A mother, keen athlete and cancer survivor has told the story of how watching a documentary saved her life, as she warns that cancer can affect even the healthiest.                                        

Veterinary Surgeon Caroline Frith from South Woodford will soon be among 31 other models who have battled and beaten the disease when she takes part in a fashion show in London, next month.

She will strut her stuff on the catwalk at the Breast Cancer Care London Fashion show– just months after she was told she had stage two invasive ductal carcinoma – breast cancer.

Speaking about her journey the 37-year-old who has been a keen runner for 15 years has spoken out about how she is determined to raise awareness about the disease.

The mother-of-two only checked her own breasts after watching a programme about a woman with cancer.

“After finding the lump I went straight to my GP, who luckily referred me to the breast clinic at Whipps Cross Hospital,” Caroline recalled.

“Despite trying to reassure me by telling me because of my young age it was likely to be benign, it was not to be. After a mammogram, MRI, two biopsies and over four weeks of agonising waiting, cancer was confirmed.”

Caroline, who works for Goddard Veterinary Group, was signed off work for nine months and underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

When the grueling chemo started, Caroline was soon surrounded by her loved ones and friends.

“My sister came over from America for two months to provide much needed moral support and help with day to day life,” she recalls.

“My best friend also came over from the USA, and among other things held my hand when I went to the hairdressers to have my long, brown hair shaved off, before it fell out.

“Friends provided play dates for my five-year-old daughter, my two-year-old son’s nursery looked after him whenever we needed and we were never without someone offering us meals and messages of support.”

As well as friends and family, Caroline turned to Breast Cancer Care for help.

She said: “Breast Cancer Care were an enormous help. I called the support line five or six times, when I was feeling particularly low, or needed some answers or clarification.

“I also ordered a copy of ‘Mummy’s Lump’ a storybook designed to explain breast cancer in a way young children can understand.

“Earlier this year, a few months after finishing active treatment, I attended their ‘Younger Women Together’ event – an all expenses paid 2-day event for women under 45, which gave me a chance to meet other women who had been through the same life changing experience as me.”

Now Caroline is focused on looking forward to taking to the catwalk, something she watched members of her family do in the past.

She said: “My aunt and uncle have both had breast cancer – at the time, they were the only known married couple in the UK to have both had the disease.

“It’s odd to think I will be up there this year, but despite being apprehensive I am looking forward to it. It’s a great group of people and I am keen to try and ensure something positive comes out of what has, in all honesty, been a pretty scary and at times very unpleasant experience.

“I am still working out how to pick up the pieces of my life and find my new normal and I am looking forward to seeing how others are moving forward with their lives.”

Caroline will be styled by fashion correspondent Hilary Alexander and London Fashion Week co-ordinator Lesley Goring, for the show.

The 19th annual show at Grosvenor House Hotel in London will launch October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

To buy tickets (ranging from £75 - £195)  call 0345 092 0806 or email theshow@breastcancercare.org.uk.

Eight months after finishing chemotherapy, Caroline competed in her first triathlon, and has so far raised over £4000 to be shared between the three charities - Breast Cancer Care, CoppaFeel and Barts Hospital Charity. 

To see more of her journey, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/FrithCaroline1