When I was 6 years old my mum, Emma Burns, was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time I had no idea about the severity of the situation but as I've grown up the seriousness of the disease, and how lucky I am to still have a mum, have become clear.

Breast Cancer Care helped my mum beat cancer by providing a range of services including:

• a telephone helpline
• publications and information sheets on a range of topics
• a website with information and forums where women can support each other on-line
• a service called Someone Like Me where people affected by breast cancer are matched to a volunteer who has been through the experience and is there to support them
• a face to face service called Moving Forward which is designed to help women after they have finished their treatment 
• specialist services for younger women and for women that have secondary breast cancer (i.e. whose cancer has spread and cannot be cured).
  

She found the support the charity offered invaluable. Instead of feeling isolated, she was able to meet women who were the same age as her. It really helped my mum to know that they shared the fears and concerns she was experiencing. She also relied on the information leaflets. She had lots of questions and wanted to understand her illness. The information was excellent and really helped.

My mum Emma is an inspiration to me. Following her illness she became a volunteer with the charity in order to use her experience of breast cancer to help others, and is now involved in running the charity as the Chair of the Trustees.

My mum feels like one of the lucky ones. She's met lots of fabulous women through her work with Breast Cancer Care some of whom have gone on to develop secondaries and some who have died. It's a horrible, frightening illness which changes lives and despite improvements in treatments, still kills people.

Breast Cancer Care is funded almost exclusively through voluntary donations - without the generous help of supporters the charity wouldn't be able to provide the free services they do. So that's why I'm doing my little bit to help and give back to the charity that gave so much to my family.