Beating cancer and booking flights: the epic journey of Hannah and Charlie

IOL News

09-07-2025

Hannah and Charlie aim is to empower travel enthusiasts with practical travel tips, detailed guides and heartfelt stories that inspire others to embark on their personal adventures.
Image: Instagram.
Meet Hannah and Charlie, a couple whose remarkable journey reflects how love can triumph over life's toughest challenges.
The pair who go by @thattravelcouple on their social media platforms have recently been nominated for Travel Creator of the Year at the 2025 ITV Creator Awards.
What makes their nomination special is the fact that they have emerged from personal battles that might have shattered the spirit of even the most resilient.
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Hannah's journey took a harrowing turn shortly after her engagement to Charlie.
She was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 22 and underwent rigorous chemotherapy.
Charlie faced his own brush with death at 15 years old when he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest due to a rare genetic heart condition, leaving him clinically dead for 22 minutes before a miraculous revival.
Living with a defibrillator and a newfound appreciation for life, Charlie's determination mirrored Hannah's, setting the stage for their incredible journey together.
Through the chaos of their medical challenges, love blossomed. The couple found solace in each other while dreaming of life beyond hospital appointments. During treatments, they began to plan trips to lift their spirits.
Remarkably, during one of these trips, they received the news that Hannah's cancer had disappeared, igniting a passion for travel that would change their lives forever.
"This all started as a way to find some light in the middle of absolute chaos," they shared on Instagram.
"When you go through something like that, your whole perspective shifts."
Armed with nothing more than an iPhone and boundless enthusiasm, they began documenting their adventures.
What started as a personal journey quickly transformed into a platform for sharing hope, receiving unexpected support from a like-minded community inspired by their authenticity.
Since embarking on their globe-trotting adventures, the couple has ticked off 50 countries across five continents.
From breathtaking helicopter rides high above New York City to spirited treks around Machu Picchu and exhilarating skydives in Dubai to witnessing the Northern Lights in Iceland, their travel experiences are rich and diverse.
Even attending a Coldplay concert formed part of their memorable escapades, proving that life's true luxuries are experiences, not material possessions.
"We've never been big on 'stuff'. Instead, we choose to celebrate milestones somewhere new, doing something we'll talk about forever," they explain.
While they document their thrilling adventures, Hannah and Charlie do not shy away from sharing the raw and sometimes painful realities of their lives.
Their blog and vlogs provide a candid glimpse into the challenges they face, from cancer scans and the daunting road of IVF to heartfelt encouragement for health initiatives like blood donation.
In a more recent post, the couple shared that they will be starting their IVF process next month after a short delay.
"We FINALLY got the green light to start IVF next month… after a very unexpected delay 🧬💛Turns out if you travel to two Zika-risk countries back-to-back and then your partner tests 'positive' for Zika (even though he didn't actually have it), it slows things down just a bit ✈️
"Apparently, the yellow fever vaccine triggers a false positive in nearly 60% of people.
"So yeah, add that to the list of things they don't tell you when you're booking flights and planning IVF 🤯Anyway, three months later, we're officially back on track… and doing what we can to give this round the best possible chance 🍀," they shared on Instagram.
Meanwhile, they aim to empower their audience with practical travel tips, detailed guides and heartfelt stories that inspire others to embark on their personal adventures.