A REDDITCH mother who has beat lung cancer twice is now campaigning to save lives by raising awareness of the disease.

Lucy Woollard was just 32 when was diagnosed with lung cancer for a second time, having previously undergone surgery.

Following the second diagnosis she was given the heartbreaking news that her condition was stage 4 and incurable.

She was even told to bring forward the party she had planned for her daughter’s third birthday, because doctors feared she might not survive long enough to see it.

Defying medical expectations, ten years on Lucy, now aged 42, is healthy and cancer free.

Redditch Advertiser: Ten years on from her diagnosis, Lucy is campaigning to raise awareness of lung cancer symptoms.Ten years on from her diagnosis, Lucy is campaigning to raise awareness of lung cancer symptoms.

She is now working with the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation to promote ways to detect the disease at its the earliest stage, and raise awareness of the signs and symptoms.

She said it was diffcult to receive the initial diagnosis due her array of symptoms and young age.

Lucy said: "It started with sore knees, then a tickly cough. I was also losing weight and I had clubbed fingers. But, given my age, I was told there was next to no chance I had lung cancer.

"When I was diagnosed many months later, I was actually relieved. We finally knew what was making me so poorly and, despite the delay, they believed I was still early stage and so had surgery to remove the tumour."

Lucy later fell ill again, leading to her second terminal diagnosis.

She added: "That was my lowest point, when I was told there was no hope, that they were just going to try and give me a couple of months with my daughter."

After a gruelling course of chemotherapy, doctors were "astounded" to find her cancer had gone.

Lucy said: "Now, ten years on, I just have an annual scan, although I still get anxious before each one. Every time I get a cough, I always stop and think, is this like my old cough - the lung cancer cough?

"The fear of it coming back never goes away, and I don’t think it ever will leave me.

"If my lung cancer does ever return, which is a possibility, because when you’re stage 4, they can never say you’re clear for life, I know there are now many more treatments available."

The charity is urging people to recognise small health changes that could be signs of lung cancer.

They can include a persistent cough that lasts three weeks or more, breathlessness, coughing up blood, hoarseness, fatigue, loss of appetite, back pain and ‘clubbing’ of the end of the fingers.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation wants more people to get diagnosed early, so they can have the best possible treatment options and the best outcomes like Lucy.

Paula Chadwick, chief executive at the charity said: “Lucy’s experience shows just how vital it is to recognise seemingly small signs that something isn’t quite right, and to take action straightaway.

"We urge everyone to take a moment to think about their health – have there been any subtle changes? Anything our friends or family have told us they’re concerned about? If so, don’t hesitate, go to see your GP and get it checked out.’’