Bella Johnston, then and now
Bella Johnston’s health journey began when she started experiencing symptoms at the age of 15. Initially, doctors treated her for anorexia due to her extreme weight loss. However, nearly five years later, she was diagnosed with cancer. During this time, she followed and purchased an app from fraudster Belle Gibson, whose scam and false cancer diagnosis were exposed in late 2014.
Following the completion of her cancer treatment at the end of 2014, Johnston broke her silence about her experience under Gibson’s influence. Despite having reasons to initially reject traditional medicine, it ultimately saved her life. She acknowledges the role of a larger landscape of misinformation in her journey, particularly during the mid-2010s when she was exposed to alternative health advice from various online influencers.
One such influencer was Belle Gibson, who claimed to have cured her malignant brain tumor through a healthy diet and holistic treatments but was later exposed as a fraud. Johnston encountered Gibson’s content during a vulnerable period in her life when she was battling chronic illness.
Reflecting on her misdiagnoses and struggles, Johnston, now 30, has come to understand the impact of misinformation and the challenges she faced. Despite the difficulties she endured, she now has empathy for her parents and the medical professionals who tried to help her navigate a complex situation.
Looking back on her journey, Johnston recalls being misdiagnosed with anorexia despite not exhibiting the psychological symptoms associated with the disorder. She felt misunderstood and isolated, leading to a strained relationship with her family during her teenage years. Johnston’s story serves as a reminder of the importance of seeking accurate medical information and the dangers of falling victim to misinformation spread by influencers like Belle Gibson.
She vowed to never return to a clinic for eating disorders. She had reached her limit with doctors, finding it hard to trust them or anyone else, not even herself, despite a persistent feeling that something deeper was amiss. Bella Johnston, as a teenager, went through a tumultuous journey that involved avoiding hospital care between the ages of 18 and 19, trying to assert control, partying to cope with anger, dropping out of university, and enduring excruciating pain.
“I wasn’t eating, couldn’t eat, and things just kept getting worse. I avoided talking to my parents and isolated myself further,” recalls Johnston. “Then, when I turned 19, I came across Belle Gibson.”
Although generally open to alternative medicine, Johnston was cautious. Her uncle, diagnosed with incurable cancer, managed it by changing his diet alongside chemotherapy. Witnessing his tumor shrink gave her hope. So, when she encountered Belle Gibson’s advice in early 2014, it resonated with her existing beliefs.
Having already started seeing a naturopath, Johnston had a lump in her neck that doctors attributed to glandular fever, while the alternative health practitioner linked it to a blocked gland due to issues with her lymphatic system caused by tattoos. Following the naturopath’s regimen of Epsom salt baths and bone broths, Gibson’s recommendations aligned seamlessly with Johnston’s lifestyle.
A few months later, medical professionals confirmed what Johnston had suspected and online searches hinted at: she had cancer. Despite the devastating news, the diagnosis brought a sense of relief in having a clear treatment path. Surgery was the first step, initially expected to be a routine four-hour procedure but lasting over double that time due to the cancer’s extensive spread after years of unchecked progression.
She had cancer at the base of her skull for a long time before it was detected. The tumor had been growing slowly for several years until it turned cancerous. Bella Johnston’s doctor believed the cancer had spread upward. Her official diagnosis was a malignant paraganglioma that had spread to her lymph nodes, giving her a terminal prognosis. Despite her dire situation, she initially followed alternative treatments inspired by Belle Gibson, but ultimately underwent intense radiotherapy that proved successful. Bella was tempted to stop traditional treatment at times, but her father guided her back to the right path. She reflected on feeling vulnerable and influenced by social media content, including Gibson’s, during her battle with cancer.
