. So if your son didn't see you treating yourself with pride, trying to make your career go forward when many single mothers at age 20 would have said, I can't do both these things, then he probably wouldn't have the pride he obviously has right now. I guess. I have not seen it like that. I do want to talk about something that happened in your life that's quite serious. Being single wasn't the only stressful event. You've been struggling for health issues for some time. You were diagnosed with cancer, thyroid cancer, at the young age of 28. How did you make the diagnosis of thyroid cancer? Yeah, I had follicular carcinoma. And so we had to take it out. And it's hard because when you don't feel symptoms, it's a difficult choice, you know, to go through all this process because it's not like you have a pain, please operate immediately or please give me this treatment when you're uncomfortable. I had nothing. So I had to go through all this without any symptoms. So they removed my thyroid. And I've been, you know, without a thyroid for 10 years and taking medication for it. How did you tell your young son that you had cancer? Well, always when they tell you the word cancer, I think it's very dramatic. And I think the most important thing is to be educated on it so that you can know what to do. And then that's how I approached it. I told my son, you know, I have this, but I didn't make it like a big deal because, I mean, I still had to go through the process of fixing it to see if it was going to get fixed. And I guess if it was going to be something bad, I wouldn't tell him. But, you know, I just told him I'm sick. I have this cancer, but it's very curable. So when the thyroid has removed everybody, you become hypothyroid, which is what you are now. You're missing a hormone, and that's the key hormone that regulates your metabolism. People can gain weight. Sometimes they don't think the same way. So how has it affected you physically? Well, I have to say that I've been very, very lucky. It's better than any cancer because actually you can take it out and live with something that, you know, that appeal, that is creative to replace what their body produces. And what I do, what I've done in the past 10 years has been very strict with myself, taking my pill exactly when I need to take my medication, getting my tests done every three to six months, and more women because, you know, we go through menopause, we go through childbirth, pregnancy, all of those things change it. And age, I mean, through my 10 years of being with this problem, it has changed it. I have to, you know, change my dose. So I have to say that I've never had any of the symptoms. So it's, I mean, I'm lucky because, for example, I see and meet a lot of girls that they're always, you know, saying, I have this, I have that. And I think it's so crazy that it's just a test to find out. It's not like you need to do like a colonoscopy or something horrible. It's a blood test. I've had my share of those. So why are you so passionate about this? Why did you decide to become public about your own thyroid scare? Well, because, you know, I have, I've been living with that problem for the past 10 years. And I think it's very frustrating to know, because I've known many girls and meet many people, that it's a condition that can be so easily controlled by just, you know, getting on top of it. You know, it's nothing that you have to suffer through all your life if you really like take care of it. And it's with simple things like going to the doctor and following their instructions. Well, speaking of doctors, Sofia brought along her personal physician and partner on this crusade, Dr. Jordan Geller. So why do women need to be so concerned about a sluggish thyroid? Well, Dr. Oz, you know, this thyroid gland, which is so small and it's in our neck, and we're actually going to look in a few minutes and show where it is, is so important for so many functions from the head to the toe, hundreds of bodily functions and energy and how we feel and fatigue and muscle weakness, constipation. The symptoms of hypothyroidism are just a mile long. And so women really need to be in tune with that. How many women do you think have hypothyroidism? Well, we know that in the United States alone, probably about four to five percent of the population is already diagnosed with hypothyroidism. There's probably millions of women who are undiagnosed. And, you know, one red flag is that if you have a family member, and this is really important for the audience to know, if you have a family member, a parent, a sibling with low thyroid, you should definitely get checked. Talk to your doctor because you're at a much higher risk. Sofia, would you join me on a little expedition? Of course. Is it far away? Yeah, we could salsa over there if you want. We're going to salsa here. Perfect. So put your purple gloves on. I'm going to take the ring off. Oh, how are you? It's very expensive. Here, I'll hold your ring for you. I promise I'll give it back. No, it's okay. She's not giving me the ring. I can put it on top though. She's never been... She will never lose her ring now. It's not like I'm going to operate you right now right here. It's okay. All right. This is a thyroid gland. Now, this is a normal thyroid gland. You notice that it's relatively small. Go ahead and feel that. Feel it sort of fleshy. Yeah. This... Is it parathyroid? No. Well, this is an abnormal thyroid gland. You see how big it got compared to this? Mine was like that? Yours was like this. There's the Adam's apple for a male. And in a woman, of course, you don't have a big Adam's apple. But right below that Adam's apple, there's a gland. Feel that and describe that. Is that... It's like a sausage. Sausage. Are you hungry? No. I mean, maybe with a little sauce, but... So, if I can, I noticed you have a very beautiful scar. Yes. If you don't mind, point that out to folks because that's where the thyroid gland is. I already touched that thing. I'll point to it now. You're not going to touch me after you touch that thing? No. It's here. All right. Can you all see here? I'll take here. Yeah. There's a little scar right there. Yeah. And I'll just point that out because there's two muscles on either side. And, Dr. Geller, I would love if you could show folks the neck test. This is a test that everyone should do right now to figure out if they've got a thyroid gland that looks more like this big one that we're showing here versus the normal one, which is, of course, a little more dainty, that it should be actually representative of. Absolutely. So, this is a test that I do in my office when I have a patient come in and I'm suspicious that they may have a thyroid problem. And it's something that everybody can do here in the audience and you can do at home. And really, all we do is we take two fingers and