‘American Idol’ Finalist Jax Says She’s Been Battling Thyroid Cancer

She’s full of laughs.

Wearing a poop-emjoi T-shirt in the New Jersey 101.5 studio Monday morning, Jax was … well, Jax.

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) An “American Idol” finalist from New Jersey says she’s battling thyroid cancer.

But the lovely lady doesn’t hold it against anyone who cut her out, and took to Facebook to continue to share her story in a lengthy post. In an emotional Instagram post, the singer revealed that she was diagnosed with Hashimoto disease in April this year. “I was going through a lot, traveling a lot, living out of a suitcase”.

But after finding a small lump on her throat, she chose to have it checked out – even playing a gig while she waited on her biopsy results. But her parents felt it warranted a look by a doctor.

While “everyone” thinks she is “crazy” for undertaking this task right now, Jax admits she probably is – but with a smile on her face and the “stamina of Rocky Balboa”.

In the midst of her recovery, Jax is not letting the setback slow her down. The option made her mother feel better – and they moved ahead with the test. For Jax and her family, thyroid cancer was a huge shock and wakeup call. It is most common in middle-aged men and women but can strike at any age. “It is unlikely for thyroid cancer to occur in younger people”. “It was messing me up emotionally putting me in a unusual place”, Jax said. She came home to rehearse for the Webster Hall show. She was in pain and was uncomfortable. “It’s more important that the actual brain”, Jax said.

All the tumors were successfully removed and she is undergoing iodine treatments. A biopsy showed 12 were cancerous.

In the days leading up to her diagnosis, the Idol contestant was “waking up in a very dark place every day”, she says.

She called her doctor “cute”. She is now undergoing iodine treatments to kill off the remaining cancer cells.

The surgery was a success, the singer born Jaclyn Miskanic said, but left her voice “raspier”. She can’t stop singing. Though she hopes it will soon “go back to normal”.

Despite the difficulty of the diagnosis, Jax has chosen to participate in the 2016 TCS NYC Marathon on November 6. Jax and her father, a first responder during the attacks, have been longtime supporters of the nonprofit organization.

The upbeat message sent to her 59,000 fans praised the doctors looking after her, and revealed she would still run the charity marathon she signed up for. Running has always been extremely cathartic for me.

But she sees finishing the 26-mile run as a dramatic way to “kick cancer’s butt and cross that finish line”. She also will release new music in the fall.

“I am so ecstatic to be working with Tuesday’s Children and I definitely encourage anybody who is reading this to donate to the project!”