Former American Idol Contestant Jax Reveals Shocking Cancer Diagnosis In Emotional Message To Her Fans
If you are a fan of American Idol, then there is a 99% chance you remember Jax. The 20-year-old singer made quite an impression during her time on 14th season of Idol. She was different from your typical contestant and refused to be put inside a box.
Even though the judges and producers never seemed to fully have her back, she still managed to make it to the top three. After the show, she continued to work her butt off and even gained some attention (positive and negative) for her song titled La La Land, which was clearly about her time on the reality show. Some Idol fans slammed her for throwing shade at the show that gave her fame, but she also attracted a new group of fans who respected her honesty.
But that mini controversy can’t touch the real life struggle Jax is experiencing right now. In an interview with My Central Jersey, Jax revealed she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in April.
When you’re 20 years old, you have this ‘Superman’ entitlement mentality. Like you’re indestructible. Thank God I have people in my life that were there to help me deal with this when my reality finally clicked for me. I’m a tough guy, but I don’t think I have ever experienced anything scarier.
She also talked about the health scare on her Instagram. You can read the full post at the bottom of this page. In the letter to her fans, she remembers a trip to the grocery store with her parents, “While grocery shopping with my parents, I felt a small lump on my throat. We really didn’t think much of it, as I mentioned I tend to ignore bumps in the road (pun intended) for the sake of speed and production.”
Her mom and dad convinced her to get checked out by a doctor, and no one expected to hear that the tests revealed she had 18 tumors on her thyroid.
And the news didn’t get any better after that…
My thyroid specialist wanted to double check and biopsy the tumors to make sure they were not cancerous. It is unlikely for Thyroid cancer to occur in younger people. I went into the hospital for a biopsy on the tumors, performed my show at Webster Hall, and got a call from the hospital a few days later. It turned out that 12 out of the 18 tumors tested positive for cancer.
She had her thyroid taken out and has been receiving radiation treatment in New York. She has been spending most of the past few months resting at home, but she will be helping in the 2016 TCS NYC Marathon in November to help raise money for Tuesday’s Children.
We wish her all the best.
