Here's How A Woman Who Appeared On HGTV Found Out She Had Cancer

Woman Finds Out She Has Cancer From Doctor Watching TV

An incredibly observant surgeon helped to save a woman’s life, after he took action online when he spotted a lump on the stranger’s neck as she appeared on an HGTV show.

Dr. Erich Voigt, a New York-based ear, nose and throat surgeon from NYU Langone Health, was watching Beachfront Bargain Hunt when he noticed a small lump on the neck of a woman being featured on the program. As a trained doctor, he quickly recognized it as needing some sort of medical attention.

Voigt explained to ABC News, “I noticed that she had a lump in her neck. And as a head and neck surgeon, I’m trained to sort of notice these things.” He immediately realized it could be serious and that the woman needed to see a doctor–though he had no idea who she was.

The doctor turned to his Facebook page for help, and posted a clip from the program asking his friends if they knew how to get in touch with her. He wrote, “I am watching a tv show and notice this woman has a left thyroid mass. She needs a sonogram and fine needle biopsy. I wonder if she knows and hope it’s benign.”

Eventually, his shot in the dark was able to connect him with Nicole McGuinness of Havelock, North Carolina. She was already a brain cancer survivor, but McGuinness’ doctors had not noticed the lump in her throat–She went to see a specialist, and was eventually diagnosed with Thyroid cancer.

“It’s just a miracle in my opinion that he happened to see this on TV,” McGuinness said to ABC News. “I can’t express how grateful I am.”

Voigt expressed that he is thankful for the “awesome power of Facebook and good people!” in a second post, after he connected with McGuinness and found out that she was getting treatment for Thyroid cancer.

Absolutely insane–you never know who’s watching!