I’m honestly surprised the number is so low.

My SO as a teen had a mass in their neck which turned out to be thyroid tissue. Due to their age the doctor at the time decided testing for cancer was not needed after removing the excess tissue.

A little over ten years later during a regular exam a doctor again finds a mass in their neck. Ultrasounds are done and a biopsy. Turns out the mass is cancer, thyroid cancer. Two partially successful surgeries where vocal cords were injured both times by an ENT we finally went to a hospital specislizing in cancer treatment. More tests are done and cancerous tissue is found all around their neck and far deeper than the ENT had even bothered to look. A third and final surgery along with radioactive iodine and my SO is cancer free with a joker like smile on their neck, a slightly changed vocal pitch and no thyroid.

The specialist said, but couldn’t confirm since the tissue from a decade ago was destroyed, that if the first doctor over a decade ago had bothered to test what was removed then all these surgeries could have been avoided. The only reason they probably didn’t test was due to my SO’s age since thyroid cancer in a highschool teenager is rare. If the thyroid removal could have been avoided if proper treatment had been done is unknown. But the large scar and the accompanying smaller ones could have. And they said the ENT while certainly able to do the surgery should have referred my SO to them either immediately or after the first surgery when it should have been clear the problem was bigger than anticipated.

We never pursued any malpractice or anything because by then we were emotionally exhausted and my SO’ depression hit an all time high.