"I was only 22 when I discovered I had breast cancer; it wasn't a lump that I found, but more of a hardening on the top of the breast. It seemed higher and more firm than the rest of my skin, but like many young women I think I believed I was invincible, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.

That was in the summer of 2013; I was getting married in the October and my husband-to-be and I had so many other things on our mind that it wasn't until the following November that we went to the doctors. Even then, I thought I'd be in and out of the clinic quickly and that everything would be fine. So when I was told it was most likely cancer, I was shocked.

I couldn't help but think: 'Why me?' We'd had no history of the disease in our family, I don't drink, I don't smoke, but you almost feel like you'e done something to deserve it.

To make things worse, the day after the diagnosis I found out I was pregnant. We already had one daughter who was 18 months at the time, but we'd been trying for another baby. So when I learned that we'd have to terminate the pregnancy because I needed to start chemotherapy, it was even more devastating. When we went to the clinic I remember sitting there thinking that everybody else in the room probably wanted their terminations in some shape or form, and I so desperately didn't want mine. It felt like even more of a punishment.

I knew from the beginning that doctors wouldn't just treat my cancer with chemotherapy, and that I'd also have to undergo a mastectomy. But because of the size of my tumour, doctors warned that surgery would be too risky, so they waited until chemotherapy had shrunk the tumour and then, in August 2014, I had my cancerous breast removed.

When I was getting ready to have the surgery done, all I could think was how much I wanted that breast off. It was the part of me that was carrying the disease and I just wanted it gone.

When I saw myself after the mastectomy for the first time, it was very odd. I was all bandaged up, so it took a few days, but when that came off and I saw my new body for the first time, it felt weird to see such a massive gap. I was emotional, I think because there's that attachment you have with your breasts and the link they have with being a woman, and it was difficult having that taken away from me so suddenly.

I showed my husband straight away, and I even put a picture of my scar on Facebook. Partly because I wanted to be brave about it and partly to raise awareness of what some women go through.

The reason I didn't have reconstructive surgery at the same time as the removal of the breast – as many women do – was because I needed more treatment afterwards, and there's a big risk attached to having radiotherapy on top of a reconstruction. It's the same surgeons who do the reconstructions as those who do the mastectomies, so reconstructions alone are obviously at the bottom of the list - which is totally understandable, but I can't wait to get two boobs back.
Thankfully I'm now near the top of the waiting list and I've decided that instead of a nipple on my reconstructed breast, I want a tattoo - something personal and fun, to make it feel like my own.

In the meantime, two-and-a-half years on, I've still only got one breast and have to wear a prosthesis. It's a bit like the silicone implant you'd get if you had a boob job, but mine is the size of a whole breast and not just something to perk them up. I have to wear special mastectomy bras with a pocket inside to hold it in place, which has proven quite difficult, because although mastectomy bras are probably a lot nicer than they were 20 years ago, they still feel very frumpy and boring - and it's nearly impossible to find matching sets.

I'm still only 25-years-old though, so I want to feel like I like the underwear I'm putting on. I still want to feel sexy. Recently, I've discovered a Victoria's Secret bralette which isn't designed to be a mastectomy bra, but it fits my prosthesis perfectly and holds it in place. I love it; it looks good and it's so comfortable because it's got no underwire, so I was delighted when I found that.

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