Imagine being contacted after being diagnosed with mouth cancer and undergoing life-changing surgery – where your jaw has been cut out and your leg has been used as a donor site for bone, tissue and blood vessels. Then an infection develops, causing additional problems and limiting your ability to walk…only to be contacted, after-the-fact, with an apology for a ‘biopsy swap’. Similarly, imagine being diagnosed with breast cancer, and undergoing mastectomy surgery – only to find that you are perfectly healthy. NOW…imagine being the other SIX people who actually have cancer, that is spreading, while you walk around with a clean bill of health. Lastly, imagine being one of the surgeons who removed healthy tissue from a patient, convinced that you are saving their life. In world news, this is exactly what happened in New Zealand. Read more, in this advance-breaking story (it’s June 11 in New Zealand) – to understand the serious ramifications of laboratory mistakes…and to remind ourselves why getting a second opinion is crucial.