Stryper’s Michael Sweet opened up about his papillary thyroid cancer diagnosis during a conversation with Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk.
Michael Sweet, the frontman of Stryper, recently revealed that he has been diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer.
He shared his experience, saying, “Well, I’ve noticed over the past 10 years some issues with my neck and my voice. I’ve had a little more difficulty singing like I wanna sing. I just wrote it off to getting older and age and whatnot. I went in and got checked. They scoped me and did an ultrasound, and they discovered that I had some nodules on my thyroid on each side.”
He explained that the doctors monitored these nodules for several years. Over time, they grew larger. One nodule on his left side became large enough to warrant a biopsy, which came back malignant. Sweet underwent surgery two years ago to have it removed. He also mentioned that his right side was affected by Hashimoto’s, a chronic autoimmune disease that impacts the thyroid gland. Although there was a nodule on that side, it wasn’t considered suspicious.
Sweet continued, “They didn’t think I’d have any issues with that. Having the other side removed and going on medication, well, obviously things took a different direction. There was some new calcification in that nodule. They did a biopsy, and it came back malignant. So I gotta go through it again.”
He added, “Yeah, they left it in my right thyroid, with that nodule, ’cause they weren’t concerned about it. Obviously, things have a way of working themselves out differently from what you might think, and plans change. That’s what happened with me. So I’ve gotta go have the same surgery.”
Michael Sweet has revealed that he’s been diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer after a biopsy on a thyroid nodule came back malignant, and he’s publicly shared his health update with fans while remaining optimistic about treatment and recovery.
Despite the diagnosis, Sweet confirmed that the band will begin recording their next album as planned and that he’ll undergo further scans and surgery to remove the affected thyroid tissue, expressing confidence that he’ll heal and be ready to return to the road in 2026.
