After extensive chemotherapy for a presumed cancer, Cynthia McNeil was days away from a bone marrow transplant when doctors realized she had been misdiagnosed. She actually had a rare inflammatory condition, now managed with a daily pill.
After extensive chemotherapy, Cynthia McNeil learned her condition was actually an easy fix
Andie Mollins · CBC News
· Posted: Aug 09, 2026 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 39 minutes ago
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Cynthia McNeil was days away from a bone marrow transplant when she learned she never had cancer. Instead, she had a rare condition commonly mistaken for T-cell lymphoma. (Andie Mollins/CBC)
After enduring extensive chemotherapy and agonizing skin rashes, Cynthia McNeil was preparing for a life-altering bone marrow transplant.
Then came a phone call that changed everything. She never had cancer.
“At the time it was devastating,” McNeil said of the moment she learned her diagnosis was wrong.
She said she was happy to know she didn’t have cancer, but sad for all she had gone through to that point.
Instead of T-cell lymphoma, the Miramichi, N.B., resident actually had a rare, non-cancerous inflammatory condition known as L-HES (lymphocyte-variant hypereosinophilic syndrome).
This story was brought to Nouzie by RSS. The original post can be found on https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/woman-wrongly-diagnosed-with-cancer-finds-out-she-has-rare-disease-9.7300102?cmp=rss
