Jared Kushner fought off thyroid cancer while a White House adviser

Former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, struggled with thyroid cancer while advising the 45th president, excerpts from his upcoming memoir reveal.

The New York Times on Monday published portions of "Breaking History: A White House Memoir" set for publication Aug. 23 in which Kushner gave an account of his diagnosis and the effort to keep it secret.

“On the morning that I traveled to Texas to attend the opening of a Louis Vuitton factory, White House physician Sean Conley pulled me into the medical cabin on Air Force One," Kushner wrote, per the outlet. “‘Your test results came back from Walter Reed,’ he said. ‘It looks like you have cancer. We need to schedule a surgery right away.’”

The former White House adviser detailed that he told only a select few members of the administration, which did not include the former president. The diagnosis came in October 2019, when Kushner was working on the terms of a revised trade deal with China.

Trump eventually learned of the surgery but kept Kushner's health troubles a secret. Kushner described the scene in which the president revealed he knew of his son-in-law's health.

“The day before the surgery, Trump called me into the Oval Office and motioned for his team to close the door. ‘Are you nervous about the surgery?’ he asked,” the excerpt read. Kushner inquired as to how Trump knew about it, to which he replied “I’m the president.”

Though he often attracted criticism from the right for his advocacy of certain criminal justice reforms, Kushner also played a critical role in negotiating the Abraham Accords which saw several Arab nations normalize diplomatic ties with Israel. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.