Jax, the third place finisher on American Idol season 14, recently revealed that she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Although she had already gone through surgery earlier this year, Jax noted that she is still undergoing various treatment methods.
Jax, born Jaclyn Cole Miskanic, made the revelation about her condition during an interview with NJ 101.5. According to the former American Idol contestant, she began feeling the symptoms of her condition during the days leading up to her performance at Webster Hall in Manhattan, New York, last spring.
"I was going through a lot, traveling a lot, living out of a suitcase," she said during the interview. "But I was waking up tired a lot, losing my voice and just kind of depressed and in a really dark place. My parents knew something was up because it wasn't normal."
She said that while she was going about her day at that time, she felt a strange lump in her throat and decided to go to a nearby clinic for a checkup. At first she thought she only had a sinus infection but the doctor diagnosed her with Hashimoto's disease, a condition in which the thyroid gets attacked by the body's immune system, according to Billboard.
In one of her medical check-ups, the doctor discovered a total of 18 tumors on her thyroid. She was told that 12 of those were cancerous.
Due to the seriousness of her condition, Jax agreed to undergo surgery in April. Thankfully, the procedure went off without a hitch and the doctors were able to remove the cancerous lymph nodes as well as her thyroid. She is currently undergoing iodine treatments to kill off the remaining cancer cells.
Due to her experience, Jax said that she has decided to participate in the upcoming TCS NYC Marathon in November. She will be running on behalf of Tuesday's Children, an organization dedicated to providing support and aid to people affected by terrorism and other violent events. Jax also established a fundraising page to gather support for the organization.
