Lindy's Incredible News
- FOX Anchor Lindy Thackston, 40, shares with fans that her blood test came back negative and she is currently cancer-free.
- Thackston was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in May 2020 and later has a recurrence in her lungs.
- When a blood test comes back negative and there is no evidence of disease (NED), that doesn’t necessarily mean that treatment will end.
While Thackston doesn’t say it specifically, the blood test she’s referring to is likely a blood test that measures minimal residual disease (MRD). The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society explains that “MRD refers to the small number of cancer cells that remain in the body after treatment. The number of remaining cells may be so small that they do not cause any physical signs or symptoms and often cannot even be detected through traditional methods, such as viewing cells under a microscope and/or by tracking abnormal serum proteins in the blood.”
Read More
View this post on Instagram
She continues, “That lowers my chances of recurrence from 97% to around 60%, according to a few doctors I've seen. Still some tough decisions to make regarding treatment but for the next few days I'm enjoying this cancer-free feeling, the best feeling I've had since May 6, 2020!”
Fans and friends were loving this incredible and joyous news. Instagram user @shannonhousertv writes, “This is great news! I can tell by how much you are glowing inside and out!” And @lindseye11 shares the anchor’s enthusiasm, saying, “I had a huge smile the entire time reading this! Enjoy this feeling! You are such a rockstar!” User @aishahoward showers Thackston with love, writing, “Reading this gave me chills!! Enjoy this feeling and many more of the same to come.”
Lindy’s Colorectal Cancer Journey
Lindy Thackston was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in May 2020. She went public with her diagnosis, as well as her treatment plan, and has continued to share updates with fans and followers. Thackston finished her chemotherapy treatment she had 10 rounds of chemo in spring 2021.
View this post on Instagram
Thackston lost her hair while going through her cancer battle, as a result of chemotherapy, and bravely shared her ever-changing look on social media. Sadly, in September 2021, the anchor shared with her fans on Instagram that her cancer had spread to her lung.
“Unfortunately my biopsy came back with the news the colorectal cancer has metastasized to my left lung. I am now technically stage four, but the good news is, my oncologists say it's curable,” she said. Thackston had successful surgery on her lung, which led to this current state of being cancer-free.
Preparing for Lung Cancer Surgery
What Happens After a Blood Test is Negative
As Thackston explained her post, when a blood test comes back negative during a cancer journey it may mean that the chance of the cancer’s recurrence decreases sometimes dramatically so, as it has in her case. The anchor explained how, for her, the blood test being negative “lowers my chances of recurrence from 97% to around 60%…”
Related: FDA Approves Blood Test Which May Let Some Cancer Patients Avoid Additional Biopsies
Thackston called herself “cancer-free” in her post. The MD Anderson Cancer Center explains that the term cancer-free “implies that not only is there nothing detectable in your body as cancer, but we also believe no residual cancer is left anywhere, so there's no chance of the cancer ever coming back. And that's a lot trickier to say, because there's always at least a very slight risk of recurrence, if you've ever had cancer before.”
Related: New Blood Test Can Quickly Determine How Well Aggressive Skin Cancer Treatment is Working
Also as Thackston says, just because a blood test is negative and a person shows no evidence of disease (NED or NEOD), it does not necessarily mean that treatment will end. Thackston says she still has some decisions ahead of her for treatment. NED (and NEOD) is an acronym regularly used in the medical community, and in the cancer journey. It means that no cancer is currently detectable in the body. Blood tests, scans, and biopsies can reveal if a person shows NED.
Using Blood Tests to Detect Cancer
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
