‘I beat cancer and had a miracle baby'

Leanne Hugglestone, 40, from Cardiff, overcame breast cancer and went on to become a single mum. But after she met her perfect guy, life took an even happier turn

- HATTIE BISHOP

My body began to tense up as I approached the doctor’s office. I knew about my family history of breast cancer, but it wasn’t until I hit my early thirties that I began to take it seriously.

My dad’s mum, Pauline, had died aged 39 from the disease, so I was always careful to check myself in the shower. When I found a pea-sized lump in my left breast in May 2012, I went straight to my GP.

After a biopsy at University Hospital Llandough, Cardiff, a few weeks later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Genetic tests revealed that although my cancer was hereditary, I didn’t have the BRCA gene as they had first suspected.

“You’ll be having the operation to remove the lump in the next few weeks,” my consultant explained.

“It’s all happened so quickly,” I stammered as I broke the news to my mum, Ann, 57, later that day over the phone. Hearing her crumple into tears was worse than being given the news myself.

I’ve always been a practical person and my job in corporate social responsibility also plays to that strength. So I decided to approach the situation practically. One of the decisions I had to think about was if I ever wanted to have children.

As the eldest of four, with a younger sister Mel, 38, and twin brothers Andrew and Neil, 31, I’d always assumed I’d have a large family. But as I didn’t even have a boyfriend, it wasn’t something I’d really considered until then.

“The thought I now might not be able to have kids is making me so certain I want them,” I confided in my friend Angelica.

HARD GOING