BBC Have I Got News for You star opens up about cancer diagnosis and divorce

British academic Hannah Fry has shone a light on her struggle with cervical cancer, after being diagnosed at just 36 years old. The star, who often hosts Have I Got News for You, faced the disease and a divorce within a very short space of time, describing the ordeal as a 'firebomb' to her life.

Despite being cancer-free for three years, doctors once warned that there is 10% chance of it coming back. If it did, she told , that it would likely be incurable.

"I never wanted to tell people if they should or shouldn’t have treatment," she told the publication. "But I do think that when it comes to uncertainty and risk, only you can make the decision about what matters to you."

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The 40-year-old was first diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2021 following a standard smear test. The devastating news then led her to have a radical hysterectomy - a surgical procedure that typically removes the womb, cervix, tissues around the cervix, fallopian tubes and ovaries.

Hannah had a number of lymph nodes removed as a precautionary measure too, which unfortunately gave rise to another condition known as lymphoedema. This long-term health issue generally causes swelling in the body's tissues, according to the .

While it may affect any part of the body, it's especially common in the legs. As a result, Hannah then proceeded to have further surgery, while engaging in Pilates to reduce some of her symptoms.

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Last year, the star also faced another scare as experts discovered an unusual lump. Thankfully, it was revealed to be nothing serious, but Hannah said it was certainly a 'sharp shock'.

She told the publication: "I had got into this habit of not really thinking about it, so that was a really sharp shock." Hannah documented her cancer journey in a 2022 documentary entitled Making Sense of Cancer with Hannah Fry.

You can watch it on BBC .