I gently rest them. And you can do this right now with me on your collarbone, right in front of your neck. Don't put a lot of pressure. I don't want you to feel like you're choking yourself. And when somebody has a glass of water handy, or if not, we'll have them swallow. And very gently, you'll feel the thyroid gland rise up and down below your fingers. And for most women, you shouldn't feel anything. That's correct. If you feel something moving beneath your fingers like that enlarged gland that Dr. Vergara showed us with her ring on, that means that there's a problem there that someone needs to look for. Now, in addition to being able to feel something, there are actually things you should be looking for symptoms. So Dr. Geller and Sofia put together a five-symptom checklist. I'm going to go through those one by one so you're all clear on them. Sofia, the first sign is look out for fatigue. Why is that? Yes. Well, because it's one of the main symptoms, I think, that you can recognize when you don't feel like you want to get out of bed or everything. It's an effort and you get tired. In times that you usually didn't get tired, I think that's very important to be looking for. Next sign, unexpected weight gain. That should get some of your attention. A lot of you are trying your hardest to lose weight. It doesn't come off. This could be the cause. Dr. Geller, the next sign symptom is sensitivity to cold. What's the connection? Well, the thyroid gland is really the body's thermostat. It's what regulates your temperature. So if you're one of those women that's always complaining of cold hands or cold feet, or if you're in bed with your husband and you're always freezing and your husband's not, we've all experienced that, I'm sure. I'm hearing some people in the audience. That's definitely a red flag. You should speak to your doctor about that and get your thyroid checked. Next up, a very common symptom is brittle skin, hair, and nails. Sofia, why is that so critical? Because it's horrible. And for a woman, that's really critical. But I think that's something very easy to realize. And the fifth symptom would never be complete if I had a show without this topic. Constipation. Dr. Geller, how does that correlate with the thyroid problem? Yeah, I don't want to talk about that. Again, when the thyroid is slow, everything is slow. And if you have new onset constipation or worsening constipation, that's definitely a sign you should bring up with your doctor. Sofia, do you ever have that problem? Maybe. If you've got three or more of these symptoms, you've got to see a doc about it. But listen, any of these symptoms can also be a sign of hypothyroidism, especially the fatigue symptom, the first one. So the best rule of thumb is if you are concerned, get your thyroid checked. Sofia is absolutely right. It's a blood test. It's simple to do. The good news, of course, is that if it's a problem, it's easy to treat. So figure it out. We are back with Sofia Vergara who says everyone on this set of Modern Family calls her the staff doctor and comes to her for personal diagnoses. So I'm putting her to the test today to see if Dr. Vergara really knows best. I'm going to give you the symptoms. It's a very simple game. All you've got to tell me is the ailment. I'll give you three choices. What is an ailment? Sickness. Illness. What's wrong with me? I don't know. I'm going to pretend I'm sick. First off, I'm so tired I can barely stay awake. My nose won't stop running. I'm sneezing nonstop. You have a cold. Oh. That one was easy. No, no, no, no, no. You have a cold. What do you have? Well, I'm going to tell you the choices. Here's the big clue. I'm itching my eyes all the time and it's worse in the morning. Oh, you have an allergy. How do you know I don't have morning conjunctivitis? Do you have goo goo thing in your eyes? No. Do you have redness in your eyes? No. Do you have a lot of itching? I have itching only. But itching can be from other itches. Yes. I'm not talking about venereal disease here. I'm talking about my eyes. I don't know where you've been. All right. Forget that one. It was supposed to be allergies. I said allergies. I know she said it. I said allergies. You said allergies but I hadn't given you the symptoms yet. All right. Okay. Next up. Concentrate, doctor. Next up. I have a rash on my arms and the back of my knees but nowhere else. All right. It is a crusty and itchy rash. And here's a picture of what it looks like. Just like this. See that rash? Eczema? Yes. It's eczema. I haven't given the rash. There it is. Eczema. Yeah, but that's a very specific, you know, characteristic of the eczema behind the knees and in that kind of rash like that, no? Wow. All right. Finally, our last diagnosis. Okay. I feel awful. Wait till you hear the total symptoms. I feel awful every time I eat a fatty meal like this loaded hot dog and fries. All right. It feels like I'm getting a cramp. Then I double over with the most excruciating pain right under my ribs. Right over here. Right there. Here? Right there. All right. Now, is it a stomach ulcer? Is it appendicitis? Or do I have gallstones? Ooh. It's not. But wait, but you have to give me more, more things. I am. You have to give me more symptoms. You cannot just go to a doctor and tell him two things. I'm thinking that we're God and we're going to immediately tell you what it is. All right. So it starts an hour after the meal. Well, yeah, it can be an ulcer, yeah. And the pain lasts an hour when it starts. Yeah, I would say it is. What was appendicitis? No, it's appendicitis. It's completely out of the question. Crazy idea. Yeah. Because appendicitis gives you like a pain in the leg and the femur. I can't touch, but down here, right? Yeah, yeah, you can touch. So, right upper quadrant pain underneath the right ribs. No, no, so it's an ulcer. No, because ulcers... Then what is it? It's a gallstone. Yes, yes. Are you sure? Yes. Here's what they look like. You have little stones like that, big stones on the left. And here's the thing with gallstones. They start an hour after your meal. That's important to know. How is that specific like that? Because ulcers usually hurt as soon as you have the food in your stomach. Immediately you feel the... And the gallstone, the stone gets stuck in the gallbladder. And when they eat the fatty meal with that hot dog, the gallbladder is trying to squeeze that bile out to digest the fat. So, an hour after the meal, it's trying to squeeze it out and it can't squeeze it. Do they dissolve that with the lasers now? They can do lasers. They do like a laparoscopic thing, no? You know what? I'm going to keep you your doctor status. It has been such a pleasure to have you on. So, leave that guy alone. All right. Be sure to subscribe to my channel so you don't miss anything. And remember to check back often for what's new.