BREAT Cancer Awareness Week begins now. On Wednesday [October 29], as a Breast Cancer Champion, I wore pink from head to toe (dress, tights, boots, coat) to show my support.

Nearly six years ago, I discovered a small lump in my right breast. Mammograms showed it to be cancer. The young doctor who told me was wonderful. “Yes, it’s cancer but it’s not going to kill you”.

The only reason I cried was because I knew that I had to tell my elderly mother, who had just lost her husband, my lovely step father.

That was on December 9, 2019.

By January 9, 2020, I had had my first operation. Followed by a second operation on January 31 — this was particularly annoying because I had to miss my cousin’s 50th birthday party!

Radiotherapy followed during the first COVID lockdown and then the worst; five years on anastrazole and all the horrid side effects. Having young teenage children at the time, I took the decision to tolerate these side effects, rather than switch to a less powerful and less effective drug.

This June I took my last pill! Celebration time!

Slowly, the side effects are wearing off. My bones and muscles are less sore – I can wear high heeled shoes again. My memory is better – brain fog is clearing. I am not permanently on the verge of tears or waking up in a cold sweat. With hindsight I don’t know how I coped – but like many, many women going through the same experience, I did. Now I feel like a new me!

In the UK nearly one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. One in seven women (and some men) will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. This disease has become, for some of us, something that we live with, recover from and learn to embrace and enjoy our cancer free lives with a new verve and sense of purpose.

Others, happily in decreasing numbers, are not so lucky. So, I will wear my pink, share my cancer journey, support the work of our wonderful NHS, and charities supporting cancer patients and their families. However, I will never, ever forget that I am one of the lucky ones.

As I meet you across Tiverton and Minehead, many of you have shared your stories with me. To those of you who are going through the horrors of debilitating and painful cancer treatments, I send you my love and best wishes. Especially to Margaret from Ellicombe, whose husband I met and hugged last Thursday. A hug can’t cure cancer but, in that moment, we become human – real people. As we all are.

• THE Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign unites and inspires people globally in its mission to help create a breast cancer-free world. Founded in 1992 by the late Evelyn H Lauder with the launch of the iconic Pink Ribbon. To find out more visit www.elcompanies.com/en-gb/our-impact/social/the-breast-cancer-campaign