'I was 37 and had no symptoms. It's like it's not really happening'

Health-conscious Helen Copping always made sure to regularly check her breasts for any lumps or bumps.

The 45-year-old usually examined herself in the shower and had never discovered anything sinister before.

That was until the mum-of-one checked while lying down one day – feeling a tiny lump on her left side.

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Helen, from the Milnrow area of Rochdale, decided to visit her doctor and was fast-tracked to a local clinic for a mammogram X-ray.

Sadly, following further tests, Helen was diagnosed with breast cancer just two days later at the age of 37.

“It was awful,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “You know when you see the adverts, and they go quiet and can’t hear anything or people talking around them, it’s very true.

“There’s no history of breast cancer in my family, I was 37 and had no symptoms. It was just an absolute fluke how I found the lump.

“It was other-worldly. It’s like it's not really happening, like it’s a dream.”

Helen underwent surgery following her diagnosis in September 2016 before starting chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

Once her sessions were over, Helen was given medication to take and stayed in remission for five years.

But her life would be thrown into turmoil once more when she fell and hurt her hip while out walking her dogs.

Helen endured the pain for around five months before deciding to get it checked out by a doctor.

During an X-ray, medics found a hole in her pelvis area, prompting them to take her for more testing.

Tragically, further scans revealed the mum actually had secondary cancer in her liver – and this time it was incurable.

“I fell off a curb and hit my hip,” Helen, who works