‘My mum got her all-clear – then helped me beat the same cancer'

Lorraine’s shock diagnosis came just months after Denise won her fight

- SANDRA WALSH

Lorraine Comerie was told she had an aggressive form of breast cancer shortly after her mum, Denise Geeves, went into remission after battling the same disease. Here, the 37-year-old, who lives in Hilton, Derbyshire, with her husband Steve, 38, and sons George, 12, Henry, three, and Alexander, two, shares her story...

This Mother’s Day will be extra-special for me and my mum, Denise. We’ll be able to share a family lunch and put the difficulties of the past few years behind us.

I’m lucky to have a mum who knows exactly what to say when I’m feeling low. It’s not just because she’s my mum but because she knows exactly what I’m going through – both of us were diagnosed with the same cancer in the exact same spot in our left breasts.

I hadn’t long had my second son, Henry, and was busy making the final arrangements for my wedding to Steve in June 2019 when Mum called with her devastating news – a routine mammogram had picked up a tumour.

It was an aggressive form of cancer called triple-negative and it came as a real shock to the family. But she’s a positive person and she faced her treatment head-on, while still finding time to help me with the wedding preparations the following month.

Mum was still able to come to the wedding despite having only just had surgery to remove the tumor, which was such a relief to us both.

There were difficult moments, especially when she lost her hair because of the chemo. But she got through the treatment and we were all thrilled when she was given the all-clear in May 2020.