MRI mix-up in US nearly risks patient’s life, Indian surgeon reacts to viral X post
An American shared a post on X claiming an oversight by his oncologist. He alleged that if he had not questioned the doctor’s MRI report, the medical professional would have stopped his chemotherapy, derailing his treatment. He also claimed that Americans are “living through a crisis of competence.” His post went viral, prompting many to share similar stories.
An American’s post claiming his doctor almost derailed his chemo treatment has gone viral (representative image). (Unsplash)
“My oncologist tried to stop my chemotherapy treatment last week because of a one-page synopsis he had read regarding my recent MRI, which mentioned that one of my brain tumors had progressed,” the man wrote.
In the following lines, he explained that the doctor had read his MRI from 2017 instead of 2024 and compared it with his latest one. “Anyway, we had to go to a different room and use a different computer to find last year’s images. When my oncologist finally brought them up, he realized there was a clear REDUCTION in the size of my tumor, as well as a loss of contrast, indicating that the tumor was dying. So, the chemotherapy was working after all!” the man continued.
“Had I taken my doctor at his word, and stopped my chemotherapy, I would have soon needed an extremely risky brain surgery that would have changed my life forever,” he added.
The man urged others to remain vigilant about their own health, adding, “Don’t just assume that your doctor is infallible”.
What did the Indian surgeon post?
Dr Sameer Kaul, whose X bio says he works as an oncology surgeon at Apollo Cancer Center in Delhi, shared a reaction while re-posting the X post. “#Secondopinions and #more are vital to staying alive well in a #camcerjourney. Do remember to not treat them as an end in themselves. For timely #action is even more impactful. Seek #evidence by all means but be wary of clever distractive #marketting. # Thinkright #Actfast #Talktoyourbody,” he wrote.
Take a look at the posts:
How did others react?
People had a lot to say about the cancer patient’s post. An individual shared, “Someone missed a tumor on my younger brother’s scans that was at stage 1 and a while later when someone noticed it on another set of scans it was at stage 4. Probably could have saved his life if they caught it on the 1st scan.”
Another added, “I had similar happen (not cancer, but something else requiring imaging). I was surprised that not one of the docs that ordered imaging actually looked at the imaging… They only read what a random third party radiologist said. *I* had to point out anomalies on my own imaging.”
A third commented, “Daughter spent over 3 months in the hospital – 4 total surgeries – after a ruptured appendix gone bad. One of her surgeries, they nicked one of her small intestines. I feel like I could write a book, and I know many others have had it way worse. You have to be your own advocate.” A fourth wrote, “Awful performance by a medical professional. Good pushing back.”
