When a Misdiagnosis Slips By - No One Learns
Have you heard Lee Zeldin talk about his cancer? He represented part of eastern Long Island in Congress, serving on Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees. Now he leads the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
His post on X in December 2025 explained that he had a basal
cell carcinoma but that it was removed, and he is fine.[1]
Then he goes on to write: “Encourage your friends and family to wear sunscreen
and see a dermatologist regularly. Early detection matters.”
What he didn’t tell you in his post but mentioned in a News
12 Long Island interview is that he first went to one doctor who told him to
come back if it got worse. Years later he went for a check up with another
doctor, who immediately recognized that this was a form of cancer which needed
to be removed.
The first doctor’s conclusion? That was a misdiagnosis!
This is not meant to blame the doctor who misdiagnosed him,
and I’m not making light of his suggestion to wear sunscreen. What I am bringing to your attention is how
easily a misdiagnosis slips under the radar as if it is not an important part
of the story.
Too often, when the patient survives, we lose sight of the
patient safety and advocacy lessons in the story. Did you miss that point? How common is misdiagnosis? In the US in
2025, just over 600,000[2]
people died from all forms of cancer, while almost 800,000 were harmed or died
due to misdiagnosis.[3]
Learn more about misdiagnosis at the Pulse Center for
Patient Safety website. One is a Number reminds us that we are each
a number and we each matter.
