'Almost 2 years ago I had been to my family GP with a lump on my cheek. The lump kept getting bigger and starting to interfere with my ear and jaw. I finally got to see the specialist, who sent me for a biopsy and a CT scan, which is when I found out I had indolent, follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This scared me. I was thought the worse: I was going to die just after becoming a grandmother for the first time. All these thoughts and stupid things started filling my head. But not once did I cry. I wasn't going to show any weakness.

'I got to see an oncologist and he put me on "watch and wait". I had 20 radiotherapy treatments, which shrunk the tumour very nicely. At first I went for CT scans every 3 months, but after the most recent one I was told that I didn't need any more tests for 6 months.

'I am still tired and have a hard time sleeping at night, but now I put my life in God's hands and take it one day at a time. I don't have my life on the back-burner anymore. I pray that my next CT scan will be good, and then I know that I can beat this thing and be here for my family.

'I have my youngest daughter graduating this summer. I want to watch my granddaughters grow up . I have a lot to be grateful for. Thank you for reading and letting me share my story.'