Home Page Teenage Hannah's road to recovery

teenager Hannah Sewell has spoken about a battle with cancer which left her blind in one eye.

Hannah and twin sister Megan, both students at Soham Village College, told the News about the strain and heartache of her six-month fight back to fitness after a tumour was found in her eye socket.

Hannah's skull had to be split open in a traumatic operation to remove the growth.

Megan, who watched helplessly as her sister lost her hair and vision, said she was looking forward to her returning to school in a fortnight's time, adding: "It'll be nice to have someone to walk home with again."

The 15-year-old's battle began in December last year, a week before her birthday, when her parents noticed her right eye bulging from its socket.

A trip to the doctor - her first in years - revealed a tumour, known as Fibro Sarcoma, which was forcing the eyeball out.

Dad Andrew, 49, said: "The tumour was squashing her eye, but our first thoughts were that she'd had a knock in PE or something like that.

"As soon as the doctor saw it he told us he didn't like the look of it, and the hospital scans showed he was right - it was a terrible shock."

Hannah missed months of school and had to give up her favourite pastime - horseriding - while all her energy was focused on fighting the disease.

She said the treatment had been a gruelling process.

"When they told me what I had I was frightened, but I knew that I just had to get on with it and do whatever they asked to help me get rid of it," she explained.

"I had to have two courses of chemotherapy, but they didn't work on the type of tumour I had.

"I didn't like that at all - it made me very unwell and I lost my hair, which was the worst bit of all for me."

The next stage of treatment was drastic surgery, carried out in March, to remove the lump.

Dad Andrew said: "It was quite extreme. The surgeons cut open her skull to get the tumour out, and used 28 stitches in her head to seal it up again, but it went really well."

Surgery was followed by three months of radiotherapy, both to her eye and her leg, after a second lump was discovered, and when treatment ended last month she was given a cautious all-clear.

Mum Pauline, 51, a teaching assistant, said: "It's been a long six months. Hannah's a very strong girl, and we all had to be strong for her.

"There are tests and check-ups booked in for July but the future's looking very bright for us, and we're just so happy to be getting back to normal."

The family, who live in Felsham Chase, Burwell, put on a charity motorbike ride on Saturday to raise cash for Children's cancer charity CLIC, with 20 riders motoring from Milton to Hunstanton, on the Norfolk Coast, to raise around £2,000.

The ride, organised by family friend Steve Merrett, was particularly important for the Sewells as they had been helped, treated and counselled through their ordeal by a CLIC-trained nurse.

Dad Andrew said: "The CLIC nurse was brilliant. She always answered our questions straight, and we couldn't have done it without her."

For more information or to donate money to CLIC, visit www.clic.orguk