Former ‘Bachelorette’ Star Shares Childhood Cancer Diagnosis

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images Hannah Brown at Variety's Power of Young Hollywood in 2019.

Hannah Brown has been making headlines for her recently published memoir, “Bless This Mess.” In her latest revelation, the former lead of “The Bachelorette” shared that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when she was 11 years old.

The 27-year-old revealed in her book that she struggled with frequent stomachaches as a fifth-grader, only for an MRI to reveal “a tumor the size of an egg” on her pancreas.

“They sent me for a biopsy, and a day or so later, my dad got a call with the results — not from our regular doctor, but from an oncologist,” according to an excerpt obtained by People. “The tumor was malignant. Cancer. Pancreatic cancer — one of the deadliest forms of cancer there is.”

Her cancer was a little easier to treat since it had not spread past her pancreas, but it did not stop her parents from worrying.

“On the day of my surgery, I wasn’t scared about what was going to happen to me. At all,” the “Dancing With the Stars” winner continued. “Even though my mother was in tears and my dad looked as worried as I’d ever seen him in my life as the nurses came to wheel me into the operating room, I looked up at my mom from my hospital bed and said, ‘Mama, I’m going to be okay.’”

She may not have been scared going into her surgery, but she had concerns about possibly needing to undergo chemotherapy and radiation for fear of losing her hair.

“There was a chance we’d have to go through radiation and chemotherapy, they said, depending on what the surgeon found once they got me into the operating room,” she said. “But miraculously, I didn’t need either one.”

Brown revealed that when she had checkups “nothing else ever turned up in my scans or in my bloodwork.”

Writing ‘Bless This Mess’ Was a Journey of ‘Self-Discovery’

Brown went on a journey of “self-discovery,” while writing her book, according to People. “Bless This Mess” was published on Tuesday, November 23, 2021. It covers her journey in Bachelor Nation, as well as deep-diving into her dating life and experience with an eating disorder.

Ahead of its release, Brown told the outlet, “I feel so grateful for the opportunity to share my journey, including all the highs and lows, with those still figuring themselves out. I’m still learning and growing but hope that others can take away from my experiences and learn to embrace the messiness and beauty of life. I felt it was important to share my truth, honestly and without the opinion of others.”

Brown Revealed She Hooked Up with Peter Weber After the Show

The former pageant queen made waves when she revealed in a preview of her book that she hooked up with her former contestant, Peter Weber after his turn on “The Bachelor.” He had a short-lived engagement with Hannah Ann Sluss.

Weber and Brown saw each other again at the engagement party of Dylan Barbour and Hannah Godwin.

“He was like, ‘I have so much to tell you,’” she wrote in her book according to People, revealing the pair ended up sleeping together. “The chemistry just wasn’t there.”

Alluding to Weber’s runner-up, Madison Prewett, she added, “It just sucked. And then, I found out he had another girl on his mind. It was all so bizarre.”

On his podcast, “Bachelors in the City,” Weber responded to her claims. He said, ​​”I thought we were just going to keep it private, but I guess that wasn’t the case and I’m totally okay with it, it’s all good. I don’t mind any of this.”

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