A SINGLE mother had her world turned upside down when she received a piece of “heartbreaking” news.

Emma Knight found a lump in her chest last year and visited the doctors to have it checked.

The 44-year-old said: “About four weeks later I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.

“I have two daughters, so the worst part of receiving that news is thinking of the impact it will have on my children.

“It’s heartbreaking and a really frightening thought.”

Emma decided she wanted to fight the disease with everything she had.

She said: “I knew if I let my head go to a bad place then I couldn’t expect my body to recover.

“I also knew I had to have a clear head to explain this to my children. That this would be difficult but I would be OK.

“They know enough to make the link between cancer and death. I wanted them to see that I was strong and that wasn’t always the case.”

Emma, who lives in Hanover with daughters Georgie and Nancy, began to write down her feelings in a blog online called Queen Emma Knight and said it “became a type of therapy”.

She said: “It is very honest. I talk about everything very bluntly. Somebody told me reading it was like white water rafting, I go from swearing to sharing my emotions, talking about getting a positive outcome from a pretty grim situation.

“People began reading it all over the world. It created quite a community and people I didn’t know were giving such positive feedback.

“One woman direct messaged me and said the blog was like somebody else was articulating exactly how she was feeling. Before that she felt like she had lost her voice, and I had given it back.”

CLICK HERE: To read Emma's blog>>>

Emma received 19 weeks of chemotherapy treatment at the Sussex Cancer Centre in Brighton and said her care was second to none.

So tomorrow she will be leading the charge as part of Knights Army, a team of 24 friends and family members who Emma says will be “running, jogging, walking and crawling” the Brighton Marathon 10K to raise money for the Sussex Cancer Fund.

She aimed to raise £1,000 through her JustGiving page, but has already smashed this target, having raised £2,500 by Friday.

Emma said: “It’s been hard because I have never run before. I finished my cancer treatment last September. I’m taking things slowly and running slowly too.”

She said that she is not going to win it, but is “celebrating the fact that my body is able to achieve this after the serious beating it’s taken”.

Emma said: “There’s probably a sub-conscious need to show that my body is able again. Before I was quite strong but cancer takes all that away from you. This is a wonderful way of celebrating being alive.

“It will also be quite emotional as everyone I am running with has been a huge part of my story. They are my best friends and family members, and when I said I was going to do this run they all came forward one by one to say they would join me.

“I’m looking forward to it because I’ve got them with me.”

Emma said it was likely she would burst into tears at the finish line, but said the next thought after completing the race would be food, warning her fellow finishers to watch out for “a bunch of sweaty people”.

Emma asked if her funds could be put towards the ward where she received her treatment and said she couldn’t think of anything more deserving of the funds.

She said: “I survived because of the outstanding treatment I received from Sussex Cancer Fund, a positive attitude, support from friends and family, and because I was lucky.

“I’m running with more than 20 of the people who were by my side throughout to raise money for the chemo centre at the Sussex Cancer Fund.

“They not only saved my life but did it with love, humour, compassion and professionalism. I want to achieve this before my second surgery.”

Later this year, Emma will have her last round of chemotherapy before a second surgery.

CLICK HERE: To visit Emma's Justgiving page