I stopped smoking and then got cancer diagnosis

Survivor warns about dangers of smoking

- By HELENA VESTY

LEIGH Webber, 60, felt the best she ever had after stopping smoking. For the first time since the age of 13, she had started to get fit both physically and mentally, but she couldn't shake her nasty cough.

Leigh even considered cancelling her doctor's appointment which was due to investigate the cough, believing she was getting better. But that appointment would turn out to be life-saving - Leigh found out she had lung cancer, revealing a 1.5cm tumour in her lung.

The overwhelming news was almost too hard to hear. "It was awful. I just thought: I've got lung cancer, oh my god, am I going to die?" said Leigh.

Leigh says: "I had been smoking for 40 years, and after a persistent bad chest infection in 2016, I started thinking that it was time for me to seriously think about quitting to improve my health and wellbeing.

"So, I started running, doing something positive instead of reaching for a cigarette. I honestly felt great the best I'd probably felt both physically and mentally!" It wasn't until January 2017 that Leigh received the terrifying news that she had lung cancer. The 60-year-old, from Trafford, under-went life-changing surgery in 2017 after a CT scan revealed that she had a 1.5cm tumour in her lung.