A mum who survived a rare cancer and three heart attacks has told of her inspiring journey to happiness. In a bid to get her health back on track, Pippa Hannay, 39, lost seven stone in weight after quitting her secret eating habit.
The mum-of-one found romance with her newfound confidence and now hopes to help others with her own nutrition club. Pippa, from Winsford, Cheshire, suffered three heart attacks when her daughter, Olivia, was just one-year-old.
She was told she was lucky to be alive and just months later, she was diagnosed with cancer. “I had survived three heart attacks and cancer and yet I was killing myself with over-eating," she said.
READ MORE:
"I knew I had to make a change, and that change has saved my life.” Pippa had faced issues with her weight for several years.
“I was a little overweight as a child," she said. "My parents were always very supportive, my mum, Jane, was a model and my dad, Howard, was a footballer, and so I felt I had a lot to live up to.”
But as an adult, after the loss of her best pal and the breakup of her marriage, Pippa’s problems spiraled. "I lost my best friend to cancer in April 2015 which was very traumatic. My daughter was only a year old, I was a single parent, and it was a very hard time," she said.
Following the traumas, she began gaining weight. Pippa said: “I couldn’t work out why I was putting weight on and I was starving myself and punishing myself in the gym. But my health was going worse and worse. I was very tired and that made me eat the wrong foods.”
In October 2015, Pippa suffered a spontaneous cardiac arterial dissection. Doctors told her she had suffered three heart attacks and was lucky to be alive. Whilst she was in hospital, a scan picked up a mass on her kidney and she was referred for more tests.
She explained: “Little did I know it, but I had cancer even then and that is why I was gaining weight and feeling so tired.” By December 2016, she was diagnosed with stage two clear cell carcinoma - cancer of the kidney.
Pippa underwent surgery to remove her right kidney in February 2017. “I was told that my cancer had been preventing me from losing weight, and it all made sense," she added. Pippa made a full recovery from her cancer, but her mental rehabilitation was less straightforward.
“I slumped into a depression," she continued. "I ate and drank too much and then I would yo-yo diet and use laxatives to try to lose weight. I am usually such a bright and bubbly person, but I became very sad and withdrawn.
“I used food as a comfort and a crutch. I ate secretly and I would hide my fast-food wrappers.”
At her heaviest, she weighed 18 and a half stone. "It got to the point where I was seriously worried for my health," she said. "I began considering bariatric surgery. I had survived three heart attacks and cancer and yet I was killing myself with over-eating.”
At the end of 2020, Pippa stumbled across a nutrition club, which has completely changed her life. "The nutrition club is all about understanding what you need rather than what you want," she added.
Pippa has lost around seven stones and now weighs 11 and a half stone. Inspired by her progress, she began learning from a nutritionist and launched her own group.
"Now I'm just super happy and I just want to help others change their lives too, with healthy eating and exercise," she added. Pippa has also found new love too, and married her partner, John, earlier this month.
“When I look back at the lowest points of my journey, I feel it’s incredible that I’ve found such happiness," she said.
Pippa’s group, Soul Nutrition, working with Herbalife, can be found on Facebook.
To get the latest email updates from the Manchester Evening News, click here.
