A TikTok user has praised eagle-eyed followers who spotted an innocuous-looking lump on his throat that was actually cancerous.
Aaroh Mankad revealed several fans on the app had urged him to get the swelling checked out - and that he had since undergone surgery to remove part of his thyroid nodule.
"TikTok told me I might have cancer. And it seems like they were right," said the 22-year-old, from Seattle, who shares job and tech tips under the username SeattleTechBro.
"My first couple of TikTok videos were just me talking about my budget, and people commented or DM'd me saying that my thyroid looked a little enlarged and that I should get it checked out and that it could potentially be cancerous."
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Aaroh said he had been oblivious to the growth but decided to visit the doctors out of an "abundance of caution".
He then shared several of the messages he had got from concerned followers.
One said in a direct message: "Hey! Enjoying your videos. Sorry if this is overstepping.
"Your thyroid looks a bit swollen, please get it checked. Usually it's just an enlarged thyroid but sometimes it's thyroid cancer."
Another warned: "Your thyroid looks a bit swollen. You might want to get that checked."
Thyroid cancer is a rare form of cancer affecting the thyroid gland which is at the base of your neck.
Several types of growths can appear on the gland, but only around two out of 20 usually turn out to be cancerous.
Aaroh explained: "Out of an abundance of caution and just because I get anxious about these sorts of things, I went ahead and got it checked out.
He added: "After several rounds of tests and ultrasounds and such we found out that there's a 95 per cent chance that that nodule I had was cancerous."
Doctors told him he could either have his entire thyroid taken out or just have the cancerous section removed.
Aaroh opted for the latter, otherwise he would have had to take hormone supplements for the rest of his life to replace his thyroid, which helps regulate the body's metabolism.
Pointing to a plaster covering the surgery wound, he admitted he was going to take a break from posting content while he recovered.
"It kind of drains me to talk so much," he said. "I appreciate the patience and I hope to see you all soon enough."
Followers have since responded to the video wishing Aaroh a full- recovery and praised the users for speaking out.
One of the people who warned him about the lump also got in touch again, saying: "I was nervous about reaching out but I'm really glad that I did! Wishing you a speedy recovery."
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