Anyone that helps people who are accused of sorcery are also blamed for being sorcerers.

Lives less ordinary from the BBC World Service, real people with extraordinary stories.

I started having a strength in me. I have to stand up for other women.

Find out more at the end of this podcast.

Thank you for downloading the more or less podcast. We're your guide to the numbers all around us

in the news and in life and I'm Tim Haafard. Today we're talking about how numbers can make a

difference when we're making life changing decisions about our health.

Hannah Frye is a British mathematics professor and broadcaster. She's made many

appearances on this programme over the years, but a recent confrontation with her own mortality

has brought her desire to understand numbers and to make sure the rest of us do

into even sharper focus. In January 2021, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer,

which wasn't a fun day as they go. And the problem with my particular case was that

we weren't sure how far it spread, so it looked like it had got into the lymph nodes,

which really reduces your chances of survival. But it was a bit unsure. Everything was a little bit hazy.

And what happened was the doctors decided to treat it as though it had spread,

so I had a very radical surgery. And in part, I think that my experience of being

cancer patient just changed a little perspective on everything.

Doctors told Hannah, who's now 38 and has two young children, that by having such far-reaching surgery,

which included removing her cervix, her womb and the lymph nodes, she would maximize her

chances of beating cancer. But her experience of the surgery and subsequent side effects

has led Hannah to question whether people facing diseases like cancer are being given all the

information and help they need to make informed decisions about their treatment.

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