Living to tell the tale

Alan's attitude, however, made all the difference to me and got me through the tough parts. I know some men who left their partners after they had a mastectomy, and if there is a crack in your relationship having cancer can make it wider. But Alan was all in favour of me having the operation: he said it was better to have two breasts that looked like oranges than to die. He made me feel loved. He's always been a positive, healthy and encouraging man, the kind who tells you how nice you look, as he kept on telling me.

Three weeks after the operation, I was running again. I carried on living normally, working, running marathons, loving life and my husband. Then, three years later I started feeling some pain in my sternum (breast bone). I went to the doctor and was told I had bone cancer. Again, it was a total shock. The doctors were convinced the initial operation would have cured me of all the cancer.