Australian Olympian Mary Hanna To Undergo Treatment for Skin Cancer

Dressage

Australia

Australian six-time Olympian Mary Hanna has published that she has been diagnosed with skin cancer and will undergo treatment in the next mont and a half. She will be riding and training on a light schedule.

Skin Cancer

The 68-year old Hanna took to Facebook to share the diagnosis.

"I am finding it hard work to explain to friends , family and clients what’s happening in my life right now, so I have decided to just put it out there," she wrote. "I recently had a SSC (cancer) removed from my face. Scans show it travelled up a nerve. I will now undergo 6 weeks of daily Radiation treatment and weekly chemotherapy."

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common type of skin cancer that occurs on your skin in places where you've been exposed to sun. Untreated squamous cell carcinoma of the skin can destroy nearby healthy tissue, spread to the lymph nodes or other organs. In general, the squamous cell carcinoma survival rate is very high—when detected early, the five-year survival rate is 99 percent. Even if squamous cell carcinoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes, the cancer may be effectively treated through a combination of surgery and radiation treatment.

Light Schedule

During her treatment, Hanna will be a on a light riding and training schedule.

At the 2018 World Equestrian Games with Boogie Woogie

"I will probably feel tired and unwell as the treatment progresses, so will be limiting the number of horses I ride per day, and only teach my regular students when I can fit it in, in between treatments," she said "Hopefully because we have got onto this quickly all will be well."

Mary, who regularly commutes to Europe, has been in Australia since returning home from the 2022 World Championships in Herning, after withdrawing Calanta from competition there. The mare is now retired from sport. Mary still actively rides and has Ivanhoe, a 10-year old KWPN gelding by Desperado x Jazz x Komeet, as a potential Paris Olympic hopeful. In last weekend's national show at Boneo Park, they won the Grand Prix with 69.511% in a field of five competitors.

"Meanwhile this gorgeous little pocket rocket Ivan puts a smile on my face everyday," Mary stated.