I vowed that if I got the all-clear I'd help women with cancer

FORMER MADE IN CHELSEA STAR MILLIE MACKINTOSH EMBARKED ON A GRUELLING SAHARAN TREK TO HELP A BREAST CANCER CHARITY AFTER FINDING A LUMP IN HER OWN BREAST. LISA SALMON FINDS OUT MORE

- LISA SALMON

WHEN Millie Mackintosh found a lump in her breast, it was the start of a "nerve-racking" journey that ended in the Sahara desert.

After discovering the lump, the former Made in Chelsea star had a biopsy that was inconclusive, followed by an MRI scan and a nervous wait for the results.

"Waiting for the results for a couple of weeks was really a nerve-racking, scary time," says the mother-of-two.

"I vowed to myself that if I got the all-clear, I'd help women who get cancer, and to raise awareness for checking themselves and not just thinking breast cancer is something that happens to women in their 40s or 50s.

"You need to be really familiar with your body and breasts and check yourself from a young age, so you know what your normal feels like, and aren't scared to get that check, because it's ignoring it and delaying that makes it so much more dangerous."

Happily, Millie, 36, was given the all-clear after the MRI 18 months ago, and was told the lump was a hormonal issue that would fluctuate during her monthly cycle.

Although she didn't have cancer herself, the traumatic experience made her determined to fulfil her vow to help others who did.

She signed up for a trek of more than 100km through the Sahara Desert to raise money and awareness for CoppaFeel! the youth-focused breast cancer charity.

Millie, who's married to fellow ex-Made in Chelsea star Hugo Taylor, recently spent five days trekking through the scorching Moroccan Sahara with broadcaster Ashley James, drag queen Bimini, actress and singer Carrie Hope Fletcher and actress and author Giovanna Fletcher, alongside more than 120 CoppaFeel! supporters.

"I did some training, but nothing can really prepare you for trekking in those conditions, and camping," Millie, who was a trek team leader, admits.