Random MRI misalignment reveals silent thyroid cancer discovered in a young woman

An unfathomably random medical error helped reveal a silent cancer that affects about one in 80 people and is notably more common in women. Katie Tombs, then 27 and living in Sydney after moving from the United Kingdom, learned she had papillary thyroid cancer after an MRI intended to check an unrelated arm complaint captured a sliver of her neck.

Her arm pain prompted a physiotherapist to urge further testing, and a private MRI led to a phone call with results. The radiologist conveyed a stark message: the good news was that the spine looked fine, but the bad news was that they had found the edge of something else. Tombs had no visible lump and no other symptoms, and there was no family history of thyroid disease. It was the moment she heard the words, "You have cancer," that changed the trajectory of her life and prompted conversations with her employer, her family, and her plans for travel.

Thyroid cancer is relatively rare, but it is a disease many people live with for years. The thyroid gland in the neck produces hormones that regulate metabolism. The most common form is papillary thyroid cancer, which accounts for about 70 to 80 percent of cases; follicular thyroid cancer accounts for about 15 percent, with medullary thyroid cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer, and rare forms making up the remainder. In Australia, an estimated 4,335 people were diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2024. The average age at diagnosis is 53. It is the ninth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the country, and about one in 79 people will be diagnosed by age 85. Women are significantly more affected than men.

Doctors ordered a CT scan and a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, and ultrasound later showed cancer had spread to lymph nodes in the neck. At 27, Tombs underwent a full thyroidectomy — removal of the thyroid gland — along with a right neck dissection to clear the tumour and affected cells. She also underwent radioactive iodine treatment, followed by months of monitoring and recovery. The process took about six months.

By March 2019, Tombs and her partner Brad finally set off on their travels — six months across Asia, New Zealand, and Fiji — before returning to the UK for follow-up checks. Now living without a thyroid, she takes daily thyroid hormone replacement and says life goes on after thyroid cancer. The experience shifted her focus toward health and wellness, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and she says travel helped her reconnect with herself and with life.

Her story highlights how thyroid cancer can present with few or no symptoms and how incidental findings can lead to early detection. It also underscores that while the disease is more common in women, papillary thyroid cancer often has a favorable prognosis with treatment, and long-term follow-up remains essential.