A SCHOOLGIRL managed to diagnose her own cancer by Googling her symptoms on the way to hospital.
Amelia Johnson, who was 14 at the time, had been feeling unwell before telling her mum “I think I’ve got cancer” in the back of an ambulance.
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The teen was worried about bruising on her skin and her GP said she might be suffering from iron deficiency.
But when results from her blood tests came back, an ambulance woke Amelia and her family in the middle of the night, rushing the teen from her home in Stockton, County Durham, straight to hospital.
Amelia’s dad, Mike Johnson, 47, said: “We couldn’t believe what was happening. We were all fast asleep and woke up to an ambulance at our door.
“The ambulance staff weren’t able to tell us why Amelia had to go in which was terrifying, but on the way there Amelia Googled her symptoms and said to my wife Kelly ‘I think I’ve got cancer’.”
When she arrived at North Tees Hospital, Amelia’s blood tests showed she had acute myeloid leukaemia and needed to start treatment immediately.
Mr Johnson said: “By 9am we had been transferred to the Newcastle RVI and she began chemotherapy, she was in hospital for the next 10 days.”
Amelia, now 15, continued her treatment during the coronavirus pandemic and was in and out of hospital during each chemotherapy cycle.
She has since been given the all clear.
‘EXCRUCIATING SIDE EFFECTS’
Her mum, Kelly, 41, said: “The side effects of her treatment have been really difficult for her.
“Not only did she lose her hair, which was incredibly tough for a beautiful young girl to go through, but she suffered excruciating pain and infections.
“There were a couple of times we thought we were going to lose her. To see your daughter going through that and not been able to do anything other than to cuddle and support her was terrible.”
Mike and Kelly took it in turns looking after Amelia at the hospital while the other one would stay at home with their youngest daughter Isabella, 10.
Amelia, a keen dancer who lost almost a stone during the her treatment, said: “My first and biggest fear was losing my hair, so when I was told by my consultant that hair loss will happen I was very upset and cried a lot.
“The day the remainder of my hair was shaved off I was relieved as it was a mess.
“I have learnt to live without hair now and don’t get upset as much as I used to. I have many wigs that are very convincing and my hair is now growing back slowly.”
After six gruelling months of chemotherapy, Amelia has now completed her treatment.
She started back at school last week in year 11 after being absent since January and is ready to “get back to normal” life.
Amelia and her family are now encouraging the public to help more children and young people survive cancer by donating any pre-loved quality clothing, accessories and homeware they no longer need to their nearest TK Maxx store.
When sold in Cancer Research UK shops, each bag of items donated could raise up to £25 to help fund research into children’s and young people’s cancers.
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