A MUM has been hit by a devastating cancer diagnosis just seven-months after she begun working for Cancer Research UK, and has vowed to use her own experience to raise awareness.

Jessie Ingle-Wood, 32, received the shocking news earlier this year that she has breast cancer, giving her a very personal motivation to raise awareness and raise funds for Cancer Research.

The diagnoses "upended her life", but the Rayleigh resident says she has been supported incredibly by her three-year-old daughter Dot and train driver manager husband Paul.

Now, she is sharing her story as part of Cancer Research's Stand Up To Cancer campaign.

Jessie said: “I went to a breast clinic for a biopsy, ultrasounds, and mammogram. I thought I’d be told to come back in a week or two, but I was told there and then that it was cancer.

“I remember asking the doctor whether they were sure because they were so quick and confident in making the diagnosis.

“Obviously, you hear the word cancer, and you can’t help but think of the worst, that you might not survive.

“When the biopsy results came back is when we found out it was triple-negative breast cancer,” Jessie said.

Jessie added that Dot and Paul have “both been rocks to me” as her life has been a “whirlwind” following the diagnosis, with Jessie having undergone 12 rounds of chemotherapy and treatment for side effects.

Jessie has kept working around her treatment, adding that “I feel like me carrying on is a way of helping fight this” and emphasising the importance of Stand Up to Cancer.

Stand up to Cancer participants can fundraise by getting sponsored to do 100 squats a day throughout November or by picking from a variety of fundraising ideas on the Stand Up to Cancer website.

Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for the East of England, Michael Jarvis, said: “Thanks to our supporters, our researchers are working tirelessly to try and help more people like Jessie.

“But we must go further and faster. One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime. That’s why we’re asking everyone to Stand Up To Cancer with us.