'It'll make you appreciate every moment'

Mum-of-one Paula Glover sends her younger self la letter after enduring two bouts of breast cancer, highlighting the resilience she never knew she had

- Paula Glover

"Dear Paula, I'm not quite sure how you will manage, emotionally or mentally, when they tell you those words, 'You have breast cancer' - but you will. At 33, with a six-month-old baby, Oliver, it will be a lot to take in-but you'll actually go through it twice, and realise you're more resilient than you could imagine.

When you first find the lump, in the summer of 2012, of course you will worry, because of the family history of breast cancer, but when they tell you there is a one in 100 chance it will be pre-cancerous, this will settle your nerves a little, even though they will want to do more tests.

You'll be holding Oliver's little hand as the consultant gives you the triple negative diagnosis of breast cancer, which will be tough to take in. You won't hold back the tears.

A BRAVE DECISION

You will have six rounds of chemo, from September 2012 to January of the next year - after the first round your hair starts to come out in clumps, so of course you will shave it off, to beat the inevitable. Thankfully, the other side effects won't be too bad - like having a bad hangover. Of course, chemo is hard, but there is a silver lining in everything. You'll find a wonderful community within the hospital, the chemo ward isn't half as frightening as you might think and hospital staff will make it a positive experience.