Tarek El Moussa Posts Emotional Photo From "One of the Absolute Lowest Points of My Life"

Caroline Picard
Updated
Photo credit: Instagram/Tarek El Moussa
Photo credit: Instagram/Tarek El Moussa

From Good Housekeeping

Tarek El Moussa endured the public breakdown of his marriage this year, but the HGTV star is no stranger to struggles. The Flip or Flop host opened up yesterday about one of the hardest things he's ever done: recuperate from two forms of cancer and a debilitating back injury in short succession.

NOT embarrassed to share!!! This was one of the absolute lowest points of my life!! After beating cancer twice I had a horrific back injury. Over the course of 10 months I lost 50 pounds from all the pain meds which prevented me from wanting to eat and I was nauseous all the time. I remember those days...in this photo I'm pale white....eyes are black.... and I was 169 pounds!! My clothing didn't fit and it looks like I'm wearing drapes! This photo is a reminder than anything is possible with hope. While I went through this it was the first time in my life I wanted to quit! Thank god I didn't...or I wouldn't be standing tall today!! Reminder everyone, anything is possible! You just have to believe! T

A post shared by Tarek El Moussa (@therealtarekelmoussa) on Sep 19, 2017 at 1:56pm PDT

"NOT embarrassed to share!!! This was one of the absolute lowest points of my life," he stated. "In this photo I'm pale white....eyes are black.... and I was 169 pounds!! My clothing didn't fit and it looks like I'm wearing drapes! "

Tarek first learned of his thyroid cancer in 2013 after an eagle-eyed fan noticed a lump on his neck while watching the show. Not long after, the reality star received another troubling diagnosis, but he kept his battle with testicular cancer a secret until this year.

Tarek suffered a third and final blow in 2014. He had already put in lots of work recovering from multiple surgeries, only to throw out his back while playing golf. The father of two went on to explain how he lost 50 pounds over the next 10 months due to a side effect of his pain medication. Constant nausea kept him from eating and the pounds continued to fall off, which Tarek referenced in another Instagram post this past spring.

I thought I would share this with everyone... to truly understand how absolutely sick I was.. look at this photo and look at my eyes, I was a skeleton. This took a major toll on my physical and mental health. I know many of my fans have had similar struggles and can relate. The last 3 years were the hardest of my life, I look back and still wonder how I survived... I never quit although I wanted to thousands of times all day every day. This is from hurting my back after battling 2 cancers.. I had a 60 pound weight swing from my illnesses...I'm proud to say I didn't quit and I'm in the best shape of my life!! For everyone struggling right now from any situation.. remember... keep your head up and don't quit! There is light at the end of the tunnel, stay strong! T

A post shared by Tarek El Moussa (@therealtarekelmoussa) on Mar 16, 2017 at 3:54pm PDT

Thankfully, months of physical therapy helped the TV host get back on track. Tarek is now at his "healthy" weight of 195 pounds, he told People back in March. The star even posted a series of "after" pictures detailing his progress.

I shot this and was too embarrassed to share so I didn't... I know my journey has inspired many people so I made the difficult decision to post.. this is after battling 2 cancers and a debilitating back injury. My doctor said "You would probably never be able to lift weights again"... that motivated me to prove him wrong and get into the best shape of my life!!! Thank you to my trainer @quintin_tucker for all the hard work and motivation and @pyejirsa for the amazing photos. Remember....it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog...

A post shared by Tarek El Moussa (@therealtarekelmoussa) on Mar 30, 2017 at 12:12pm PDT

"This photo is a reminder that anything is possible with hope," he said of yesterday's throwback shot. "While I went through this it was the first time in my life I wanted to quit! Thank god I didn't ... or I wouldn't be standing tall today!! Reminder everyone, anything is possible! You just have to believe!"

[h/t People]

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