Margaret Clowes is a 57-year-old mother and enthusiastic football supporter.

I had noticed a patch of rough skin on my breast before I went in for a routine mobile mammogram. I wasn’t concerned as there was no lump and I thought it was just part of ageing. After the mammogram, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy and wide axilliary lymph node removal followed by chemotherapy and eight months later, a mastectomy.

Throughout my cancer, I have found strength from the support services available to me such as complementary therapies and my local hospice. Recently, I have found back massage, aromatherapy and reflexology a great help, and I wish that I had used these therapies earlier, especially during chemotherapy. The nurses that worked with me at every stage have been fantastic, and I think that the most important things for newly diagnosed patients are not to be frightened to ask questions and to find out what kind of support is available to them.

So far, I have taken my breast cancer one hurdle at a time. In 2005 I found that I’d reached another milestone, as I’d survived for five years. Although I was nervous coming to the end of my initial treatment, I gained a sense of security when my doctor prescribed me an aromatase inhibitor. At the same time, my doctor asked me if I had considered having a breast reconstruction. This was the first time that anybody had ever brought this up with me. I considered the idea very carefully and decided that at this point in my cancer journey, I was interested in making my quality of life the best possible. For me, the prosthesis was very uncomfortable and having no breast was a constant reminder of my cancer, so I decided to go ahead with the reconstruction. It was also a way for me to mark crossing the five-year hurdle in my cancer and to celebrate my survival.

I believe in keeping positive. I now think that life is about enjoyment. I’m still here. I have to grasp it, get on with it, enjoy it. So now I fill my life with things that I take pleasure in doing. I keep active through physiotherapy, walks around Manchester’s Velodrome and the local canals and swimming.

I also think it is important to keep using my brain and feel productive, so I have started taking a computer course.

I have recently found a new interest, watching Manchester City football club. As I live near the stadium I use my son’s season tickets when he can’t make a match! I love being out in the fresh air, and I find the games uplifting and a natural high to watch. I also like being in a crowd full of men!

I think that breast cancer has changed my life for the better – I get more out of life now.