Random MRI slip uncovers silent thyroid cancer in a young woman

An unfathomably random medical error helped reveal a silent cancer in a 27-year-old Australian woman, Katie Tombs, after an MRI captured a sliver of her neck by chance. Thyroid cancer affects about one in 80 people and is notably more common in women, according to Cancer Council data.

While packing for a round-the-world trip in June 2018, Katie woke with a sharp pain in her arm and visited a physiotherapist, who urged an MRI to check the spine. The results, delivered over the phone thanks to private health coverage, revealed a small lump in her neck that was not visible externally and had no other symptoms. Further testing, including a CT scan and biopsy, confirmed papillary thyroid cancer, the most common form, which had already spread to lymph nodes in her neck.

She underwent a full thyroidectomy, plus a right neck dissection to clear tumor-involved tissue, followed by radioactive iodine treatment and months of monitoring. The six-month process concluded in March 2019, after which she and her partner resumed their travels across Asia, New Zealand and Fiji, before returning to the UK for follow-up care.

Living without a thyroid, Tombs now takes daily medication to replace thyroid hormones. She says life goes on after thyroid cancer, and that the recovery process reframes priorities, emphasizing health and wellness physically, mentally and spiritually. The travel chapter helped her slow down and rediscover gratitude in nature and new places as part of her healing.

Context matters: in 2024, about 4,335 people in Australia were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. 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. Tombs’ experience illustrates how a routine clinical moment can lead to life-changing treatment, and how survivors navigate post-treatment life while continuing to pursue personal goals.