A WORCESTER woman who has written a book telling the remarkable tale of how she survived cancer three times is urging local women to take part in this year’s Race for Life event.

Isobel Bradley, aged 42, is getting ready to take part in the 5km event at Pitchcroft on Sunday, June 24, despite having had numerous major operations to remove her womb, ovaries, bowel and most of her vagina.

She has now written a book about her experiences called Smiling in the Darkness.

Mrs Bradley, of Henwick Road, was first diagnosed with cancer in 1997 aged 28.

She was diagnosed with cervical cancer and told her only option was a radical hysterectomy.

The treatment was successful and in 2000, Mrs Bradley took part in the London Marathon. But during training, she felt twinges of pain and was discovered to have a tumour inside her appendix. Fortunately the cancer had not spread and was removed.

For nearly 10 years all was well but in November 2009 Mrs Bradley began to suffer severe pain again. She was referred to a gynaecologist who insisted on a biopsy.

Mrs Bradley said: “My husband Mike and I were about to set off on an exciting three-month holiday, so I really didn’t want to wait for the results. I was sure everything would be okay. In the end I persuaded the surgeon to phone me on the mobile and give me the results while I was abroad.”

Two weeks into their trip to Thailand, Mrs Braldey received a call telling her she had squamous cell carcinoma in the vaginal tissue.

She paid for a CT scan at a private hospital in Bangkok and was told the cancer was small and had not spread and could be treated with radiotherapy when she got home.

She said: “I got the radiologist to email the scans to my surgeon back in England and we carried on with our holiday. I felt very well but we did cut the holiday short by a few weeks.”

When she returned she was told the cancer could not be treated with radiotherapy after all so her only option was surgery to remove her bowel, bladder and vagina.

She said: “I’ve been given a 50/50 chance of surviving for five years. That sounds terrible, but I just want to live my life to the full, however long it turns out to be. I feel well, and I’m determined not to let this colostomy bag stop me doing anything. My life has been so dramatic that I wanted to share my experiences. I want people to know that you can carry on and have a great and enjoyable life even when everything seems to be against you.”

To enter Race for Life, visit raceforlife.org or call 08716 411111. Smiling in the Darkness is available online at isobel-bradley.com.