“‘But Johnston didn’t become skeptical then. Gibson’s posts still struck her as aspirational, especially since it was a particularly trying time for Johnston’s entire family. Though her disease was waning, her aunt Jennifer’s bowel cancer had come back in a brutal way. “I was meant to die, and hers was meant to be mild. And then somewhere in the middle we just crossed over and she passed away a couple of weeks after I got the all clear,” Johnston tells PEOPLE through tears. “It’s the one thing that really gets me, because I was sending her all Belle Gibson stuff and sharing it all with her,” she adds of her late relative. “She died trying her best to live, and she tried everything and she was the most healthy. She never smoked, she never drank.” Johnston notes that Jennifer — who died at age 53 — didn’t have social media, so she wasn’t as receptive to Gibson’s advice as her niece. But Johnston still passed along what she learned and believed might work for both of them, even when the concepts were entirely outlandish in hindsight. One distinct post stands out in Johnston’s memory. Gibson described a town in the Middle East that had no recorded cases of cancer. “I remember the photo that she posted. It was of Apricot tree in the desert. It’s burned in my memory,” says Johnston. “[Gibson said] they’d never had a case of cancer, and that was because everyone in that town harvested apricots and ate apricot kernels. That was why no one had ever had cancer.” According to WebMD, apricot seeds contain the compound amygdalin, which was once sold as an anti-cancer treatment called laetrile in the 1940s. The doctor who patented it was convicted of illegally selling laetrile, and the FDA banned the drug in the ’70s. The site states that there is no scientific evidence to support apricot seeds as an alternative cancer treatment; in fact, the cyanide naturally found in such seeds could cause harm. But under the influence of Gibson, Johnston did start eating apricots and keeping the seeds inside. She tried smashing them, but fortunately, she decided there was no easy way to open them up. And given the fact that she couldn’t really swallow at that point, she never successfully attempted the false treatment. “I actually just didn’t get it, so I didn’t do it,” Johnston concedes. “But I remember sending that to my auntie and being like, ‘Apparently this is a cure.'” Though Johnston never met Gibson in person or heard back over email, they did interact in the influencer’s comments section. She often replied to Johnston’s notes left under posts. “We had a parasocial, very surface level, but I think she was very surface level with everyone,” Johnston explains of her relationship with the content creator. “I had reached out quite a lot and never heard back
Bella Johnston makes a significant appearance today. Back in 2015, an article shed light on Johnston as Netflix revisited the story of Gibson in their 2023 documentary, “The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artist.” Participating in the production marked Johnston’s first public discussion of the events, which she found to be both therapeutic and re-traumatizing. Despite the challenges, Johnston feels privileged that people have felt comfortable sharing their own experiences with her. Since the release of Netflix’s series “Apple Cider Vinegar,” Johnston has been more vocal about Gibson’s impact on her life, sharing her thoughts on social media and in various interviews. She acknowledges the emotional toll of watching the series but appreciates its portrayal of the struggles faced by cancer patients. In light of her association with the story, Johnston has faced backlash, including death threats and negative comments online. She has used platforms like TikTok and Instagram to raise questions about the ethics of dramatizing real-life events, particularly in how they depict individuals and their experiences. Johnston emphasizes the importance of considering the feelings and experiences of those involved before portraying them on screen.
A professional singer began her music career at the age of 15, performing gigs across Australia and working on her debut album. However, her dreams were shattered when she was diagnosed with cancer, which led to irreversible damage to her vocal cords. Despite doctors’ efforts to help her speak with a plastic stent, she lost her ability to sing.
Reflecting on her journey, she expressed regret that her cancer wasn’t detected sooner, as it forced her to give up her musical career. She disclosed that the physical toll extended beyond her vocal cords, affecting her esophagus, arm, tongue, eye, and ear. She also experienced paralysis in her lips and lost hearing in her right ear due to cancer treatment.
The ongoing health struggles have taken a toll on her relationship with her body, leading to chronic health issues like nerve damage and autoimmune disease. She recalls the misinformation she encountered during her teenage years, including fad diets and alternative treatments that fed into an eating disorder.
Despite the challenges, she refrains from viewing herself solely as a victim of her circumstances, preferring to acknowledge the societal influences at play during that time. She is candid about the impact of social media personalities promoting false health claims and the pressures of the wellness industry.
Through her social media presence, she aims to raise awareness and support others who may have fallen prey to similar misleading information, emphasizing the importance of community and education in navigating the complexities of wellness trends and scams.
When individuals are provided with accurate information and are not being misled into believing that coffee enemas can cure their cancer, they are less likely to be deceived by such claims. Through her own health challenges, Johnston learned the importance of advocating for oneself, recognizing the difficulty of trusting one’s own instincts in isolation. She is dedicated to fostering a sense of community to combat misinformation and prevent feelings of destructive solitude.
Reflecting on her past experiences, Johnston expressed a wish for a stronger support system during her illness, recalling the lack of connectivity offered by the internet at the time. With a substantial following on social media platforms, she values the sense of community she has cultivated through Instagram and TikTok, offering the camaraderie that was lacking during her own health journey.
