'My scan results lit up like a Christmas tree due to lung tumours'

Non-smoker Branwen aims to overcome prejudice around this form of cancer

- Alex Hickey

BRANWEN Hywel is backing a Cancer Research UK campaign after being diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer in 2018. This means the cancer had spread from the lung into surrounding tissue and lymph nodes.

Her initial symptoms were breathlessness, fatigue and swollen hands and feet.

The 50-year-old non-smoker from Anglesey knew 'deep down' that something was seriously wrong after struggling to keep up with her full-time job as a headteacher in London and feeling breathless on walks she had been completing for years.

She said: "I was fatigued and very breathless and my feet and hands were twice their normal size."

A CT scan in April 2018 showed abnormalities in Branwen's lung and further tests revealed she had stage 3b lung cancer.

Branwen said: "I was on holiday in Pembrokeshire when I received a call from the consultant to say my scan results lit up like a Christmas tree due to the tumours in my lung.

"When I was diagnosed, I was shocked and very, very scared. I couldn't quite believe it was real and that this was my life.

"Luckily, I was diagnosed at stage 3b, meaning surgery was possible."

Branwen had major surgery to remove half her lung along with 18 chest lymph nodes. She also had three months chemotherapy and 35 sessions of radiotherapy.

Following her diagnosis, Branwen finished work and moved from London to Moelfre - near her hometown of Menai Bridge - with her wife, Julie.