- 22-year-old Esha Adikeshava went viral on TikTok after users pointed out the lump in her neck and encouraged her to get her thyroid checked out.
- Adikeshava tells PEOPLE while she was initially hesitant, she decided to get herself checked out at the doctor after users flooded her DM’s and comments.
- During the check, the doctor confirmed that she had three nodules on her neck and had them biopsied to confirm if they were benign or not.
For 22-year-old Esha Adikeshava, making TikToks is a creative outlet outside of her regular work. When she isn’t working, Adikeshava has built a following for talking about beauty, fashion and her experiences as a young South Asian-American woman living in Texas.
So when she posted a simple TikTok talking about the racial stereotypes around hair oiling after a workout on Dec. 26, she saw an unusual comment on the video pointing out her neck’s appearance. “Within two hours, the top comment [of the video] had said ‘Oh you should probably get your thyroid checked,’ ” Adikeshava tells PEOPLE exclusively. “At the time, it was the only comment and I was trying to figure out what this person was talking about.”
She initially brushed off the comment but the next morning, her video was flooded with thousands of views and over 1,000 comments all advising her to get her thyroid checked. In the video, Adikeshava explains that the ”lights made my neck look bigger” than it actually looked in person, but the comments from other users — including several nursing students — all encouraged her to see a doctor. That’s when she took a closer look.
“I just started noticing it and was like, ‘Okay, I guess there’s something there,” she recalls. “I got a lot of DM’s from nursing students and people who had their thyroid taken out who shared their experiences.” Even her parents — who also follow her on TikTok — were surprised by the reaction online. “They honestly appreciated the community [that came together] and were surprised by how much people were paying attention.”
After some debate, Adikeshava decided to make an appointment with her doctor and get herself checked out. At the doctor’s office, she told them about the TikTok video and showed them the comments she had gotten about her neck.
“They were pretty surprised and shocked to find out that I was there because I made a video,” she says, noting that they were also “impressed there was such a community” that encouraged her to get checked out.
She posted another update to TikTok on Jan. 18, confirming to her followers that she would be getting her thyroid checked out after the thousands of comments and messages she received.
“I went to the doctor and all my labs from my bloodwork came back normal, but my ultrasound ended up showing I have three little masses on my thyroid,” she revealed in the video at the time.
Adikeshava tells PEOPLE that it was “super nerve-wracking and shocking” to see the results, adding that “I was ready to come back onto TikTok and tell everyone that they were wrong.” But instead, she thanked everyone for “saving my life” and “looking out for me.”
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In her comments, users told her “not to worry too much” and reassured her that “a vast majority of thyroid nodules are benign.” John Hopkins also reports that “more than 95 percent of thyroid nodules are benign” and that malignancy is usually determined by a biopsy.
So Adikeshava got her nodules biopsied and confirmed with PEOPLE that they turned out to be benign. As the initial TikTok posted back in December now has over 11 million views online, she says she’s “grateful people took the time” to comment and DM her about the lump and encouraged her to get checked.
She also notes that she believes that the video wouldn’t have gotten the same traction or reaction if she posted it on another platform.
“If that original video was posted on Reels [or another social platform], I don’t think I would have gotten the comments about my thyroid,” she says. “I think it mostly would have been about what I was talking about [in the video].”
“I post every little thought that comes to my head [on TikTok] like so many other creators,” she continues. “So when [people interact with me], it feels like you’re following up with friends, and that’s why people reached out to me and said ‘Hey, bestie, like, you should probably get your thyroid checked out.’ I think the sense of community on TikTok is really different than like any other social media platform, and I think that’s why people fight so hard to make it stay.”