Twin girls orphaned as mum dies of cancer less than two years after their dad
Twin sisters have been left orphaned at just 11 years old after their mum died of breast cancer - less than two years after they lost their dad. Hannah Whittall tried to hide her diagnosis from her 11-year-old daughters, Isabelle and Emmy, as they had already lost their dad the year before.
The mum, who grew up in Sutton Coldfield before moving to Tamworth, underwent months of chemotherapy and had a double mastectomy in August 2024 with full lymph node removal after finding a lump under her arm. She was given the all-clear on September 12.
But, cruelly, the cancer returned just one month later, and this time, and had spread to her bones. She was admitted to the hospital in December with fluid in her lungs and pneumonia but was able to return home to spend one final Christmas with her girls.
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She then went back into hospital with complications from pneumonia, the HMPV virus and sepsis. Hannah died on January 14 this year, surrounded by her loved ones.
Her daughters were at her bedside and thanked her for being their mum as she slipped away, Hannah's brother Thomas told BirminghamLive. Speaking about his nieces, who are being cared for by Hannah's dad and his wife, Thomas said: "They loved their mum and didn't spend more than two days away from Hannah and the only time they did was when she was in hospital, they were obsessed with her."
Sadly, the girls are now orphans after their father and Hannah's ex-partner died of pneumonia in May 2023. "After losing their dad, Hannah was their world - she was such a good mum," Thomas added.
"She did everything with them and took them everywhere. Just an active mum like a super mum. They said that they'd been worried about their dad being on his own in heaven, but now mummy was there to look after daddy and vice versa."
The 33-year-old continued: "Hannah was so unlucky with things. It is so rare how aggressive the cancer came back and the treatments just weren't working. She became extremely frail and then all the complications were horrible to watch.
"The girls were there when she died, which was heartbreaking. They didn't know she had cancer. They just thought she was poorly. They were sitting by her bedside saying 'thank you mummy for everything you've taught us, thank you for the dinners you've made us'."
Hannah's mum, Phyllis Whitsell, helped to care for her at Good Hope Hospital during her last weeks. She felt more comfortable being cared for by her mum, who was a nurse for 50 years, and so Phyllis stayed with her to do so.
Thomas said: "The doctors and nurses still did their bit, but my mum never left her side." Thomas is a dad to two-year-old son Reggie and has a baby girl on the way. Hannah was present at a gender reveal party in October, a memory he says he will cherish.
Speaking of his unborn daughter, he said: "We're going to give her the middle name Grace, which means Hannah." Thomas is now raising money on GoFundMe for the twin's continued care. In just a few days, they have raised almost £30,000.
Thomas said: "It just shows that people do care. Some of the messages have been overwhelming." He hopes to raise awareness of cancer and hopes that Hannah's story may help to prevent the same thing from happening to someone else.
The NHS lists the main symptoms of breast cancer as:
a lump, or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit
a change in the skin of your breast, such as dimpling (may look like orange peel) or redness (may be harder to see on black or brown skin)
a change in size or shape of 1 or both breasts
nipple discharge (if you are not pregnant or breastfeeding), which may have blood in it
a change in the shape or look of your nipple, such as it turning inwards (inverted nipple) or a rash on it (may look like eczema)
pain in your breast or armpit which does not go away – breast pain that comes and goes is usually not a symptom of breast cancer
Always consult a medical professional if you are concerned about your health. Click here to view the GoFundMe page.