Alexis Ohanian had surgery to remove thyroid nodules that would 'likely turn cancerous'
Alexis Ohanian has one more thing to be grateful for after preventing potential cancer.
The 41-year-old Reddit co-founder, who is married to Serena Williams, shared in an Instagram post on Thanksgiving Day that he'd recently undergone surgery on his thyroid and encouraged "fellow men" to also take care of their health.
"After tracking some suspicious nodules on my thyroid for the last 4 years, I recently got half of it surgically removed," Ohanian wrote in the caption of a post-surgical selfie in a hospital bed. "The nodules were getting bigger & the latest biopsy revealed they’d very likely turn cancerous. My mom had breast cancer around this age (41) and then ultimately died from brain cancer a decade or so later. I hate cancer."
He added: "I wasn’t gonna take any chances; the surgery was smooth and I’m extra grateful this Thanksgiving because I got the call this morning that my now-removed-half-of-thyroid was indeed full of some gnarly nodules that were very likely to become cancerous."
He bemoaned being unable to lift weights for two weeks but expressed gratitude for the opportunity to take his daughters — 7-year-old Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., who goes by Olympia, and 1-year-old Adira River Ohanian — to Disney World during the holiday week. "So life is wonderful," Ohanian wrote.
"To my fellow men — make those doctor’s appointments — especially if y’all are dads," he concluded." Happy Thanksgiving, everyone."
Ohanian and Williams welcomed Olympia in September 2017 and were married two months later in New Orleans. Right before stepping out to attend last year's Met Gala, the couple announced they were expecting another child.
What is thyroid cancer?
According to the National Cancer Institute, thyroid cancer made up 2.2% of all new cancer cases in 2024.
A healthy thyroid is a quater-sized, butterfly-shaped gland found at the bottom of the throat that usually cannot be felt, per the NCI. It uses iodine to make hormones and controls body temperature, metabolism and heart rate.
Thyroid cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis for 20-to-34-year-old women, though it's usually diagnosed in 45-to-64-year-old patients. Women are around three times more likely than men to develop thyroid cancer.
Family history, having an enlarged thyroid and radiation exposure in childhood are several risk factors.
Screenings might include a medical professional feeling for lumps in the neck or swelling of the lymph nodes or voice box. According to the NCI, "Only a small number of thyroid nodules are diagnosed as cancer."