Hannah Hearn Was Diagnosed With Eye Cancer While Pregnant. Now at Stage 4, She Is Recording Videos and Letters for Her Baby Girl, Austen Joy.
Hannah Hearn was in her second trimester when doctors diagnosed her with a rare eye cancer. Her daughter, Austen Joy, was born in April 2026, and a few months later the cancer was staged as stage 4 after tumors were found on Hearn’s liver. Now Hearn is making videos, recipe cards, scrapbooks and letters for Austen, according to a People story shared on Yahoo.
Austen is 6 months old. The keepsakes are meant to be there for her as she grows up.
A Diagnosis in the Second Trimester
Hearn was diagnosed with choroidal melanoma, a rare type of ocular melanoma, while pregnant. She was treated in late 2025, and Austen arrived in April 2026. A few months after the birth, doctors found liver tumors, and the cancer was staged as stage 4.
The couple moved to Massachusetts to be closer to family during her treatment, People reported. Hearn has since had two rounds of a treatment called PHP, and she said the second, on Oct. 1, was easier to recover from than the first.
Videos, Recipe Cards and Letters
Hearn is documenting her life for Austen through videos, recipe cards, scrapbooks and letters. In one video that spread widely online, recorded on a trip to Hawaii, she told Austen she loves her more than there are words to say.
She also shops for Christmas gifts on a “one for now, one for later” system, buying for this year and for future years. The items include toys, a book with a handwritten note, her perfume, a recipe box, and a trunk for what People described as heirlooms to come.
Online groups have been a source of support, Hearn said, especially Facebook groups for people with rare cancer diagnoses. The People article does not mention a fundraiser.
What Ocular Melanoma Is
The National Cancer Institute describes intraocular melanoma as a rare cancer that forms in pigment-making cells of the uvea, the eye’s middle layer, which includes the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid. Early disease may cause no symptoms and is sometimes found during a routine dilated eye exam. Warning signs include blurred vision, floaters or flashes of light, a dark spot on the iris, and changes in pupil size or shape.
The American Cancer Society says it is the most common eye cancer in adults but still fairly rare, and that most uveal melanomas begin in the choroid. They can spread through the blood, most often to the liver. The Ocular Melanoma Foundation says the cancer affects only 6 people in a million.
What Stage 4 and Liver Spread Mean
The National Cancer Institute explains that stage IV includes spread to distant sites such as the liver, lung, bone or brain. Cancer cells found in the liver are still melanoma cells, so the disease is called metastatic intraocular melanoma rather than liver cancer, the institute says.
The institute states that an effective treatment for metastatic intraocular melanoma has not been found, and suggests a clinical trial may be an option. Research continues. In August 2023, the FDA approved a liver-directed melphalan treatment for adults with uveal melanoma and unresectable liver metastases affecting less than 50% of the liver, based on a 91-patient study in which 36.3% of patients responded.
The Ocular Melanoma Foundation lists patient education, travel assistance, a free eye exam program, retreats and clinical trial information for patients and families.
For now, Hearn’s focus in the People story is on what Austen will have: voices, handwriting and recipes saved for her daughter’s future.
Get stories like this by email. Sign up for The Parent Diaries Letter.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Tool Dude8mm – CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons
