A woman who had surgery for breast cancer three weeks before her wedding is celebrating 10 years free from the disease by taking part in the Race for Life.
Patricia Holland, from Hinckley, discovered a pea-sized lump in her breast in 2001, a few months before she was due to marry fiance Warwick.
She had a mastectomy less than a month before she walked down the aisle – and after being given the 10-year 'all-clear' is now taking part in the Race for Life this summer.
She will help raise funds for Cancer Research UK – which paid for the trial of treatment she underwent.
Patricia, now 37, said: "To have your breast removed at the age of 27 is hideous, but, if it hadn't been for the work of Cancer Research UK, I wouldn't be here at all.
"Turn the clock back 20-30 years and people like me died."
After Patricia found the lump, she was referred to the breast clinic at Glenfield Hospital.
She was booked in for an operation to have the lump removed but a second lump was found.
After surgery, she was told both lumps were cancerous. The good news was they had not spread – the bad news was it was an aggressive cancer.
Patricia said: "The surgeons told me I needed a mastectomy and suggested I leave it until after the wedding. But I didn't want to get married with cancer in my body.
"I wanted to get straight on with surgery."
She got married three weeks later and managed to go to Turkey on her honeymoon with Warwick, although she ended up in hospital for three days.
Patricia said: "It was an incredibly difficult time and it was very hard on us both.
"On my return, I had to begin chemotherapy, a treatment I was told might render me infertile. We had always wanted children so that was hard to come to terms with."
Patricia was put on Cancer Research UK-funded trial Tact, which involved six courses of chemotherapy followed by 10 years of monitoring.
She and her husband decided to try for a family and were delighted when Patricia discovered she was pregnant.
Evie was born on January 26, 2007 – and the youngster, now four, will be cheering her mum on from the sidelines when she takes part in the Race for Life at Leicester's Western Park on Sunday, July 10.
Jane Redman, from Cancer Research UK, said: "Patricia's story shows how more people are beating cancer thanks to research. We need to continue to raise funds if our life-saving work is to continue."
Race for Life events will be held at Prestwold Hall, near Loughborough, on Sunday, June 26, and Western Park, Leicester on Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10.
www.raceforlife.org
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