Yeah. I think I got through it because my family is great and great company.

My mum I’ve always been close to, and dad, you know, weve been close, but suddenly I was really, you know, right there all the time. So I was, I was just like a child again, like a hundred per cent dependent, particularly during those weeks when I was really ill.

And, you know, through all my teenage years I’d always been dashing off with my friends and everything, and suddenly I was at home a lot, all the time and just learnt to appreciate, you know, their company really.

Just sitting in at night watching telly with them and everything, which I would never have done before. And I really enjoyed it and I love my parents’ company now.

I’m quite happy to go and sit round with them for the evening or afternoon and it’s really, really nice going away on my own with my dad. I would never have done that before, that was lovely.

There were some friends who scuttled away and I never heard anything from them because they couldn’t cope with it. It was frightening, it was embarrassing.

But my son and my immediate family were absolutely wonderful. My daughter-law bought for me two of the brilliant books that I read and found such a help. And my son immediately gave me crash courses on how to use the internet. I didn’t have a computer and you might say that the cancer experience has switched me on technologically-speaking.

He took me to a video [internet] caf and we went into the videos, and I wanted to look up intra-operative radiotherapy because it had been mentioned to me and there were reams of stuff on it. Theres loads of stuff on tamoxifen, whatever you want to know you can find out.

You find out, without a doubt, you find out who your friends are. Well I found out who my friends were, definitely.

And became closer to some people because of it, particularly my friend who was here most of the time. She was the right personality, she did not panic, she did not encourage me to get morbid but on the other hand she didn’t push me either.

And we did things, like we went out and she went through most of it with me, in fact all of it with me.

Something else that’s just dawned on me, you know, running your household. But there I was very, very lucky, very lucky indeed. If I hadn’t had Jane [domestic help], who has kept this household ticking over for quite a while now, but especially over the last two years. And she was also at the other of the phone if I needed her at any time. And did extras, and she would come in if I needed meals during the, and again because she’s somebody we pay, you don’t feel quite the same way as if it was friends. it’s, yes she is also a friend but anything that she, you don’t have this feeling well of reciprocity, the issue of reciprocity, however can I make up for what they have done?

And so it was easier to go for actually, to somebody who was paid to help than to have friends and family where it really is my goodness, it is stressful for them to see and cope with, how can you ever every repay? And there to have Jane [domestic help] who we paid to help, and she was happy to help and was absolutely wonderful, in her taking over the running of the household, keeping the household tidy, doing all the washing. All those sorts of things.

I am a committed Christian and I prayed about it. And I’d no sort of, I don’t know, I didn’t pray for healing or anything I just prayed for God’s peace to get me through it. I just wanted peace.

I actually don’t know how people cope with this sort of thing without a faith, whatever religion you are. I’m a committed Christian.

And in my lowest times God has been there and I’ve been able to talk to him. I’ve been able to lean on him. Scriptures have just come out at me, you know, when I’ve read my Bible.

Things that I’ve read hundreds of times have just, just come out at me and the promises of God, you know’ “I will never leave you or forsake you. You have a future. I have plans for you.” All these sorts of things.

And it is my faith that’s kept me going and the prayers of people, you know, when I go for chemotherapy, they all know when I’m going.

And I, it’s almost physical, I can feel being uplifted in prayer.

You know so for the whole day you might be alright, you feel alright. You feel free, you feel happy. And then the next day it just comes back to you’ “Yes, I’ve got cancer.”

And you go’ “Oh God, why don’t it go away?” But well that’s life, you’ve got to live with that.

Yes, how did you get through the bad days?

I said my prayers. I read my Bible. I’ve got different little books from, church books you know because I’m a Catholic. So I’ve got different little books. I read them, said my Rosary. Sometimes I even said my Rosary going to and from the hospital. Because that sort of, once you say your prayers, you feel released like. To me, I don’t know about other people, but saying my prayers relaxes me.

And before I went into surgery, the day before, I received Holy Communion. So I know I was prepared for everything, for anything that came. Thank God it came out alright.

I’ve found a lot of support from other women. I found there are an awful lot of brave and quite wonderful women out there. Actually I think breast cancer does help you develop, and it might be a funny thing to say but, a great feeling of sistership with other women.

You know theres such a good feeling between women who’ve had or got breast cancer, and you can all relate to each other and it’s, you look out for each other. And that’s really, really nice.

You know, I’ll go and meet somebody who I know who’s had breast cancer’ “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Are you alright?”, “Yeah.” “When are you going again?”, “Oh I’ve got to go- – -” You know and it’s, it’s a real comradeship, which is nice. It’s lovely, an affinity. Not brought about by something very nice but it’s still an affinity.

That’s all really.

After I had my operation I came home, and then I had that scare six months later. I was really so depressed and down. I felt as if the cancer was controlling me. Iended up with anti-depressant tablets because I was just sitting, and the next thing I was bursting out crying.

But as I say with the help of the support group and day centre it’s just, it’s changed my life.

You just need somebody to talk to because then you realise that you’re not the only that’s going through this, because theres thousands of women every day.

I was saying the other day I thought this is the best thing, it sounds stupid, but it’s the best thing that’s happened to me because I really meet people now. I have a social life.

My life has just completely changed from what it was and, I don’t know it just is, my life is completely different to what it used to be before I had breast cancer.