An off-duty doctor felt obliged to contact a woman who he’d seen on a reality TV show after spotting an alarming lump ‘moving under her skin’.
Brain cancer survivor Nicole McGuiness once appeared on an episode of the beloved HGTV series Beachfront Bargain Hunt.
To celebrate her recovered health, the guest traveled to Morehead City in North Carolina, US, with her father Mike, where they viewed various holiday homes.
One man who tuned into the episode of the long-running property series was Dr. Erich Voigt, an ear, nose and throat surgeon from New York City.
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The medical practitioner had wanted to use Beachfront Bargain Hunt as a means of escapism after completing a day at work—but it turns out Dr. Voigt is never off the clock.
Speaking to the New York Post, the specialist explained that he was worried about an obscure lump on McGuiness’ neck.
“I was relaxing after a day of work, watching beautiful beach houses and daydreaming. But then I noticed the lump," he said.
"It stood out - and I went from being relaxed to [thinking], 'Gosh, she may have a medical problem'. I thought, 'I don’t think she knows she has this'. I felt obliged and sort of guilty, like I should let her know.
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“I paused my TV and rewound it. I had to make a choice whether to ignore it or actively try to contact her."
Despite being off the clock, the otolaryngologist couldn’t let the alarming, asymmetrical lump slide.
He decided he would warn McGuiness but immediately hit a snag—the Beachfront Bargain Hunt star’s surname wasn’t mentioned in the television show.
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Dr. Voigt remained determined and took to social media to post a soon-to-be viral plea.
“I am watching a TV show and notice this woman has a left thyroid mass,” he wrote on Facebook. “She needs a sonogram and fine needle biopsy. I wonder if she knows and hope it's benign."
Two weeks after sharing his worries, Dr. Voigt connected with McGuiness via a family member and was able to advise her to undergo medical treatment.
"Somehow or another, by the grace of God, it got back to my family and we were shocked,” McGuiness told Inside Edition of her initial contact with the doctor. “We were shocked that a doctor witnessed this on television and reached out.”
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After directing the woman to undergo a sonogram and have a biopsy, Dr. Voigt’s suspicions were correct: the woman was soon diagnosed with thyroid cancer by a local doctor.
During a televised meeting with the expert, McGuiness thanked him for keeping ‘a vigilant eye’ while watching the reality TV programme.
“I have gone through a lot the last couple of years and never expected to have to be a two-time cancer survivor,” she stated on Good Morning America in June 2018.
"But without you keeping a vigilant eye and and watching that television show, who knows how long I would have gone on without that being checked. So from the bottom on heart, thank you so much.”
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In 2021, McGuiness announced she was ‘very grateful’ to still be here and that she was now ‘taking advantage of every day’.
Turns out that Dr. Voigt may have saved more than one life when he initially diagnosed McGuiness with cancer.
Taking to YouTube, one viewer claimed that after their mother had watched Inside Edition’s coverage of the story, she realised her child had the same sinister lump.
“My mom watched this a few years ago and the next day she saw the same thing on my sister and told her about it,” the user typed. “She got it checked out and it was thyroid cancer. This doctor did not just save this woman but also my sisters life. I would like to thank him for saving her.”
“I have a friend who got diagnosed with thyroid cancer after her teacher noticed bump on her neck and advised her to immediately go to see a doctor.
“It was 15 years ago, she is happy and healthy now thanks to that teacher,” commented someone else.
Another shared a similar anecdote, explaining that their relative, an eye surgeon, was at a dinner party when he noticed something ‘off’ about a fellow guest’s peepers.
“He approached her and let her know she had a tumor behind her eye and he helped her schedule an appointment with his office ASAP,” they wrote before adding that the woman did, in fact, have a tumor behind her eye.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.
Topics: Health, Cancer, Film and TV, US News
Ella Scott