Cancer-Free Status Has Been Granted To A TikTok Medical Student
After nearly a year of treatment, a TikTok star and medical student who has been documenting her cancer experience online has been given approval.
In January 2021, Eleri Reece-Jones, 21, of Rhuallt, Denbighshire, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
She announced the news on the app and has since been chronicling her highs and lows.
Despite the fact that she still requires some unpleasant treatments, she intends to continue sharing them with others, saying that assisting others who are hurting "makes it worth it."
"Chemotherapy can be a really dark moment when you feel very alone," Eleri, who has had to take time away from her studies to become a doctor at Cardiff University, said.
"When you initially get diagnosed, you get bombarded with messages and people's support, and then it kind of fades down in the middle, and you're on your own for the tough part."
"So it's really good when you come out the other end, and I know I still have a lot more chemo to go, but it's really nice to know there's no cancer in me now."
Eleri has been given the all-clear from cancer, but if she stops therapy now, her chances of surviving are slim.
Her stem cells will be extracted at the end of February in preparation for a stem cell transplant in a few weeks.
This would need her to spend at least four to six weeks in the hospital, but she has stated that she will not stop telling her story.
"Sometimes I'm not sure why I'm doing it."
"The last thing you want to do when you're sick, especially after chemo, is put a camera in front of your face and talk about how you're feeling."
"However, the positive feedback you get on the videos and words you post online makes it worthwhile because you help other people feel like they have someone else they can relate to who is going through it - not only those who are going through it."