FOR many, being told that you have a rare form of cancer is the sort of news that would shatter your world.

Aged 35, with a young daughter, Shanna Dymond would have every reason to ask, ‘Why me?’.

Having previously lost her dad to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma a decade earlier and having to cope with the sudden death of her mum in 2014 and then her father-in-law three months later, Shanna had already been more than touched by tragedy.

Now here she was, facing her own battle with cancer and her first thought was simply – ‘Let’s brave this and beat it’.

It is that steely grit and absolute determination to grab life with both hands that has seen her come through a year of gruelling treatment, supported all the way by her husband Bradley, daughter Maddison and crucially a network of friends known as ‘Shanna’s Army’.

Led by Shanna with her daughter by her side, they will take to Southampton Common this weekend with thousands of others, united in their determination to beat cancer by taking part in Cancer Research UK’s annual Race for Life.

This time last year Shanna was in the grip of an intense course of chemotherapy having undergone a mastectomy following her diagnosis.

Shanna, now 36, remembers very clearly the moment she was told she had cancer.

“To be honest they were just confirming something I already knew. The doctor left my husband and I in the room to take it all in, but we are both very practical people so our first thought was whatever comes next, let’s crack on with this and get it done. “

Due to the type of cancer it was Shanna, an animal keeper at the New Forest Wildlife Park, was told a mastectomy followed by chemo and radiotherapy would be the best course of treatment.

She said: “I just wanted a cuddle from my dad to ask him about all his chemo and treatment, but he wasn’t there.

“So, it was chin up, big girl pants on, let’s brave this as my dad had done.”

The surgery in April last year revealed she in fact had two tumours in her right breast and that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes meaning 35 were removed in total.

After the surgery and a remarkable recovery that saw her quickly regain movement in her arm, she began her course of chemo.

Describing the treatment as ‘tough’ Shanna explained it was losing her hair that was one of the most difficult things; not just for her, but for her eight-year-old daughter Maddison.

“I have always has long blonde hair, even at school so it was a big part of who I was. I knew I would lose it so I dyed it purple. When it started falling out Maddie found it hard because I was changing how I looked so much. In the end, I had to shave it off and she helped with that, so we did it together.”

Talking about how her young family has dealt with her illness, Shanna said: “We have always been quite open with Maddie about what was happening and let her make the decisions about how she wanted to deal with it. I think it is important to be honest as far as possible.”

Shanna then endured a course of radiotherapy before beginning hormone treatment which is ongoing- but said her best tonic has been going back to work, which she did eight months after surgery.

“It was a phased return but I was desperate to go back as soon as possible. It was too much of a risk to be around the animals during my chemo otherwise I would have been back sooner,” added Shanna, who has been at the Park for 18 years.

“All I could think about was being back in the Forest and with the animals, I missed it so much.”

Then at Christmas came the best end to what had been an horrendous year – a trip to Lapland. “That was our goal to get there and do something amazing, and it was!

“We did everything, it was an incredible ten days for the three of us to enjoy together.”

Now Shanna, Maddison and their ‘army’ are gearing up for this Sunday’s Race for Life, a course not unfamiliar to Shanna who first completed the 5km route in 2005 and then again with her mum Joanna in 2006, both runs were dedicated to her dad Robin.

Last year she cheered her friends on from the side-lines as they took part as a team all wearing t-shirts emblazoned with ‘Shanna’s Army’.

Talking of her network of friends, Shanna, from Southampton, said: “They have been incredible. I made a video of all the pictures I had taken throughout the past year, my first chemo, radiotherapy and pictures of where I am a year on from it all. Marking that was quite a big thing and I wanted to say thank you to everyone with this video.

“Not having my mum or dad anymore, and being an only child has meant my friends have been such a support to me.”

The pictures Shanna used included some of her scar a year after her surgery. “It was important to me to show how I was a year on from that surgery, and how my body looks now. The milestone was important,” she added.

Gearing up for Race for Life, Shanna, who is also an active member of the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Support Group said: “Last year my ‘mini-army’ as I call them, did Race for Life for me as I was in the middle of my treatment and didn’t know until the week before whether I would even be able to come along and watch.

“Maddie and I were on the sides cheering them on and one of my friends grabbed her just before the finish line and they ran across together. Afterwards we celebrated together and it was wonderful.

“The whole event is just so massive and I find it really emotional. Everybody has somebody they know who has been touched by cancer. It doesn’t matter how you take part, whether you run walk, volunteer or just cheer someone on, it is about being part of this huge event where everyone is there for someone.”

There’s still time to join thousands of women and girls who have already signed up for this weekend’s Race for Life events. Registration for Pretty Muddy, which takes place on Saturday morning, is open until Thursday evening while entries for the 5k and 10k races, taking place on Sunday morning, will close on Friday. Sign up now at raceforlife.org