St Helens Mum takes part in charity run to thank The Christie for saving her life

Video report from Granada Reports Journalist Jennifer Buck

A St Helens Mum of two has taken part in a festive charity run to say thank you to The Christie Hospital for saving her life.

Hannah Hill was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was 18, but now at the age of 36 she is living a healthy life with her husband and 8 year old twins.

She has now taken part in The Christie's first ever Santa dash.

Hannah had a sudden seizure in 2006 and was transported to Wigan Royal Albert Infirmary, where she remained for two nights. A CT scan was arranged and two weeks later she was told she had a brain tumour.

On September 27, 2006, just two days before her 19th birthday, Hannah underwent brain surgery to remove the tumour, and it was during this procedure a glioblastoma was discovered, which is an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Hannah endured 30 sessions of intense radiotherapy, followed by seven months of chemotherapy with a trial drug at The Christie. It was during this period that she received the news that, due to the damage to her pituitary gland, she would not be able to conceive a child naturally.

She said" When they say live every days as it it's your last I really did, I did things and went places I never thought were possible, but I felt most sorry for my Mum, Dad and my sister they knew what was going on, I chose not to know, I just wanted to know if I was going to live or not and  the answer was probably no so I just went and did everything I could"

In May 2007, Hannah went for another scan, and to her astonishment, it revealed the tumour had disappeared. She continued chemotherapy for two more months and was told she was cancer free in July 2007.

When Hannah married her husband Mike they were offered hormone treatment to assist them to conceive, but they declined.

A few months later, Hannah began to feel unwell and after experiencing various symptoms, she took a pregnancy test that showed an unexpected positive result. When Hannah and Mike went to the hospital together, not knowing what to expect, to their surprise, a scan revealed not one but two heartbeats!

Against the odds, Hannah is now the proud mother of twins - Thomas and Alice both now aged 8 years old.

Thomas and Alice said "The Christie saved my Mums life and we want to say thank you, thank you very very very much for everything"  

Lindsey Farthing from The Christie Charity says: “Hannah’s story is incredibly inspiring. It really highlights the importance of the work of The Christie hospital and the role The Christie Charity plays in ensuring patients are offered the very best and latest cancer treatments."

More than 350 Santas took part in the event that has already raised over £20,000 for the Christie