Pam Bondi, 60, has been undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer.
The former attorney general was diagnosed shortly following her dismissal from the Trump Administration in early April, according to Axios.
“Pam has been quietly kicking cancer’s ass the last few weeks,” podcast host and former White House official Katie Miller wrote on X.
Bondi is the second Trump official with the diagnosis. During the president’s first administration, son-in-law Jared Kushner — who served as an advisor — also battled the disease.
Kushner had surgery to remove a tumor from his throat and, in 2022, underwent a second surgery.
It is not yet known what treatment Bondi has undergone or if she is still receiving it.
Here’s everything to know about the disease.
What is the thyroid?
The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the neck.
As part of the endocrine system, it controls many of the body’s functions by producing and releasing hormones, namely thyroxine and triiodothyronine.
The thyroid’s main job is to control the speed of the metabolism, which is how the body transforms food into energy. But it also regulates body temperature, heart rate, digestion, breathing, fertility, skin and bone maintenance and brain development.
How common is thyroid cancer and what are the risk factors?
Thyroid cancer is relatively uncommon compared to other cancers, with around 45,240 cases expected in 2026.
The disease is more common in women than men, with a diagnosis rate nearly three times higher. This is thought to be due to a risk of factors, including hormones.
Other risk factors can include age (it commonly affects people in their 30s through 60s), genetics or family history, preexisting thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s disease (which is also more common in women), radiation exposure, or excess body weight.
There are various types of thyroid cancer, based on the type of cells the cancer grows from:
- Papillary, which grows slowly, is responsive to treatment and rarely fatal
- Follicular is more likely to spread to bones and organs
- Oncocytic is a rare type that’s harder to treat
- Medullary, a very rare type that’s often hereditary
- Anaplastic is the hardest to treat as it spreads fast into surrounding tissue
Up to 90% of thyroid cancers are papillary, while oncocytic only makes up 3% to 5% of cases. Less than 5% of cancer cases are medullary, with a quarter linked to an inherited condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2.
What are the signs and symptoms of thyroid cancer?
One of the first signs of cancer is a painless lump in the neck, called a thyroid nodule.
Symptoms that might occur include neck swelling, a hoarse voice or trouble breathing or swallowing.
But most thyroid cancers don’t cause any symptoms.
How deadly is thyroid cancer?
Thyroid cancer survival rates and prognosis are dependent on the type of thyroid cancer diagnosed.
The more common types — papillary and follicular — have a five-year survival rate of over 98%. Follicular can be more difficult to treat depending on how far it’s spread to the bones and organs.
While extremely rare, anaplastic thyroid cancer is highly aggressive, with a survival rate only five to six months after diagnosis.
What is the treatment for thyroid cancer?
Treatment can depend on the type and stage of diagnosis, but most follow the same approaches.
Surgery is the most common treatment to remove the thyroid gland either completely or only the diseased parts.
If the entire gland is removed, patients take hormone replacement medication to replace natural hormones.
Radioactive iodine therapy, taken as a pill or liquid, is also used after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells.
While rarely used, more advanced or aggressive cancers that don’t respond to radioactive iodine therapy may need chemotherapy.
