She thought she was suffering from osteoarthritis or chronic inflammatory disease. After months of medical wandering, persistent pain and unexplained weight loss, a woman from Northern Ireland discovers that her true evil was not at all the one that the suspicious doctors were. It is ultimately Chatgpt, an artificial intelligence accessible online, which will upset the initial diagnosis and reveal a much more serious reality to it: thyroid cancer.
The story of Lauren Bannon, British forties, raises many questions about the growing place of AI in the care path. Because without the help of this digital tool, its cancer might have gone unnoticed longer. A situation, reported by which could have had dramatic consequences.
Medical wandering with heavy consequences
It all starts when Lauren feels pain with fingers, particularly marked in the morning and evening. Worried, she consults her general practitioner. Despite the absence of anomalies on blood analyzes, the practitioner evokes possible rheumatoid arthritis. But very quickly, other symptoms accumulate: stomach aches, fatigue and rapid weight loss.
Faced with this degradation, doctors think of a gastric reflux and prescribe suitable treatment. However, pain persists. Tired, Lauren decides to try another approach: she between her symptoms in Chatgpt. The tool suggests an incorrect hypothesis so far, Hashimoto’s autoimmune disease, known to affect the thyroid.
Artificial intelligence puts on the track of the right diagnosis
His doctor remains skeptical first. No family history, no blatant clinical sign. But Lauren insists on carrying out the necessary examinations. An ultrasound of the couples then reveals two suspect nodules. The analyzes confirm: these are cancer tumors.
Surgical intervention is decided quickly. The patient undergoes total ablation of the thyroid and two lymph nodes. Since then, she has been undergoing hormonal treatment and a strict medical surveillance protocol to avoid any recurrence. Without this personal approach, and without the intuition brought by AI, his cancer could have spread silently.
Chatgpt: a tool that questions the medical world
This isolated case is part of a background movement. A recent study indicates that in three French people has already used an artificial intelligence to obtain responses related to its health. Some doctors see this trend with a bad eye, others detect an opportunity: that of better collaborating with informed and proactive patients.
says Lauren in the British press.
Doctors and AI: towards complementarity?
This case does not make AI a substitute for medical diagnosis, but a possible complement. In situations where clinical signs are diffuse, or when traditional tracks lead to nothing, artificial intelligence can provide useful suggestions. Provided that they are verified by medical examinations and interpreted by health professionals.
The example of Lauren shows that AI does not replace the listening or the discernment of the doctor. But when it is used wisely, it can help save lives by enlightening a hypothesis, by reviving an investigation, or simply by sowing a saving doubt.
