A woman who got a thyroid check after hearing Love Island star Demi Jones talk about her cancer says the celebrity’s alert saved her life.
Allie Carson-McGeary, 26, found a lump on her neck on World Cancer Day last year and got it examined after watching Demi’s YouTube video.
Demi, 24, came third on the ITV2 dating show in 2020, after being coupled up with heating engineer Luke Mabbott, 27.
She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2021 and, after getting the all clear later that year, was keen to alert others to the warning signs – and the need to see medics.
Allie said: “I saw a video where Demi was speaking about her experience with thyroid cancer, so I thought I’d better get it checked. I’d been feeling exhausted since catching Covid in April 2020.
“If I hadn’t seen the video, I’d just have thought it was Long Covid.”
Remarkably, Allie discovered her mum, Helen Anderson, had found a similar lump. She said: “I told my mum I was waiting for a biopsy and she told me not to worry as she was too – on a similar-sized 4cm lump and it was
probably nothing.
“Mum’s biopsy came back inconclusive but mine revealed thyroid cancer.”
Allie knew something was up “from the looks on the doctors’ faces” but she had an agonising three-week wait to be sure. She said: “They couldn’t tell me straight away it was cancer but the room was very tense.”
Thyroid charities say they have seen a rise in people seeking checks since Demi spoke publicly of her ordeal.
When Allie’s stage one thyroid cancer was confirmed in March last year, she was told it had been caught early and she had a 97% chance of survival.
She and Helen had the lumps removed by the same surgeon, Mr Omar Hilmi, at Ross Hall Hospital, near where they live in Glasgow.
Allie said: “It was scary to be told I had cancer at 25 but we caught it early and I was lucky. The surgery was scary too, but it was comforting to go through it with Mum. She could relate.”
Allie was treated with radioactive iodine and in March, she wed software engineer Jonathan Carson-McGeary, 27.
Last month, both he and Helen were with Allie when she was given the all clear.
Helen said: “Allie was so brave. She just wanted to get through it, which helped me.
“By speaking out about it, she’s an inspiration to other young people. I’m so proud of her.”
The British Thyroid Foundation says the “Love Island effect” triggered by Demi has also been boosted by fellow Islander Samie Elishi going public about her own lump. The 22-year-old is still awaiting her results.
The charity said: “Demi’s video encouraging people to check their neck and explaining symptoms has undoubtedly made more people aware, especially young women.”
Surgeon Mr Hilmi added: “It is important that any lump in the neck is checked.”
