Country singer Paul Cauthen, 40, is embracing a healthier lifestyle amid his thyroid cancer journey, marked by clean eating, regular workouts, and a bold, freshly shaved head.
SurvivorNet experts encourage cancer patients to prioritize exercise, balanced nutrition, and stress management to improve treatment outcomes and reduce side effects—alongside routine checkups for recurrence.
Thyroid cancer develops when abnormal cells grow within the thyroid gland, which helps regulate vital body functions. A noticeable lump in the neck is a common early symptom.
Cauthen’s unconventional treatment path has stirred mixed reactions, as he leans away from standard-of-care methods—like surgery or radiation—in favor of lifestyle changes and alternative approaches.
Traditional cancer treatments (standard of care) are backed by scientific evidence, and are part of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines, while non-traditional therapies—such as herbal supplements and dietary modifications—fall outside mainstream guidelines and may carry risks.
Paul Cauthen, the bold voice behind hits like “25 Tequilas,” is confronting a new chapter—one shaped not just by his music, but by a deeply personal fight with thyroid cancer. Now 40, the singer-songwriter recently debuted a freshly shaved head and hinted at dramatic lifestyle changes that go far beyond aesthetics.
“Bye-bye hair. Hello, working out and eating right…This ain’t a cake walk, folks,” Cauthen posted on Instagram.
Just months into his cancer journey, Cauthen told Troy Cartwright on the Ten Year Town podcast that things are “going good” and that he’s “whipping cancer’s a**.” But what’s stirred conversation is his departure from conventional treatment—raising eyebrows even among loyal fans.
“I went a different way,” Cauthen said, referring to his non-traditional methods that veer from federally approved standards of care. For thyroid cancer, typical treatment often includes partial or full thyroid removal. More advanced cancer may need chemotherapy, radiation, and/or hormone therapy. Cauthen, however, appears cautious about invasive procedures and their side effects.
“All these things, not a lot of people talk about,” he noted. “Instead of doing the general way of having your whole endocrine system ripped out of your throat.”
His decision sparked mixed reactions, revealing fractures in some personal relationships. Still, Cauthen remains unapologetic—and reflective.
“I guess getting cancer is one of those things that kind of opens up who the real people are in your life that are in it for you and your health and your journey,” he said.
INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 26: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Paul Cauthen performs at the Palomino Stage during the 2024 Stagecoach Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 26, 2024, in Indio, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Stagecoach)
In the face of pushback, Cauthen has leaned hard into clean living, including a focus on nutritious eating and regular exercise. It’s clear that his battle with cancer isn’t just physical—it’s philosophical, emotional, and unapologetically personal.
While his path might diverge from the norm, Cauthen’s courage to chart his own course—and talk openly about it—adds a raw, honest layer to conversations around a cancer diagnosis.
Standard Treatment and Non-traditional Treatment Approaches
According to the National Cancer Institute, standard of care (also called standard therapy, best practice, and standard medical care) is treatment for a cancer or disease that medical experts widely accept as “a proper treatment for a certain type of disease.”
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), which comprises 28 leading cancer centers, establishes treatment guidelines, according to The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
“The NCCN Guidelines provide evidence-based, consensus-driven guidance for cancer management to ensure that all patients receive preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and supportive services that are most likely to lead to optimal outcomes. They are intended to assist all individuals who impact decision making in cancer care, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, payers, patients and their families, and many others.”
Traditional treatment methods for cancer may include surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation regimens. Understandably, these treatments are not easy to deal with as they often bring grueling side effects, from hair loss to diarrhea. Despite these grueling side effects,
Some patients opt for non-traditional treatments to avoid these side effects, while others bypass traditional therapy for other reasons. Examples of non-traditional treatments may include relying on herbal supplements, homeopathic drugs, or a changed diet and lifestyle.
A study published in the medical journal JAMA Oncology focused on complementary medicine, refusal of conventional cancer therapy, and patient survival. The researchers surmised that patients are more likely to die when they rely on non-traditional cancer treatments.
WATCH: Complementary Treatment
“We know that many, many patients out there are using complementary and alternative medicine, but they’re not talking with their providers about it,” says Dr. James Yu, a radiation oncologist at Yale Cancer Center who led the study.
Yu and his colleagues examined information collected from 1.9 billion people in the National Cancer Database. They found that people who chose complementary medicine for cancer treatment were more likely to be female, younger, affluent, well-educated, and privately insured.
People who chose complementary medicine were also more likely to refuse some conventional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy, Yu says. Unfortunately, these people had a two-fold greater risk of death compared with patients who did not use complementary medicine.
