'I'm living proof that battling cancer doesn't have to take everything from you'

MUM AND PHD STUDENT ON HOW SUPPORT IS VITAL

- By COREENA FORD

Researcher of the year Award at the Hull York Medical School Postgraduate Research conference 2025

A HULL woman who battled breast cancer has told how she has used her own experience to shape her career and a mission to help other women.

Mum-of-two Emily Lunn was 39 when she learned she had stage 3 breast cancer while studying for a degree in sociology and social policy at the University of Sheffield.

Reeling from the life-changing news, she started a full year of treatment very quickly - six rounds of chemotherapy followed by surgery, 30 sessions of radiotherapy and targeted cancer drugs. Yet she was also inspired her to write her university dissertation on young women’s experiences of breast cancer.

After graduating, she also extended her research, carrying out a PhD in cancer health inequalities in Yorkshire at Hull York Medical School. She has become one of the 750 researchers and cancer experts who work with Yorkshire Cancer Research to bring vital expertise and knowledge to the region.

Now Emily, 48, who was recently awarded the Postgraduate Researcher of the Year Award at the Hull York Medical School, has explained how she hopes to change the lives of others with her insightful research.

She said: "I just want to do what I can to help other people live better lives and I thank Yorkshire Cancer Research for helping me do that."

It was April 2016 that Emily was told she had stage 3 breast cancer, after initially noticing discharge from her nipple and later discovering a new lumpy area in her breast.