Two years ago, Beth, from Port Talbot, was living her best life and excitedly planning her wedding day with fiancé Sam.

The couple had also just welcomed a new addition to their family – a Golden Retriever puppy they named Sabine and doted upon.

Beth was loving her job as a senior recruitment manager in the care sector and hoping for promotion.

A talented singer, she was also performing regularly to packed venues.

Then her life came crashing down.

Out of the blue, doctors told her she had a cancerous tumour on her right breast which was invasive and likely to spread quickly. She was just 26 years old.

The impact of the shock diagnosis was massive on the young couple in the prime of their lives.

The previous summer, Beth had made an appointment with her GP after noticing a dimple on her right breast while working out at the gym.

She describes it as like the “dimples on some people’s cheeks when they smile.”

At first, she’d thought it was simply cellulite but then she felt a lump and knew she had to make an appointment with her doctor to get it checked out.

Her GP wasn’t too concerned though. After an examination, her opinion was that the lump was a cyst, but offered Beth an ultrasound “to be on the safe side.”

Beth then had a scan followed by a biopsy. It was then consultants diagnosed breast cancer and advised the shocked bride-to-be to have a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy.

Later tests revealed the tumour on Beth’s breast was fed by hormones and they also recommended chemotherapy. That was when her consultant raised the question of Beth’s fertility - something she hadn’t considered up to that point.

Beth and Sam had planned to have children together one day, but the consultant said the chemotherapy might take that chance away. It was a further blow for the young couple.

The next month, surgeons removed the tumour and several lymph nodes. Once Beth had recovered from the op, the invasive process of egg freezing began.

At one point, Beth was so ill with sepsis and pneumonia she needed to spend a week in hospital.

Throughout Beth’s treatment, nurses from Tenovus Cancer Care were calling and checking in and our Benefits Advisors signposted her to the right benefits.

Beth was reluctant to stop work, but it came to a point where she had to sign off sick. She was entitled to statutory sick pay and PIP (Personal Independence Payment), but it was still a big drop in income.

Sam had to work longer hours to make up the shortfall and there were times he returned home after a 12-hour shift to find Beth so ill he had to take her into hospital.

Now turned 28, Beth is looking forward to a future beyond cancer. She has gone back to work part-time and taking one step at a time.