There’s no cure for me... but I can still gain time for others

life making people better. But I couldn’t change this. I had five months of chemotherapy and three months of radiotherapy and the tumour shrank by half. I began to see a way forward. Previously a triathlete, I was able to run again and even did a half marathon. You think you may be one of those patients who defies the odds and doesn’t die. Unfortunately, I’m not. My symptoms worsened and in October an X-ray showed it was progressing rapidly. With my husband Matt – he’s 49 and owns a cattery – I broke the news to our children a month later.

They already knew I had cancer but we hadn’t told them I was going to die. It was the worst thing I have had to do – devastating.

But in a way it was as if a huge burden had been lifted. We’re all just carrying on as normal as much as possible as we don’t know how long I have left.

Counselling has helped and I do lots of yoga. I cry most days but try not to in front of my daughter, 15, and son, 10. I’ve always told them you should never stop believing, anything is possible and positivity is the key.

I’d encourage people to be as active and healthy as they can throughout treatment.

If you’ve got secondary or advanced cancer, the fitter you are, the better your quality of life.

Sadly, for me, I had been living with cancer for six years without knowing it. It was progressing unchecked and untreated.

Being fit and healthy may have masked any symptoms.

It’s devastating to think if it had been diagnosed things might be