Brooke Burke-Charvet on Aging Gracefully
ABC News' Bianna Golodryga and Amanda Keegan report:
Brooke Burke-Charvet may be surrounded by youth as a Hollywood star and the co-host of "Dancing With the Stars," but the 41-year-old mother of four says she has no desire to go back to her younger days.
"I don't want to look like a 25-year-old anymore," Burke-Charvet tells Health magazine. "I want to be my best, healthy self."
Appearing as the magazine's cover girl in its current issue, Burke-Charvet says that after surviving a battle with thyroid cancer, a few wrinkles on her face are the least of her worries.
READ ALSO: Brooke Burke-Charvet Has Thyroid Cancer
"I don't want to fill in every flaw on my face," she says.
Burke-Charvet first revealed she had thyroid cancer on Nov. 8 in a YouTube video titled, "Cancer. Me?" A tiny nodule on her thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland at the front of her neck, was spotted during a routine physical. An initial biopsy was inconclusive, but follow-up tests revealed the lump was cancerous.
The star, married to actor David Charvet, underwent a thyroidectomy in December and, just days later, revealed on her blog that she was cancer-free.
READ ALSO: Brooke Burke-Charvet Tweets Post-Surgery Updates
"Every day I'm feeling better I'm looking forward to getting back to my usual routine, but with a bit of a different outlook … With a newfound respect for life," Burke-Charvet wrote.
She documented every step of her battle on social media, from how she told her children she had cancer, to tweeting a photo of the surgical scar on her neck, eager to spread hope to other women fighting the disease.
Now Burke-Charvet is on a preventative health crusade to encourage women to regularly check in with their doctors.
"The message really is about preventative health," she told "Good Morning America" in January. "Because I had no symptoms, and generally with thyroid cancer, it's very subtle symptoms. I went for a regular physical.
The "DWTS" co-host, who was back at work hosting the Miss America pageant just one month after her cancer surgery, says she also stays in fighting form with a good diet and regular exercise.
READ ALSO: Brooke Burke-Charvet is Cancer Free
"It's like the best medicine in the world…the best antidepressant," she said of her fitness routine.
Brooke-Charvet says she also sees passing her healthy habits on to her children and making them accessible to others - she recently released two fitness DVDs called "Brooke Burke Body: Sexy Abs and Brooke Burke Body: 30-Day Slim Down" - as another opportunity to help.
"I try to share and spread that message because, I think, the healthier we are the healthier our life is," she tells the magazine.
She will be back on TV co-hosting the season premiere of "Dancing With the Stars" with Tom Bergeron this Monday, March 18, at 8/7 central on ABC.