Cancer: TikTok medical student gets all-clear from disease

A TikTok star and medical student who has been documenting her cancer journey online has been given the all clear after almost a year of treatment.

Eleri Reece-Jones, 21, from Rhuallt in Denbighshire, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in January 2021.

She broke the news on the app and been sharing her highs and lows ever since.

Although she still needs some difficult treatments, she plans to continue to share them and said helping others who were struggling "makes it worth it".

"Chemotherapy can be a very dark time when you can feel very alone," said Eleri, who has had to take some time away training to be a doctor at Cardiff University for her treatments.

"When you first get diagnosed you get flooded with messages and people's support and then during the middle that kind of dies down a little bit and you are going through the hard bit by yourself.

"So when you come out the other end it is really nice and I know I have a lot of chemo left but it is really nice to know that there is no cancer in me now."

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Eleri has the all-clear for cancer but if she were to stop treatment now, her chances of staying in long term recovery is only 15%, she said.

At the end of February she is having her stem cells harvested for an eventual stem cell transplant in a few weeks.

This would mean a minimum of four to six weeks in hospital, but she said she will not stop sharing her story.

"Sometimes I kind of wonder why I am doing it.

"When you are feeling very unwell, especially after chemo, the last thing you want to do it put a camera in front of your face and talk about what you are feeling.

"But the positive response you get on the videos and messages you get online make it worth it because you get other people feel like they have got someone else they relate to going through it - not just people with cancer.

"I think social media has two sides. There definitely is a very toxic side to social media of people living unattainable lives but then there is another side of people with disabilities or going though chronic illnesses showing you that if you're going through a hard time there are other people who can relate to you."

Eleri shares more than the tough times on TikTok.

She uses trending sounds to help educate people but also as a way to make light of her situation to make it easier for her and others.

She even asked her fans to try on wigs with her after cutting her hair.

"I had very long ginger hair before and I cut it short before I lost it and donated it to the little princess trust which make wigs for children and young people.

"I have gone through the whole process of losing my hair, finding what wigs work and it has definitely been a bit of a journey."

'Doctor to patient and back to doctor'

Eleri was diagnosed while studying a sports science degree at Bangor University in her intercalated year - where students complete another degree in a year.

She completed that with "chemo brain" but said the university was "amazing" at supporting her.

"It was probably one of the hardest things I did sitting exams on chemo because my brain was just fried."

However, when the next academic year came around, the treatment was too intense for her to continue.

She plans to go back to medicine soon but said she does not think she will be well enough this year as her treatment means she has a compromised immune system for now.

"I think at the start I was excited to be back as I felt that I would be able to be a better doctor and have all the more empathy for patients.

"But I am a bit scared, so I just want to spend this year recovering."

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