As reported by Today, during a marathon of Flip or Flop, viewer and registered nurse Ryan Reade spotted what looked like a lump on El Moussa's neck and quickly got in touch with producers to urge the renovation expert to get checked out immediately. El Moussa, a heavy smoker, had dismissed it as a fatty mass along (as did his own doctor), but described it as a "lightbulb moment" for him. Turns out, the reality star had been having issues with his throat for years at that stage.

Biopsy results soon revealed both the lump and El Moussa's smoker's cough were actually symptoms of stage 2 thyroid cancer. Anstead was incredibly worried, because the couple was busy caring for their young daughter, Taylor, at the time. More upsetting news came just a month later when El Moussa discovered he also had testicular cancer. "It was very difficult on me. My hormones were way off. It affected me. It's been three years of hell," he admitted to Us Weekly in 2017.