Hannah Fry Reveals Cervical Cancer Battle on Desert Island Discs: “I Had My Five-Year Clear”

Hannah Fry has revealed she faced “the sheer terrifying drop of the end of my existence” after being diagnosed with cervical cancer – and that she has just been given the all-clear five years on.

A delayed smear test

The maths professor and TV presenter told Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs that she put off a cervical screening for months in 2020. When she finally went, it found cancerous cells.

Tests showed the disease had reached her lymphatic system, and she was told her chances depended on whether it had spread to her lymph nodes. She had a hysterectomy, and her surgeon told her that four lymph nodes were enlarged.

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“Unbelievably lucky”

Fry described being isolated in hospital for more than a week and facing “the sheer terrifying drop of the end of my existence”. Now she says she feels “unbelievably lucky”. “I had my five-year clear the other day,” she said.

Fresh from The Celebrity Traitors

Fry was recently on the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, where she was revealed as a Traitor and banished in episode four. She is professor of the public understanding of mathematics at the University of Cambridge and has presented a string of BBC programmes.

Don’t miss your smear test

Cervical screening is offered on the NHS to women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64. If you have missed yours, you can book it with your GP surgery.

Sources: BBC Radio 4, NHS.