Brooke Burke-Charvet Talks About Beating Thyroid Cancer, Perils of Being 40

Still sporting a bandage over her neck where countless incisions were made during her battle with cancer, Burke-Charvet insisted in the April edition of Health that sharing her story was pertinent in helping spread the word about preventive health.

“I book that long, annoying, yearly physical, even when I feel perfectly fine. Do we really want to carve out half the day for that? No, but it’s so important,” said the star whose doctor discovered her cancerous nodules during a routine checkup.

The 41-year-old said it took 10 biopsies from different doctors before the reality of needing a thyroidectomy finally set in.

“I just didn’t hit me. It was 8 in the morning and I was standing in the kitchen and I get the call and I was like, ‘Ok, I’ll call you next week’ and he was like, ‘No, don’t call me next week. We need you to have surgery now,’” she said.

Despite the risk that thyroidectomy patients are prone to autoimmune diseases, the newlywed and mother of four said the worst part of the experience was watching her family suffer through the process.

“My oldest daughter was really worried. My middle daughter, Sierra, was a bit more scientific. And my youngest kids were a little nervous. When you have a medical issue, the whole family goes through it. But thank God it’s over. Over and done,” she said, telling the magazine that her latest concern is aging, according to People.

“The 40s are a reality check. … I would like to slow down the aging process but I don’t want to look like a pumpkin, all swollen,” said the star, who later admitted that you have to embrace mother nature.

“I’m a woman. I’m a wife. I’m a mother of four. I don’t want to look like a 25-year-old anymore. I want to be my best healthy self,” she said.

Burke-Charvet can be seen next on the season premiere of “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC on March 18.