"From the start it was made clear to me that everything would be OK, that I'd only need tablets and not anything like chemo.
"But I needed to go back and have my thyroid removed, which happened last Monday."
The surgery was successful, but scar tissue means Lewis won't be able to take on either Gold Coast on Saturday or Brisbane next Friday night.
The 29-year-old, who has resumed gym work and is confident he'll be available for the October 13 Test against New Zealand in Townsville, said the diagnosis was scary.
"It's all still a mixture of emotions.
"I sort of dealt with it by imaging it wasn't happening to me - if that makes sense.
"...It was pretty lucky they found it at all. If I hadn't hurt my neck who knows how long it might have been there before anyone noticed?
"It could have turned out to be something a lot more serious and I'm very thankful it's not."
- AAP