Googling Symptoms Leads Woman to Discover She Has Leukemia Despite Doctors Blaming Other Factors
A woman, Chloe-Leigh Todd, experienced a sore throat and overall malaise in the year 2020. She consulted her General Practitioner (GP) after her symptoms persisted for a month. Her GP diagnosed her with tonsillitis. Nevertheless, Chloe, after googling her symptoms, discovered that she could have leukemia. Chloe stated, “Everyone is familiar with their own body, therefore I had a gut feeling it was a major issue.” Chloe felt that her physicians were not taking her seriously, but she was convinced that she had leukemia.
Chloe underwent a blood test after scheduling an in-person visit with her doctor, as her symptoms continued to persist. She was then informed by the hospital that she had leukemia after the test results were abnormal. The DailyMail reported that Chloe said, “When I searched for my symptoms on Google, such as night sweats, exhaustion, bruises, and so forth, leukemia was the top result.” She added, “Everyone thought I was crazy when I stated it, but I knew I wasn’t because I checked and discovered that I had every symptom listed on the entire website. When the doctor said that, I believed I was going to pass away.”
After a bone marrow biopsy, Chloe was informed that she only had a few weeks to live because her blood was filled with cancer throughout. Doctors were unsure if chemotherapy would help, but they were willing to try it. Chloe underwent six cycles of chemotherapy in an effort to find a bone marrow donor and was eventually added to the Anthony Nolan registry. In October 2020, she received a bone marrow transplant when a perfect match was discovered. She then received another bone marrow sample to confirm that her new cells had functioned after a successful operation, and she subsequently learned she was cancer-free. Chloe said, “When I got the news, I grabbed my son and hugged him tightly. Knowing that everything had ended was great; it had been the nicest day ever. In March 2021, I rang the bell. It is an incredible sensation. I was holding my young son in my arms.”
Currently, Chloe is suffering from Graft vs Host disease, which occurs when certain subsets of white blood cells from donor bone marrow or stem cells attack her own body cells. Chloe uttered, “When I spoke to my donor in March 2023, I was overcome with emotion. We were conversing as though we had known each other for our entire lives. No one will comprehend our connection, but it exists. We will always be connected by that tie; he is the reason I am still alive. I’m filled with gratitude and thanks. To experience this is preferable to not being here at all. I am living to share my experience, so it is a bittersweet scenario.”
