WHEN Lesley Bennison was diagnosed with breast cancer her first thought wasn't for herself, but for her three young sons. How would they cope if she didn't survive?
But as her gruelling chemotherapy treatment started, it soon became apparent to Lesley she was the one struggling.
As the crippling effects of chemo gripped her body, Lesley soon found it impossible to maintain a normal routine for her boys.
Friends and family rallied round cooking, cleaning, helping the boys with homework and taking Lesley to hospital appointments. But Lesley was haunted by the thought there were other women who didn't have her support network.
The final straw came when she was too ill to take her children to school. Lesley became determined that once she recovered she would help other mums in her situation. So Chemo Mums was born - a group of volunteer mums who help cancer patients keep family life going while they are suffering the effects of treatment.
Based in Bolton, Chemo Mums is the first support network of its kind in the country. However, Lesley hopes it will eventually be rolled out nationwide so no mum should have to cope with cancer alone.
Physiotherapist Lesley was 43 when she found a lump in her left breast. Mum to Sebastian, 15, Isaac, 12, and six-year-old Jake, she knew she had to fight it. Within six weeks she had had the lump and lymph nodes removed and was undergoing chemotherapy.
Symptoms
"The first session was easy," she says. "I had no side effects or symptoms. But the second session floored me. I came home and immediately felt nauseous. For days afterwards I couldn't even get out of bed."
Lesley, now 47, had to have chemo every three weeks. Family and friends helped but there were still times when Lesley felt her boys were suffering.
"There was one day when I was so sick I couldn't get the boys to school," she recalls. "But the final straw came when I rang Isaac's school to see if another family could give him a lift to school. I was told if I was really struggling, social services would send a taxi for him. I was devastated. Is this what I was reduced to? That was the trigger for Chemo Mums.
"Despite all my help I still hadn't managed to keep all the balls in the air. I knew there must be other mums out there who weren't as lucky as me."
As soon as Lesley felt well enough she started research for her project and threw herself into fundraising. She now has 10 volunteers and she is hopeful that by the end of this year they will all be trained and working with cancer patients in Bolton.
"When you have a baby there is a support network there for you of midwives and health visitors. That's how I want Chemo Mums to work. I want it to be part of the standard package of care available to cancer patients. They will be on hand to do as little or as much as the family wants."
Lesley works with Radio 1 DJ Sara Cox's mum, and Sara is backing Chemo Mums by becoming the charity's patron. Lesley also wants to offer a counselling service to help mums and children cope with the effects of cancer.
"When I was diagnosed, one of the hardest things was telling my children. I remember us all just sitting there crying.
"I want trained counsellors to be able to help families cope with one of the most difficult conversations they will have."
It is nearly four years since she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she is not yet classed as being in remission. However, despite her own health worries, Lesley is determined to make Chemo Mums work.
Chemo Mums has created a charity calendar. To buy a copy visit
chemomums.org.