Brave Hannah reveals she's got brain cancer and needs vital care

Adelina Campos

AN Irish hotel manager who was diagnosed with a crippling brain tumour needs vital treatment in the US to survive.

Hannah Bradley (27), who previously worked at the five-star Europe Hotel & Resort in Killarney, was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive cancer this year.

She first received treatment in the UK but it was unsuccessful. Survivors of the disease have advised Hannah and her friends that her only real hope is to undergo pioneering treatment in the US.

For this reason, staff at the Kerry hotel where she worked are now trying to raise £150,000 (€175,000) for the operation.

Hannah's partner Pete Cohen said: "Our world took a dramatic turn in February 2011 when, out of the blue, Hannah had a major seizure in the middle of the night. She lost consciousness and was rushed to hospital.

"She was diagnosed with a very serious brain tumour called Anaplastic Astrocytoma. Hannah decided to have surgery and underwent a six-and-a-half-hour operation.

"The operation was a success and they managed to remove nearly all of the tumour. We had to wait for the results of the biopsy for a few weeks and we remained positive. However, the news was not good and our world was rocked once more as the results showed a Grade III tumour."

Pete has set up a website, www.teamhannah.com explaining the progression of her condition and treatment so far.

"Six weeks after the radiotherapy finished, Hannah had another MRI to see what was going on with the tumour. Once again more bad news, as there were still remnants of this aggressive tumour.

"Hannah's treatment options are very limited and her life expectancy is very unknown and this is why I started a mission to find people who had the same condition and are still alive today," he said.

"The most popular and most successful were treated in America by Doctor Burzynski.

"He has developed a pioneering treatment which has been proven to be very effective against treating aggressive cancers, and especially brain cancer, without harming the body.

"This treatment is not available via the NHS [in the UK] and at this time we imagine that we will have to raise around £150,000 for Hannah to be treated."