IT IS a new year that medical marvel Yvonne Sheppard did not expect to see.

Just months ago, the grandmother- of-two was battling aggressive pancreatic cancer that doctors had predicted would kill her within weeks.

When Yvonne was diagnosed with a 4.5cm tumour that proved too complicated for surgeons to remove, little hope was held out for her future – and she was never expected to make it to 2009.

She and her family even splashed out on a cruise in the middle of her treatment, determined that she would get the most out of the time she had left.

But the 56-year-old is now officially an “unprecedented” cancer survivor.

“This Christmas was fantastic,”

she said, after spending it with husband Derek, her three daughters and granddaughters Macy and Cerys.

Yvonne, from Chandler’s Ford, was initially diagnosed with suspected gallstones, but a scan revealed a tumour on her pancreas.

I n September 2007, she was referred to the Spire Southampton Hospital for a complex Whipple’s operation, where surgeons work around critical arteries to remove part of the pancreas, bile duct, gallbladder and intestine.

But the tumour was wrapped around a key artery and too difficult to remove. She was not expected to make it to Christmas 2007.

Yvonne said: “We were in total shock. I thought they must have got it wrong.”

Yvonne’s only option was chemotherapy – and even this was only expected to give her slightly longer to live.

But in a remarkable turn of events, the first 12-week course of chemo saw the tumour shrink by 50 per cent. And a second course left it so small it was almost immeasurable.

She was able to undergo surgery again which completely removed the cancer.

Yvonne said: “When we got the results of the chemo, it was incredible.

It was the first time we had had positive news and we were euphoric.

“All the help I had was amazing and I’m determined to live life to the full – I told them all I wasn’t ready to go anywhere just yet!”

She now takes 20 tablets a day, to help break down food, prevent stomach ulcers and for calcium, but has the all-clear from cancer.

Neil Pearce, consultant general surgeon at Southampton General Hospital and Southampton Spire Hospital, is one of the country’s leading surgeons specialising in pancreatic surgery and performed both Yvonne’s operations.

He said: “Yvonne did phenomenally well. She had an unprecedented level of response to the treatment and now looks incredible.

She has completely bounced back from the surgery and chemotherapy, showing that she had a really positive psychological attitude and approach to it all.

“It is the combination of recent advances in chemotherapy, modern surgical techniques and her willpower that have given her this second chance at life.”