Brave Claira’s epic trip round globe
A BBC presenter told yesterday how breast cancer fears led her to rethink her life, quit her job and travel the world.
Claira Hermet, 28, had a double mastectomy after the cancer deaths of her mother and sister.
Then she sold her belongings on eBay, packed a rucksack and set off on an itinerary decided by complete strangers.
“I had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she said as she described her experiences. Claira, from Hendon, north London, worked as a presenter on BBC Radio 1Xtra and BT Sport.
Then tests revealed she carried the breast cancer gene which had taken the life of her mother Jane, at 43, and sister, Emily, at just 31.
After opting for surgery in January 2015, she had a plaster cast taken before her breasts were removed to help surgeons to reconstruct them afterwards.
Once her various operations were over, she became consumed by wanderlust and a passion to enjoy life to the full.
With the support of her father Howard, she set up a website blog and invited readers to decide which countries and cities she should visit.
Now well into her travels, Claira said: “When my sister died I made a pact with myself to find a way to be happy.
“They may not have their lives but I have mine and I want to make it count for them and for myself. After the operation I started to be filled with an urge to travel so I decided to go ahead with it – I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
She spent her first month on the sun- drenched Caribbean islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
From there she jetted to Trinidad, then Panama and then on to carnival capital of the world, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where she spent Valentine’s Day watching a samba parade.
Claira said: “I just couldn’t believe I was there – it was almost magical. I was there with complete strangers who are now friends for life.”
She says her journey is designed to find the one thing missing from her life – peace.
“I don’t necessarily think I’ve found it yet,” she said. “When you’re back home you have lots of stuff to distract you, but when you’re travelling on your own you don’t have that.
“It’s quite an intense experience.”
Claira is now touring Brazil and is uncertain when – or even if – she will return to the UK.
Meanwhile she plans to write a self- help guide aimed at young people called Things I Wish My Mum Had Told Me.