Yu stresses that using complementary therapies to improve patients’ quality of life should be okay as long as they do not interfere with conventional medicines and help them feel better.
Living a Healthy Lifestyle
The general recommendations for a healthy lifestyle are similar whether you have cancer or not.
Dr. Ken Miller, the Director of Outpatient Oncology at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, shared some guidelines for cancer survivors who are concerned about a recurrence with SurvivorNet:
Exercise at least two hours a week, and walking counts.
Eat a low-fat diet.
Eat a colorful diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. The American Cancer Society recommends aiming for two to three cups of vibrant vegetables and fruits each day.
Maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown that being obese can increase your risk for several types of cancer.
“The more physically fit you are going through your cancer treatment, the fewer side effects you’ll have and the faster you’ll get back to your normal quality of life,” Dr. Sairah Ahmed told SurvivorNet.
Dr. Ahmed is an associate professor in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma, Division of Cancer Medicine, at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Understanding Thyroid Cancer and How It’s Treated Under the Standard-of-Care
Thyroid cancer is generally grouped based on the specific cells it develops from.
The most common type is differentiated thyroid cancer, such as papillary thyroid cancer. Under the microscope, these cancer cells still look somewhat like normal thyroid tissue. They typically start in follicular cells, the part of the thyroid responsible for making hormones.
Non-differentiated cancers can come from the thyroid’s calcium-controlling cells, the immune cells that fight infections within the thyroid, or from follicular cells that are so mutated that they no longer look like thyroid cells under a microscope.
“Although papillary thyroid cancer is the most common, the other types of cancers tend to be more aggressive and tend to spread more widely, at least in advanced cases,” Dr. Lisa Orloff, a head and neck surgeon at Stanford Medicine, explained to SurvivorNet.
WATCH: Diagnosing Thyroid Cancer.
When being diagnosed, patients may receive the following tests:
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) Test. This blood test mainly checks levels of a hormone called TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), which is made by a small gland in the brain (the pituitary) to regulate thyroid function. While the test can’t tell if a thyroid issue is cancerous, it helps doctors see if a thyroid nodule is producing hormones. In many cases, hormone-producing nodules are not cancerous.
Ultrasound. An ultrasound can detect subtle thyroid changes, ranging from small nodules to extensive changes. However, not all nodules detected are necessarily harmful.
Biopsy. The biopsy may follow an ultrasound, which detected a nodule. In this procedure, a radiologist visualizes the nodule on a screen and directs the needle precisely into the targeted area to collect a tissue sample for further testing for signs of cancer.
Depending on the size of the tumor and if it has spread into nearby lymph nodes or tissues, doctors determine the stage or how advanced the thyroid cancer is.
Thyroid cancer patients may be faced with surgery to help treat the cancer. There are varying surgery options, including a total thyroidectomy, which involves completely removing the thyroid. In other cases, a partial thyroidectomy may be necessary, which means only a portion of the thyroid gland is removed. A partial thyroidectomy may be optimal if the nodule is confined to one side or has smaller growths affecting a smaller portion of the thyroid.
WATCH: Understanding what goes into thyroid cancer surgery.
After the surgery, patients may experience some soreness in or near their throat, mainly because a breathing tube was needed during the procedure. Over-the-counter pain medications may also be prescribed. Recovery time may last up to two weeks.
For thyroid cancer patients whose cancer is at an advanced stage, in addition to possible surgery, treatment may also involve chemotherapy, thyroid-stimulating hormone therapy (stimulates hormone production), and/or radiation therapy. In some cases, when thyroid cancer is very aggressive, surgery may no longer be effective, so relying on other treatment methods may be more optimal.
Thyroid cancer has reasonable treatment success rates. However, there is a chance of recurrence, meaning the cancer can return after treatment (also called recurrence). Recurrence may happen a few months after remission or sometimes even decades — later. Patients should ask their doctor after treatment what their risk of recurrence is.
WATCH: Thyroid cancer surveillance.
If a doctor finds your recurrence at an early stage, your chance of quickly regaining remission is often higher. This is why regular follow-ups, blood tests, and neck ultrasounds are essential.
Some of the more common signs and symptoms of a return include:
A lingering cough that doesn’t go away
A lump or swelling in the neck that you can feel or see
Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
Neck pain that isn’t explained by muscle strain or other causes
Hoarseness or voice changes
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, consider the following questions when talking with the doctor about treatment options.
What are my treatment options, and which do you recommend?
Are there clinical trials available for someone in my situation?
How frequently should we be checking my thyroglobulin levels now?
What lifestyle changes can I make to help support my treatment and recovery?
ANSWER QUESTIONS
