Heartbreak after 'wonderful' Ashington teenager dies just a week after finishing cancer treatment

Hannah Riddell with her dog. Hannah died at just 17 on January 14 2025. Hannah has dark hair and is pictured sat on an outdoor garden chair with a white bulldog.
-Credit:Jill Mitcheson / Handout


Hannah Riddell, 17, died on Tuesday, just seven days after completing cancer treatment.

Hannah finished school at Ashington Academy last summer only to be diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma. The keen traveller had been set to start a travel and tourism course at Newcastle College but put that on hold to go through cancer treatment.

On January 7 she had her final chemotherapy appointment. Just seven days later she had a blood test at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle only for her health to deteriorate suddenly and shockingly. Hannah's devastated mum Jill Mitcheson has paid tribute to her "wonderful" daughter.

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Hannah's death is suspected to have been due to sepsis which affected her when her immune system was most vulnerable after cancer treatment, but at this stage the cause remains unconfirmed.

Jill said Hannah's boyfriend Kieron - who moved in with the family to help look after Hannah - had been a "rock". The family are now fundraising to help give Hannah "the best send-off possible".

Jill told ChronicleLive: "She was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last summer and she did six rounds of chemotherapy. On January 7 she had her last treatment and was told she was in remission.

"A week later she was due to have a blood test. We went into hospital and they tried to take her blood. They always struggle with that. Community nurses were supposed to come out, but we said we would just come to the hospital. We managed just to get into hospital to have it done. We assumed she might need a blood transfusion.

"When we got into hospital they did the usual observations and blood pressure and there was nothing out of the ordinary. But around two or three hours later Hannah started to be really unwell. She had a seizure then they took her into a side room."

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The next moments were terrifying for Hannah's loved ones as her health rapidly deteriorated. Medics at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary tried to save Hannah and tried giving emergency medication and spent almost an hour attempting to revive her.

Devastatingly, after 58 minutes of CPR it was clear that Hannah was not going to come around and Jill asked the medics to stop, she said. Jill paid tribute to her daughter: "She was very grown up for her age. She was the glue that held our family together and she was just the best sister. She had a heart of gold. She had a boyfriend who moved in with us. He has been our rock.

"Hannah was her little brother's second mum, really. She was always there for him. She was a lovely person, always well-behaved even from being a baby."

Hannah had found a lump in her arm over the summer, and this led to her cancer diagnosis. The youngster - who had inherited the "travel bug" from her mum, put her studies on hold to undergo treatment and was looking forward to starting the course once she was through treatment.

Plans are underway for Hannah's funeral, Jill said. She added: "It's so incredibly hard - she had beaten cancer and this was just a week later.

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"We want to give her just the best send off. To let her know how how beautiful she was. We would like to thank the community - everyone has been amazing. There's fundraising going on in pubs and the burden it has taken off us at this time is unreal. People have been so kind, even people we don't know."

So far, a crowdfunding page set up by Hannah's cousin Josh Mitcheson has raised more than £2,500 towards a £5,000 target. Click here to find out more and support the family.