'My cancer diagnosis left me shattered - but it made me want to help others'
A mum who was diagnosed with breast cancer after thinking she had a cyst has said she now wants to help others cope with enduring the illness and its gruelling treatments.
Victoria Knowles, 46, was lying on her bed with her seven-year-old son Thomas when she felt the first sign of what she thought was a cyst and made an appointment for a breast screening.
And just a few moments after her scan, she was filled with dread as she began to suspect she had cancer - as doctors approached her in the waiting room and asked if they could take a second scan.
The mum was diagnosed in January 2022 (Victoria Knowles)
She endured 16 rounds of chemotherapy (Victoria Knowles)Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Victoria said: "I knew they must have seen something. They didn't say anything. Then when I went into the ultrasound room, the guy doing that didn't say anything.
"I just lay there and sobbed because I just knew."
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The mum, from Wigan, found out the results of her second scan four days later on January 25, 2022, when she received a phone call giving her the devastating diagnosis.
"It's the most incomprehensible thing to be told you have cancer," she explained, "You genuinely never ever think it will be you even though cancer is so common. I was thinking, 'No, no, no, this cannot be happening to me because I won't be able to handle this'.
She described treatment as 'grim' (Victoria Knowles)
She is now cancer free (Victoria Knowles)"It honestly went from 0 to 100 in such a short space of time because I went in there thinking it would be nothing. There was no history of breast cancer in my family and I genuinely thought it was just going to be a cyst."
And although the news was earth-shattering for Victoria, she knew immediately she would "be the person who beats this", and told her husband Edward and their son that she would do everything in her power to fight her illness.
She said: "I hugged Edward and my son and told them I was going to be the person who beats this. I decided there and then."
Following her diagnosis, Victoria endured 16 rounds of chemotherapy over a two-month period, which she described as "utterly grim and vile".
But thankfully, by the time her lumpectomy surgery rolled around the following September to remove any remaining cancer, the chemotherapy had already wiped it all out.
Victoria, who works as a personal assistant, added: "I think I coped with that really well. I think I've coped really well throughout the treatment because I radically changed my life; I stopped drinking alcohol and [developed a] healthier lifestyle."
Despite needing to take medication for the next five years, the mum is now cancer free.
And she's now begun turning her talents to helping other people with cancer through the difficult process, starting with the release of her book - It's Breast Cancer: Three Little Words That Change Your Life - last month, which shares her journey from the first doctor's visit to the end of her treatment and beyond.
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Victoria also works with The Wig Bank, a wig service for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or alopecia, and helped set up The Wig Bank London - where women who are finished with treatment donate their wigs which are then sold on at affordable prices.
She explained: "I just want to give back to ladies so they're able to have something nice to wear. If you want [a wig] to look semi-decent, you have to spend the money. I thought, 'What an awesome idea'."
And the mum said battling cancer has changed every aspect of her life, as she's now "healthier than ever" and has a new adventurous spirit.
"It has changed me immensely," she claimed, "Spiritually as well as physically. And by physically I mean I'm probably healthier now than I’ve ever been.
"I no longer drink alcohol and my diet is better than ever. I'm no longer afraid to try new things or go outside of my comfort zone because having had a cancer diagnosis was a wake-up call for me – that I should really live life and enjoy it warts and all because we really are only here for a short time."
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