Professor Hannah Fry has spoken of feeling “unbelievably lucky” after reaching the five-year all-clear following treatment for cervical cancer, disclosing that the disease had reached her lymphatic system before she underwent surgery.
The mathematician and BBC presenter, 42, told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that cancerous cells were discovered after she attended a cervical screening in 2020 — an appointment she had delayed for months. In the episode broadcast on Sunday, Fry told host Lauren Laverne that results took several weeks to return before her GP called her back for further tests and a biopsy. “I was trying hard not to panic, but when they found it was in the lymphatic system… that was when it really started to come down,” she said.
Fry, who recently appeared in the second season of the Celebrity Traitors, underwent a hysterectomy, describing the experience as “horrific”. Yet she drew a line under the ordeal: “As awful as that was, it had a full stop at the end of the sentence. I had my five-year clear the other day. I feel so unbelievably lucky.”
She also revealed that doctors told her survival chances hinged on whether the cancerous cells had spread to her lymph nodes, though it was unclear “how bad it was at that point”. Her account is likely to renew attention on the importance of attending cervical screening, with Fry’s own delayed appointment underscoring the stakes.
Fry has built a prominent broadcasting career, presenting BBC science programming including her celebrated Christmas lectures, alongside her academic work at University College London. Her Desert Island Discs appearance, recorded for Radio 4, aired on Sunday morning.
