Mother self-diagnoses leukemia with Google after GP says she has tonsillitis

Chloe-Leigh Todd, 22, had been suffering from a sore throat, night sweats, vomiting and unexplained weight loss for a month before speaking to a doctor.

Then, during a phone call to her GP in the spring of 2020, she was told she had tonsillitis.

But when she googled her symptoms later, Chloe was shocked to read that she had all the symptoms of leukemia.

She made an appointment for a personal doctor’s appointment, had a blood test done, and when her results came back abnormal, she went straight to the hospital.

Chloe, a stay-at-home mum from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, said: “Everyone knows their own body and I just knew it was something serious.

“The doctors blamed it on other things, but I was convinced they were wrong.

“I googled my symptoms – night sweats, fatigue, bruises and so on – and leukemia was the first result.

“I checked and saw I had every symptom site wide – everyone thought I was crazy when I said it, but I knew I wasn’t.

“When the doctor confirmed it, I thought I was going to die.

“I was happy with the diagnosis, but I became deaf, it’s a big difference to hear it.

“Doctors told my mother in another room that she was collapsing – I could hear my mother screaming.”

At the hospital, Chloe was also told she was only “weeks away from death” and began treatment the next day.

She said, “I had a bone marrow biopsy.

“The cancer was all over my blood. The doctors told me they didn’t know if chemotherapy would help, but they wanted to try it.”

Thankfully, the six rounds of chemotherapy Chloe has since gone through have eliminated most of the cancer, leaving her feeling more optimistic.

Chloe said: “Looking back on it now I’m stunned – everything I’ve been told is a blur.

“I looked at the world so differently and wondered why, what did I do to deserve this?”

“The worst part was I thought maybe I wouldn’t be here to see my son grow up.”

Chloe was added to Anthony Nolan’s registry in hopes of finding a bone marrow donor in September 2020.

It wasn’t long before the hospital found a 100% match in a 27-year-old man, meaning she could have the transplant the following month.

Chloe later underwent another bone marrow biopsy to make sure the transplant was successful and received the happy news that she was cancer free.

Chloe said: “When I heard the news I picked up my son and hugged him so tight.

“It was great to know it was all over, it was the best day ever.

“I rang the bell in March 2021, it’s a great feeling. I had my son in my arms.”

But Chloe’s medical woes aren’t quite over yet, as she now suffers from graft-versus-host disease, where some of someone’s white blood cells in donated stem cells or bone marrow begin to attack cells in their own body.

Chloe said: “No matter what I’m going through I’m always positive and have a smile on my face. No matter how sick I am, I will put my child first.

“When I spoke to my donor in March 2023, I got butterflies in my stomach.

“We talked like we’ve known each other all my life. We have a bond that no one can understand.

“We will always have that bond, thanks to him I’m still here.

“I feel so grateful and thankful. I’d rather go through this than not be here at all.

“It’s a bittersweet situation – I live to tell my story.”