See the video: “The tumor took up almost her entire lung – now she travels the world cancer-free”
Her cancer went undetected for a long time. For six months, no doctor could help 24-year-old Hannah Bird.
Night sweats and back pain were her companions for six months. She lost weight, developed skin rashes, a constant cough, and suffered from chest pains.
During this time, Hannah kept going to different doctors, three to four times a week – without getting the right diagnosis.
But when a doctor finally x-rayed her and scanned her organs, certainty finally returned.
That’s why Hannah is urging people today to be persistent with doctors.
“If you think something is wrong with you, request a referral or a second opinion from another doctor.” – Hannah Bird
On April 1, 2022, just weeks after her engagement, Hannah was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. It is aggressive cancer.
She was on vacation in Paris with her boyfriend Charlie Camper, 23, a professional golfer, when he popped the big question. But at that time she was already feeling so bad that she could hardly enjoy it.
“I felt so bad that day that I slept most of the time.” – Hannah Bird
The tumor was in her left lung, taking up three quarters of it and had already progressed to stage four cancer.
Hannah’s reaction to this finding may come as a surprise.
“I was so relieved that they found out what was wrong with me. It wasn’t a shock – I was just relieved to finally have a diagnosis.” – Hannah Bird
Until the therapy began, it didn’t even hit her that much. But what really bothered her as a travel content creator was that she was initially banned from traveling due to cancer treatment.
Hannah was enrolled in a clinical trial where she was given a non-chemoinvasive immunotherapy drug. This helps the immune system to independently recognize and attack cancer cells. This was later supplemented by chemotherapy.
“By September 2022 I had finished chemotherapy, all the cancer was gone, which was not normal. I am the only person in the UK whose non-Hodgkin cancer has gone away with chemotherapy alone.”
From October 2022, the doctors finally gave the go-ahead: After Hannah and her boyfriend Charlie were not allowed to travel for a year, they can now decide for themselves where to go and travel to the places from their travel bucket list.
“My partner said I can do one bucket list trip once I finish my immunotherapy, another once I finish my chemotherapy, and then another when everything is safe. – Hannah Bird
Hannah still has to be checked regularly at the moment, but is allowed to travel between appointments. She just needs to plan ahead and make sure she’s close to a hospital should an emergency arise.
On September 16, 2023, both are expected to get married.
The first trip after immunotherapy went to Turkey and the second took her to the Arctic Circle in January. The couple will travel to the Philippines in May and to Antarctica in January 2024 for their honeymoon.