A MUM-OF-TWO who has battled back from cancer is planning to celebrate being alive – and is calling on others to join her.
Sarah-Marie Hickson was devastated when doctors broke the news that she had the disease in January last year.
Her sons Daniel and Oliver were just five and three at the time, and she was terrified she would not live to see them grow up.
But just 15 months on, Mrs Hickson, 34, is cancer-free – and calling on women to sign up for Cancer Research UK's Race for Life.
Mrs Hickson, who lives in Caterham, said: "I've taken part in Race for Life events before, but this year's event is going to mean so much to me and my loved ones. I never thought I would be one of the hundreds of thousands of people who are diagnosed with this dreadful disease."
Mrs Hickson, a civil servant, will be accompanied by hundreds of other women when she runs 5km on June 2 in the Horsham Race For Life.
She said: "My best friend Michelle lives in Crawley. Her father is currently undergoing treatment for leukaemia."
Mrs Hickson, who lost her grandmother and an uncle to cancer, found a lump in her neck last year and promptly went to her GP. Although she was told it was nothing to worry about, she was so concerned she went to another doctor for a second opinion.
She recalled: "That doctor sent me for a biopsy and ultrasound scan. During the biopsy I asked what the doctor thought it was and said 'don't lie to me'.
"He said 'it looks like Hodgkins Lymphoma'. I knew that meant cancer and immediately imagined the worst.
"I thought 'why me? I'm too young to get this disease'."
Mrs Hickson, who is married to Andy, then underwent six months of chemotherapy. Knowing this would mean she would lose her hair, she shaved it off in advance.
The treatment proved so successful that she did not need radiotherapy and has since been given the all-clear.
Mrs Hickson, who will be running with four close friends, said: "I think it will be a surreal and very poignant day.
"I'm celebrating still being here, but also remembering all those who didn't make it."
To find out more about Race for Life events, visit www.raceforlife.org or call 08716 411111.
