Daniel Hettmann was just 22 when he was diagnosed
He was youthful, athletic and in good health, so cancer was the furthest thing from his thoughts. But when Daniel Hettmann started experiencing some peculiar symptoms, he realised something must be seriously amiss.
His GP, however, appeared untroubled, attributed it to inflammation and even mocked him for searching online for his condition. “I had a lump in my neck,” Daniel said.
“After a while of observing it, it turned into a chain of lumps, which freaked me out. I went to the doctor, who ordered a couple of exams, but told me I wouldn’t have to worry.”
Additional tests failed to uncover what was causing the lumps so Daniel, who was residing in Paris at the time, headed to A&E. The hospital referred him to the haematology unit, who instantly recognised his symptoms and diagnosed him with stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
It was 2008 and Daniel was merely 22. The diagnosis left him completely devastated – but he had no notion of what lay ahead.
“I had a first round of chemotherapy that lasted for four months and the result was I was in remission,” Daniel explains. “But after two months, I found a new lump on the other side of my neck and already had a relapse after not even two months. I was mentally and physically still quite in a weak place.”
The doctor, Daniel said, lacked compassion and bluntly informed him that he would need to quit his fashion career, begin intensive chemotherapy and undergo a stem cell transplant.
The prospect of more aggressive treatment left him feeling utterly dejected, and for a period he ignored hospital calls and correspondence, instead pursuing alternative approaches including naturopathy, magnetism, Ayurveda and even starvation.
Eventually, one of his Ayurvedic practitioners advised him to return to the hospital.
“The doctor said: ‘I know that you’ve learned a lot in the past year and a half by trying to explore alternative healing’,” Daniel recalls.
“‘How do you feel about going back to the hospital, using what innovation and medical science has to provide, and at the same time strengthen your body by using all the alternative methods that you’ve learned about?’ So that’s what I did.”
Daniel returned to the hospital and fortunately the cancer’s spread was limited. The tumour had expanded to apple-size, but remained contained to one area. A year and a half of various chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments ensued.
“At the end of that year and a half, the doctor said that we could continue like that, but I would probably not make it until 30 because my body would not be able to take much more treatment,” Daniel explains.
“She said if I’m ready, she would really strongly recommend intensive chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. So that’s what I did in 2012 and it was successful.”
In 2017, Daniel relocated to London and it was then that he discovered a fresh lump. Further chemotherapy and a second stem cell transplant followed.
Both stem cell transplants were autologous, meaning his own stem cells were utilised. By 2018 he was able to return to a more normal existence. However, in 2023 he became perpetually unwell.
Blood tests revealed that his immune system was significantly weaker than it ought to be and incapable of protecting Daniel from bacterial or viral infections. In January 2024, medics decided to investigate further.
“In February, they sat me down and basically said, ‘Listen, chemotherapy can be great in healing cancer, but unfortunately too much of it can also lead to other types of cancers,'” Daniel adds. “They announced that I had MDS, which is a type of cancer in your bone marrow.
“It means that the toxicity of the past treatments have altered the makeup of my bone marrow and my bone marrow was basically broken. So my bone marrow was no longer able to produce healthy cells, to have a healthy immune system and so forth.”
The sole method to cure MDS is a stem cell transplant or bone marrow transplant, though this time from a donor. Medics informed Daniel he didn’t need to begin treatment immediately and that he could carry on working through September and October, his busiest months during Fashion Week. But in October, he underwent another biopsy and discovered that the condition had already advanced to leukaemia.
Daniel was rushed to hospital immediately. Initially he received chemotherapy to eliminate the leukaemia and then, in November, he underwent another intensive course of chemo to clear the bone marrow.
In December, he received the stem cell transplant using stem cells from a donor, and fortunately, the procedure was successful. But throughout this period, Daniel had been battling the horrific side effects of chemotherapy.
The treatment left him feeling utterly drained: sick, shattered and frail, with no energy or desire to eat. One of his mates has parents who work as medical researchers, specialising in pain management.
“They kept telling my friends that I should think about using cannabis because it would help me with the side effects of chemotherapy,” Daniel explains. “I was very, very anti-drugs back then, so I vehemently refused to do anything. But the side effects were pretty bad: I had a lot of nausea, I lost my appetite and I couldn’t really sleep.”
Daniel’s mates managed to persuade him to try cannabis for medicinal reasons and he was astounded by the transformation he experienced. Suddenly his sickness vanished without needing medication to prevent it.
He was also able to get some rest, and his hunger returned. It also helped Daniel manage the psychological impact of so much treatment and allowed him to escape from the harsh realities of cancer. “Before the medical cannabis, I felt like a truck had run me over,” he explains.
“I felt sick, I wanted to throw up, but couldn’t because I hadn’t eaten anything. I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep.”
Medical cannabis was available in the UK, so Daniel could access it easily through Wellford Medical Clinics. He has appointments with a doctor to discuss symptoms and treatment and gets the cannabis posted to his house.
Despite its legal status, access through the health service remains at a standstill even for the three conditions the NHS says it will consider prescribing for – epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and the side effects of chemotherapy.
“I usually bake with the medical cannabis because I prefer to ingest it,” Daniel explains. “I don’t really like to use a vaporiser or smoke it.
“It has been invaluable in helping me cope with the side effects. I know what it is like to not use it and how you feel, so I can really clearly see the difference, and always recommend it to others. Often people are reluctant, but once they actually try, they see what a huge difference it actually makes when you go through cancer treatment.”
Daniel, now 39, wants others to be open-minded to the benefits of medical cannabis.
“I actually find it scandalous that it’s not widely publicly known to everybody that this is available,” he adds. “This is prescribed by professionals, not something you have to buy in the streets not knowing where it comes from.
“I’ve seen it for myself: I’ve done it without, and I’ve done it with, and the difference is huge. I don’t understand why people need to suffer unnecessarily with nausea, lack of sleep, lack of appetite and just feeling terrible, when there’s actually a solution that is natural and that doesn’t really have any side effects, like a lot of the meds do have.
“I think also with cannabis, there’s a huge stigma. A lot of people still see it as a gateway drug. I still haven’t tried any other drugs in my whole life, even though I’m in the fashion industry, so I think I can vouch for it not being a gateway drug, because I’ve always stuck to it. I’m not addicted to it. I only use it when I really feel the need to.”
Daniel is now on the mend following his stem cell transplant in December and visits the hospital every fortnight for blood tests. His energy levels are gradually improving and he remains optimistic about what lies ahead.
“I’m somebody who always tries to find a reason in everything, maybe just because it makes things easier for me, so I always say that I’m grateful for my journey with all the ups and downs,” he adds. “My perspective on life is definitely a different one than what it would be if I hadn’t gone through all of that.
“It’s not been easy but so far I’ve had a very rich, amazing, eventful life and I don’t regret any of it. There’s nothing I can do about it and I always try to make the best out of it, try to stay as positive as I can and move on with it and make sure I get better.
“When it comes to cancer, I would tell people that the mind is a huge component in getting better. It’s easier said than done to keep positive, but it is true that the mind is crucial in getting better, so it’s also important to surround yourself with the right people and to try to create a positive environment while you’re going through something that’s definitely not positive.”
Daniel hopes to inspire others to always seek medical attention if they spot any unusual symptoms and to demand second opinions if they’re unhappy with their first consultation.
“Science is improving, and the earlier we catch cancer, the easier it is to treat,” he adds. “The longer you wait, the harder it is for the doctors to do something.
“I would definitely recommend that everybody should get checked on a regular basis. At the end of the day, if you have cancer, the longer you wait, it’s just going to get worse.”
