Singer Heo Gak. [Newsis]
Singer Heo Gak. [Newsis]

Singer Heo Gak has opened up about the despair he felt after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer and the hardship he endured when the surgery affected his voice.

On Friday, a video appeared on singer Jang Jaein's YouTube channel "Singer-Songwriter Jaein" showing Heo catching up with Jang — a fellow contestant from the 2010 talent show "Superstar K" — and sharing what he had been through in recent years.

Recalling the moment he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2017, Heo said there had been no warning signs. "I was working and just thought I was tired," he said.

On a day off, Heo visited a hospital with his father for a routine health checkup. When the wait ran long, medical staff suggested he undergo a basic examination, during which an abnormality was found in his neck. A biopsy confirmed the diagnosis: thyroid cancer.

Describing the moment he received the news, Heo said, "I just thought, 'I'm done for' and 'My life is over.'"

At the time, Heo had just released a new song, "Baboya," and was preparing for a concert. After doctors warned that delaying surgery would be dangerous, he went under the knife as soon as the concert was over.

But the surgery brought another ordeal: his voice was no longer the same.

"The surgery had a major impact on my voice," Heo said. "Before the operation, I used to produce a raspy sound on high notes, but after the surgery I couldn't do that at all." He added that for some time he struggled even to hold a normal conversation, leaving him no choice but to take about a year off.

When he tried to return to the stage, he repeatedly hit wrong notes and could not control his voice as he wanted. It took considerable time before he recovered the voice he had before the surgery.

"It took about a year and a half to two years to get back to the voice I have now," Heo said, adding that his family's support was crucial in helping him through the difficult period. "It was really hard, but my family stayed by my side and kept helping me avoid falling into negative thoughts," he said, expressing his gratitude.

Born in 1985, Heo rose to fame by winning the Mnet talent show "Superstar K2" in 2010.


betterj@heraldcorp.com