When doctors dismissed my stiff fingers as arthritis ChatGPT saved me – I’m lucky to be alive

WHEN Lauren Bannon struggled to bend her fingers doctors she had arthritis.

It wasn't until the mum-of-two disclosed her symptoms to AI messaging service Chat GPT that she later discovered she had cancer.

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"It saved my life," the 40-year-old said, from Newry, Northern Ireland said.

"I just knew that something was wrong with me. I would've never discovered this without Chat GPT."

The business owner who lives between the US Virgin Islands and Wilmington, North Carolina, US, first grew concerned about her health in February 2024 after noticing that she was struggling to bend her little fingers in the morning and evening.

After four months, the 40-year-old was told by doctors she had rheumatoid arthritis despite testing negative for the condition.

She then began experiencing excruciating stomach pains - losing a stone in just four weeks in September 2024, which doctors put down to acid reflux.

Desperate to discover what was happening to her body, later that month Lauren disclosed her symptoms to Chat GPT, which said she may have Hasimoto's disease.

It causes the body's immune system to mistakenly attack the thyroid gland, causing it to become inflamed and eventually underactive.

As hormone levels drop, it can trigger symptoms like tiredness, weight gain, brain fog and low mood - often mistaken for stress or ageing.

It can also increase the risk of developing papillary thyroid cancer, the most common and usually least aggressive form of thyroid cancer.

"I went to my doctors and she told me 'I couldn't have that, there was no family history of it' but I said 'just amuse me'", Lauren explained.

After a positive test for Hashimoto's disease, Lauren underwent an ultrasound of her thyroid where doctors discovered two cancerous lumps in her neck.

"I felt let down by doctors," she said.

"It was almost like they were just trying to give out medication for anything to get you in and out the door."

In January 2025, Lauren underwent an operation to remove her thyroid and two lymph nodes from her neck but remains under life-long monitoring to ensure the cancer doesn't return.

Due to not presenting with 'typical' symptoms of Hashimoto's disease, Lauren believes the condition, and subsequent cancer diagnosis, would have remained undetected without the help of Chat GPT.

"I wasn't tired or feeling exhausted," she said - both classic signs of the condition.

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"If I hadn't looked on Chat GPT, I would've just taken the rheumatoid arthritis medication and the cancer would've spread from my neck to everywhere else.

"The doctor said I was very lucky to have caught it so early. I know for sure that cancer would've spread without using Chat GPT."

Now, Lauren encourages others to use Chat GPT to address their health concerns.

"Act with caution but if it gives you something to look into, ask your doctors to test you. It can't do any harm," she said.

"I feel lucky to be alive," she added.

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