Nadia Sawalha has announced the death of her best friend Hannah Gardner aged 39 as she paid tribute to her following a cancer diagnosis.
Hannah had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver and Nadia had previously spoken about her friend’s situation on ITV’s Loose Women.
Nadia posted a picture of Hannah wearing a sparkly dress sitting on a swing, alongside the caption: ‘Rest in peace now darling’.
The TV personality also shared a heartfelt message to Hannah in the caption of the post, describing her own emotions as ‘shocked and distraught’.Â
She wrote: ‘Our beautiful Hannah… Although we knew it was coming we are all so deeply shocked and distraught. No need to be brave anymore darling you can now rest in peace, and all the love you created.
‘You were and will forever be deeply loved… To all the staff at The Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, the kindness and care you showed not only to Hannah, but also to her friends and family was extraordinary. Thank you. #fabfourfoever.’Â
Nadia Sawalha has announced the death of her best friend Hannah Gardner as she paid tribute to her following a cancer diagnosis
Hannah had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver and Nadia had previously spoken about her friend’s situation on ITV’s Loose Women
The TV personality also shared a heartfelt message to Hannah in the caption of the post, describing her own emotions as ‘shocked and distraught’
Nadia received support in the comments section, including from her husband Mark Adderley, who wrote: ‘Just so so heartbreaking – a beautiful woman – a beautiful friend – a beautiful mother – just can’t believe it’.
Others wrote: ‘Beautiful Han. She loved you all so much Nadia. What a woman. She will be so missed’; ‘So so sorry to hear this news’; ‘So sorry for your loss.. it’s too sad but so glad she’s not in pain. Love and hugs’.
In March 2024, Nadia broke down in tears as she told the Daily Mail about her ‘powerhouse’ pal Hannah after also speaking about her on Loose Women.
Nadia and her friend Hannah were left ‘reeling’ after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England.
Nadia condemned the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence who said that the cost the NHS was being asked to pay for trastuzumab deruxtecan – known as Enhertu – was ‘too high’.Â
The TV personality revealed that Enhertu has the potential of giving her close friend Hannah, who has a three-year-old daughter, another six months of life.
In an exclusive interview, Nadia told us: ‘We’ve got this young woman, with a young autistic child, with secondary breast cancer in her liver, in her lung, and she’s also supposed to be basically begging for this drug. And it just seems brutal.
Nadia received support in the comments section, including from her husband Mark Adderley, who wrote: ‘Just so so heartbreaking – a beautiful woman – a beautiful friend – a beautiful mother – just can’t believe it’
Nadia previously broke down in tears as she told MailOnline about her ‘powerhouse’ pal Hannah- who had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver
Nadia and Hannah (pictured) were left ‘reeling’ after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England
Nadia gushed: ‘She’s a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we’ve got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.
‘We’re a group of friends, we all met on a trek raising money for breast cancer, about seven years ago, there’s four of us, we call ourselves the Fab Four and we say we’re holding you…’
Fighting back tears, Nadia continued: ‘She’s the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she’s been on such a wheel, she’s been told that she’s had cancer four times and she never falters.
‘I’ve seen her be given so much bad news just in the the years that I’ve known her and she breaks for like a minute. It’s really strange to watch and it might sound like a weird thing but it’s always a privilege to watch, she’s so focused and I love watching her with the oncologists who are just all fantastic and the way that she advocates and talks about the drug.’
Hannah, a former clinical trial manage, issued a devastating health update on Wednesday, explaining that the tumours in her liver are growing.
She was given her primary breast cancer diagnosis in 2013 after discovering a lump in her left breast, and after undergoing treatment, the disease has returned twice, in 2017 and again 2020.
In June 2022, Hannah received the heartbreaking news that she has stage four incurable breast cancer, which has now spread to her liver.
The TV personality revealed that Enhertu had the potential of giving her close friend Hannah, who has a three-year-old daughter, another six months of life
In an exclusive interview, Nadia told MailOnline: ‘She’s a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we’ve got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.’
Holding back tears, Nadia continued: ‘She’s the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she’s been on such a wheel, she’s been told that she’s had cancer four times and she never falters.’ (Nadia and Hannah on Loose Women’
Hannah explained on Instagram at the time: ‘I’ve been hit with probably the worst news I’ve had yet. Progression. All tumours in my liver are growing. There are now four big ones with lots of little spots popping up. I’m scared, I can’t lie.’
Hannah waited months to learn whether she would be eligible for groundbreaking new treatment Enhertu, and said she was ‘crushed’ to learn it had been blocked by the NHS.Â
Enhertu is the first licensed targeted treatment for patients with HER2-low breast cancer, that cannot be removed surgically or has spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastatic breast cancer.
Chemotherapy is usually offered as a treatment, but if the targeted therapy had been made available, around 1,000 patients a year would have been eligible.
Trials of the drug found it boosted the time the cancer was held at bay from seven months to over two years – results that were called ‘mind-blowing’ by experts.Â
Nadia says every minute counts with the terminal disease, and the drug would give Hannah precious time to make more happy memories with daughter Lilah.Â
She explained: ‘We want that drug available to them. It’s a great drug that targets the tumour and doesn’t blast the whole body, you know, we need it.
‘I think anybody that you speak to in the secondary breast cancer community will say they feel that they are pushed to one side.
‘It is like a punch in the stomach, we are absolutely reeling.’
Speaking on how the drug could give Hannah six more months of life, Nadia said: ‘For Hannah, she wants to hear her child say just even one word with her being autistic, so that she knows she’s gonna be all right.’
While the NHS in England blocked use of the drug, it has been allowed in Scotland, and after Nadia shared Hannah’s story on social media, she was inundated with offers from well-wishers offering their address for her friend to register.Â
Nadia says every minute counts with the terminal disease, and the drug would give Hannah precious time to make more happy memories with daughter Lilah and her husband
Speaking on how the drug could give Hannah six more months of life, Nadia said: ‘For Hannah, she wants to hear her child say just even one word with her being autistic, so that she knows she’s gonna be all right.
An NHS spokesperson said: ‘NHS England expected drug companies AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo to offer this treatment at a price that would enable Nice to recommend its use for patients with secondary breast cancer.
‘We are deeply disappointed that AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo have not been willing to price this treatment to enable approval, therefore denying NHS patients the opportunity to access this latest advance in care.’
AstraZeneca UK’s President says: ‘This is a devastating decision and one which is out of step with other countries including Scotland. Sadly, the rigid application of a flawed methodology has here been prioritised ahead of doing what’s right for breast cancer patients in England and Wales.
‘This sits extremely uncomfortably and we call on NICE to reverse this decision and expedite an urgent review of their disease severity modifier, in this case it clearly isn’t working in the interests of patients.’
Hannah joined Nadia on Loose Women to discuss their battle for NHS to approve the drug.
She told the panel: ‘ I don’t know how long I’ve got, some statistics two to four years, some say three to five, I am 3 years in and it’s scary.
‘It’s not a fairy tale, it only ends one way. All we can have is extra time and this drug would have given me that, more time with my daughter.’Â
‘Six months might not sound like a long time, but it is in the world of secondary breast cancer.’
