OUR blogger Melanie O'Neill has two children and was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer nearly nine years ago.

Here she shares her latest thoughts on living with cancer.

SO the Coronavirus pandemic has hit and I’ve taken the decision to self-isolate as my immune system is rock bottom with being on chemo, with the exception of walking Stanley daily allowing me a little exercise and fresh air.

Self-isolation has come as a godsend to me as I’ve finally allowed myself to stop, relax, focus and basically just chill allowing myself some ‘me’ time for a change which is bliss however Carl is asking me to do jobs which defeats the object really but now I realise why I never chilled before!

The worry of keeping our clients visiting at our Salon is intense along with paying the staff and keeping the business afloat.

The stress of having enough food and sundries lies heavy along with the rest of the country as I plan for my next chemo on Saturday providing my blood levels are convincingly good enough to go ahead with it.

My oncologist said to give it 2 rounds before I know whether this chemo is working or not and if not he will switch me to my last option being Herceptin and Taxol which over £6000 has been raised which will allow me 6 sessions all being well.

Seeing minor changes in the mass on my shoulder, I am so shocked yet grateful I have not lost my hair which gets me thinking is this treatment really working or not?

I couldn’t stop crying when the nurse told me I’d have total hair loss as she read the notes.

I didn’t want to go through the loss of my hair once again nearly 9 months down the line. 7 days I had to prepare myself for baldness and yet nothing has happened which goes to prove that nothing is certain.

I try not to succumb to the crisis which is going on around the world when I worry daily about my own life and treating this cancer that refuses to die down.

The burden lies heavy in the O’Neill household as I try to conceal my fears from my kids.

But I do everything I can to help lift my mood and enjoy the moment with the help of my mum buying me James Arthur concert tickets.

The excitement grew daily as we’d planned this day since Christmas and I refused to jump on the Coronavirus panic wagon.

Well-wishers tried to convince my mum not to take me in case I contracted the virus but we refused to let this dampen our spirits as we enjoyed each other’s company and I sang my heart out to my favourite songs.

Right or wrong we went along to the concert washing our hands regularly and being as careful as we could, we both thoroughly enjoyed our day together where I was taken from a world of worry to feeling fantastic if only for a day.

The burden of cancer is there when there is nothing to take its place. Only I know what I love to do, it’s just remembering to do it when I’m feeling low but it can be done!

Music lifts me, whether it’s going to a concert or listening to the radio in my car.

My kids lift me, just being with them and listening to what goes on in their worlds.

Stanley, my dog, lifts me as I spend time training and walking him as well as snuggles, he brings me so much joy and love as well as distracting me from the world of cancer.

So it’s my distractions that keep me sane and hilariously knowing it’s taken a world crisis to make me stop and take heed and listen to my body and what it needs which is rest and replenishment which I am happily doing now.