I Discovered My Cancer Diagnosis Through ChatGPT

A young woman who discovered she had cancer after using ChatGPT to interpret her medical results claims the AI tool explained her diagnosis more clearly than her own consultant did.

Pippa Collins-Gould, 29, turned to the chatbot to decode medical jargon from her MyChart account after her test results were mistakenly released early. ChatGPT interpreted her results as indicating thyroid cancer, a diagnosis that was later confirmed by her consultant following the removal of a lump on her neck.

Alarm bells

Pippa, who lives in Cambridge, visited her GP in April 2025 with a recurring chest infection when her doctor noticed an abnormality on the left side of her neck. A few months later, an ultrasound revealed a lump on her thyroid that became painful and swelled to the size of a golf ball.

Pippa, who works in childcare, even went to A&E in pain but was told it was “probably nothing.” When the biopsy results could not be determined, Pippa, who is also a full-time student, was told the lump needed to be removed within two weeks.

Pippa said: “When I was told the lump needed to be removed, alarm bells were ringing. I just knew in my gut it had to be cancer.”

In July 2025, Pippa had the lump removed at Addenbrookes’ Hospital and said she could not fault the care of the healthcare professionals. She was left with a 2.5cm long scar across her throat.

“It was showing potential cancer and nobody had even noticed”

A short time later, while at work, Pippa discovered the test results from the surgery had been uploaded to her health records. The results were filled with medical jargon, leaving Pippa unsure of what she had or hadn’t been diagnosed with.

Pippa said the situation was even more “infuriating” because the medical team didn’t realize they had released them. She said: “I called the reception team and she was confused—she said ‘they shouldn’t have released them to you because you’re on a cancer pathway.’ It was showing potential cancer and nobody had even noticed until I called to chase my appointment with the consultant. I was really quite lost with what to do.”

Turning to ChatGPT

Unsure of what to do with her results, or what they meant, Pippa turned to ChatGPT. She input her test results and was informed by the chatbot that she had been diagnosed with encapsulated angioinvasive follicular thyroid cancer. Pippa later got an appointment with her consultant who confirmed the diagnosis.

She said: “I literally sent the whole report in and it was so easy. ChatGPT will give statistics and how rare things are. I’m not saying people should go by it all the time, but it was the only thing that answered my questions. I know the NHS is under strain and my care has been amazing—but my results should never have been released early.”

Raising awareness

Pippa believes she is now in the all clear following the removal of the lump but wants to raise awareness about the early release of her results. She said: “If you have an illness, you want to know everything you possibly can. I had cancer when I didn’t know it and when I knew it, I didn’t have it. I’m extremely grateful. Some people can have entire thyroids removed and have to take lifelong medications. I am also grateful for the NHS. It is under strain but they were so quick from my initial GP appointment through to the removal. But accidentally releasing cancer results and not acknowledging it is not okay.”

Hospital’s response

A spokesperson from Pippa’s hospital has responded to her story, saying that the way she discovered her test results is not “standard practice.” They said: “We offer our sincere apologies to Ms Collins-Gould for the way she received her results via MyChart, after having treatment to remove the cancer. It is standard practice for our dedicated staff to deliver cancer diagnoses in person during an appointment, alongside access to appropriate support. For results where cancer may be confirmed, a 21-day period is built into the app before results are then visible to patients. We regret that on this occasion, the diagnosis was not conveyed in person within this time frame.”