Joanne Smith has been nominated as one-in-a-million for setting up a charity after suffering breast cancer.
Joanne was celebrating the second birthday of her daughter Molly when she found out that she had breast cancer.
Her life was turned upside down when she was given the devastating news back in 2005. But Joanne from Gateshead has refused to be defeated and has decided to channel her energies into something positive.
She set up FACT (Facing All Cancers Together) towards the end of her four years of treatment. The charity aims to help people going through cancer treatments.
Now she has been nominated in the Newcastle Chronicle Mum of the Year competition.
“I was shocked but pleasantly surprised, it is such a nice gesture,” said Joanne, 41.
She was nominated by FACT volunteer Eileen Ellwood: “I felt that she really deserved something like this because I had a similar diagnosis with breast cancer last year but I just could not imagine doing all the things that she has done,” said the 61-year-old Gateshead local.
“To be spurred on to do so much, the little shop in the precinct is nothing compared to all the fundraising that she does, I just couldn’t believe it. I just could not think of putting myself in that position having gone through similar things,” said Eileen.
Joanne thought that other cancer sufferers could benefit from support from people who know what they are going through. The charity works to build relationships and partnerships with health professionals, statutory bodies as well as other charities and services.
FACT was set up in October 2008 and by December 2008 she had made a successful recovery from six months of chemotherapy, a lumpectomy, double mastectomy and a breast reconstruction.
Joanne is now hoping to set up a centre for cancer support and education.