A SOUTHAMPTON mum who found out she had cancer less than two years after losing her mum and her husband is due to Race for Life.

Having been diagnosed with the same cancer that claimed the life of her own mum, 44-year-old Annaleigh McKinlay from Bedford Place said she was acutely aware of what she was facing.

The professional dancer who has worked with Kanye West, Robbie Williams and Westlife and mum of two was coming to terms with the sudden death of her husband when she felt a lump in her left breast.

As a result of her mums diagnosis and passing at the age of 65, Annaleigh decided to get the lumps checked and following a biopsies, it was confirmed that two of the three lumps originally spotted on the ultra-sound were cancerous and some pre-cancerous cells had been detected in another.

Having received an official diagnosis of Multifocal Grade 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, meaning she had more than one tumour in the same breast that had grown through the lining of the duct, she was told she would need a single mastectomy and could have a silicone implant reconstruction.

But January lockdown restrictions meant she had to face the life-changing operation alone.

Now though, with COVID restrictions lifted and Annaleigh now cancer free, she says she has found "great comfort" from being reunited with her dance school students that she teaches across Southampton.

This weekend some of the Dance Junkie dancers will be cheering her on as she takes part in the Race For Life at Southampton Common in memory of her mum and to help fund lifesaving research.

Daily Echo: Annaleigh McKinlay's mum during chemo. Annaleigh McKinlay's mum during chemo.

Annaleigh said: “It’s so important to keep raising money. What I’ve learnt through losing my Mum and then what’s happened to me is that there’s still a lot we don’t know and we have to keep researching to help more people survive."

Every year around 1,200 people are diagnosed with cancer in Southamptot but money raised though Race for Life like the event taking place on Saturday funds research to help beat 200 types of cancer.

Elisa Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for Hampshire, said: “Sadly, as we’ve seen with Annaleigh, cancer touches almost every family at some point. Every step our scientists take towards beating cancer relies on supporters like her and those who kindly sponsor them or donate.  

“The COVID-19 pandemic hit us hard so this year, more than ever, we need people to support Race for Life so that we can reach our aim to make sure three in four patients survive the disease in by 2034. It’s not too late to sign up for the people we love, for the people we’ve lost and for the one in two of us who will get cancer.”