Emma Campbell

I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. I was a newly single mum to six-month-old triplets and a six-year-old son. Life was already at rock bottom when I heard the words, “Yes, it’s cancer.”

I embarked on chemotherapy, a mastectomy, reconstruction, radiotherapy followed by hormone treatment. I went into remission, physically recovering well but emotionally, I was drowning.

I was paralysed by the fear of recurrence, by thoughts of a premature death and leaving my babies without me. Other people’s experience of cancer seemed only to come from frightening tabloid headlines and always with a tragic ending. The stories of cure or long-term survival seemed out of sight and I was far too scared to go looking for them.

In December 2014, I was told that my cancer was back & the sky went dark, again. Secondary breast cancer. To me - it meant only one thing. A painful, inevitable and heartbreakingly premature, death.

There was no grey area from what I could tell. No signs of those living full and dare I say it, happy lives, just endless tales of sadness and sorrow with little chance of a positive outcome.

More chemo. It worked but anxiety dominated, - there could be no room for joy when every waking thought was led by fear.

The third diagnosis came in 2019. Treatment continues but - nearly seven years on - I remain in complete remission.

I’ve learnt to look at life through a lens of gratitude. Proud to be a long-term survivor and passionate about offering hope to others.

This portrait is part of my story. It honours not just my survival, but the strength, fear, love and truth behind it. And I hope it helps others feel seen.