Every June, my birthday month has been a celebration of another year cancer-free, and I've marked it by fundraising for a cancer charity. This year, everything has changed. I've gone back and forth about whether I even could do it...because this time, instead of celebrating being cancer-free, that's no longer my reality.

Last September, we had the devastating news that my cancer had, in fact, never left me – the sneaky f**ker had been hiding and dormant and decided to make a home for itself in my bones. It was only after investigating why I was getting lower back and hip pain that we found it. I have Stage 4 Breast Cancer, it's incurable, but it is treatable, and I will now always be on treatment to manage and control the cancer from progressing further. The treatment brings on a whole range of side effects, which are difficult to manage, but all worth it if they keep working. I’ll be monitored with scans every few months, and I will forever now think twice when answering what once was a simple question, “how are you?”.

Its taking us all a long time to come to terms with this news, through therapy, journaling, support groups and the love from everyone around us and the fact that thankfully I’m responding well to my first line of treatment – I’m now feeling more positive and hopeful, and trying to not focus on the future but to stay in the present and appreciate and be grateful for all that I have.

This June, my birthday month, now takes on a whole new meaning. Every birthday is a profound reminder to be grateful for another year spent with my loved ones, a fortune many aren't lucky enough to have.

So, this June, I will be fundraising for the Secondary Breast Cancer Charity ‘Make 2nds Count’. I was so thankful that I was recommended to them by my lovely friend, since joining their Facebook group, I have been welcomed in and met so many inspiring women. These women have taught me that not only can I live with stage 4 cancer, but I can also thrive. It's so very true that with a cancer diagnosis comes a whole new perspective on life – you begin to seek the glimmers of joy and light in the everyday.

Through the M2C charity, I have joined online yoga sessions, and I also attend my local class weekly – whilst doing yoga, I find that my thoughts slow down, and my anxiety is lowered – so my challenge for June is to practice yoga EVERY day. I need to create the habit of doing it regularly, as once I’m doing it, I love it, but getting myself to do it in the first place is hard to stick to! So, this fundraiser will really help me, but it will also raise funds for this wonderful charity.

*Make 2nds Count:

Secondary (metastatic) breast cancer is a cancer that has spread beyond the breast to other parts of the body.

An estimated 61,000 men and women in the UK are living with this incurable disease, and symptoms can vary from person to person. It has a devastating impact on people affected and their families, yet many people have never heard of it. It is one of the biggest killers of women under 50 in the UK.

Secondary breast cancer can be treated but it cannot be cured.

Please give generously!*