I kept cancer agony from dying mum

A WOMAN bravely kept her breast cancer tests secret from her mother, who was dying from the same disease.

Emma McAuley, 26, found a lump in 2017 but hid her anguish from Pat, 61.

She said: “The doctors gave her nine months to live and that September, we planned a trip.

“We knew that would be our last together.”

But days before the break, Emma found the lump.

She missed an emergency breast clinic appointment when Pat deteriorated and was admitted to a hospice, where she died.

Ex-primary school teacher Emma, had a biopsy within a month of losing her mum.

A week later – while she was at her mother’s funeral – she received a text with a follow-up appointment to discuss the results.

Emma, of Barking, east London, said: “I felt nothing when they said it was cancer. I was totally numb.

“My life had already fallen apart and then it fell apart again. I’d just had my mum’s funeral and that sadness cannot be beaten. It didn’t even compare.”

Emma had chemotherapy and targeted therapy at King George’s Hospital in Ilford.

She was cancer-free when she opted for a double mastectomy to reduce the risk of the cancer returning.

Emma has now shown her scars and told her story on Instagram account Behind the Scars. She said: “There is power within scars. I’m proud of mine.”