Proper news from Britain - News from Britain you won’t find anywhere else. Not the tosh the big media force-feed you every day!
A top model has been forced to raise tens of thousands of pounds for an operation in Germany after the NHS denied him cancer treatment.
Daniel Hettmann, 39, said his life had been almost 'like a fairytale' when as a teenager he was approached by a model scout during a trip to Paris.
He went on to meet Karl Lagerfeld, with the first year of his career seeing him walk runway shows for Chanel, Givenchy and Paul Smith - as well as feature in an Armani TV ad.
But things took an unexpected and tragic turn just five years later when, aged 22, Mr Hettmann was diagnosed with blood cancer.
The model was put in remission after successful treatment but he sadly fell ill again in 2017 after moving to London.
Mr Hettmann was treated successfully and put in remission again.
But from 2024 he 'kept getting sick' and a blood test revealed a form of blood cancer had returned.
He underwent a stem cell transplant which initially appeared successful - but discovered this October that heartbreakingly the cancer had returned once more.
Mr Hettmann, who is originally from Germany, is not eligible for a second stem cell procedure on the NHS due to a little-known rule which bars anyone who has a relapse within a year of their transplant from another operation free at the point of use.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Karl Lagerfeld protégé said: 'It's been quite a roller coaster.
'I was basically told two weeks ago the cancer was back, with a mutation.
'Too much radiotherapy can actually cause cancer which is why it was not unlikely for someone with my medical history.
'Cancer can often be caused by too much treatment in the past. After everything I went through it was a lot finding out it had come back again.'
Asked how he felt discovering the cancer had returned, Mr Hettmann said: 'I think I truly felt anger for the first time. Until now I was just somebody who said "ok, it is what it is".
'That's why I never stopped working. I always took the mindset of asking what the universe wanted to tell me.'
Despite the new feelings of confusion and frustration, Mr Hettmann, who is raising money on GoFundMe, said he thought it was 'important to try and enjoy every day the best you can'.
The 39-year-old added he was supposed to fly to Saudi Arabia to organise a fashion week on the day he found out the cancer had returned.
He said: 'For three days I was on my couch paralysed, not really wanting to talk and hoping I'd wake up from a bad dream.
'But on Sunday I decided to jump on a plane and I was there for 10 days - we produced all the shows.
'A lot of people thought I was crazy but we did it and it was amazing.'
Mr Hettmann said for him it was important to 'take it day by day, step by step' and that 'making every day miserable is not going to help'.
His new stem cell donor is going to be his sister which, although not a complete transplant match, has left Mr Hettmann feeling 'very optimistic'.
The German-born model is now raising money on GoFundMe to pay for the costly operation.
He said: 'It's not like I'm waking up every day with a huge smile. But it's really important my mind is in the right place.
'I owe it to myself and those I love.'