A North Yorkshire mother has undergone a revolutionary new treatment for breast cancer - so she can be around to see her four-year-old son grow up.

Alison Mason, 33, from Tadcaster, is one of a select band of women in Yorkshire who have been given a new stem cell transplant as part of an international trial.

The stem cell transplant, which uses ultra-high doses of chemotherapy, has been used widely to treat certain cancers such as leukaemia - but this is the first time it has been used to treat breast cancer.

Speaking at her home in Stutton Road, Tadcaster, solicitor's secretary Alison says trying out the radical new treatment has made her feel positive about beating the deadly disease.

She said: "It was a very hard decision to make. There are risks involved with such intense chemotherapy, which leaves you without an immune system for two weeks.

"But I thought it would give me the best chance, and I was prepared to do anything to cure it. I'm only 33 and I want to watch my son Matthew grow up."

The trial has just finished recruiting 600 women internationally, and cancer experts are expecting the results analysis in about 18 months.

Breast cancer affects one in 12 women and there are 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

Alison took part in the Imperial Cancer Research trial at St James's Hospital in Leeds, where high doses of chemotherapy were given to women whose chances of remaining cancer-free for five years were minimal.

Alison was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump under her arm in January last year. Her GP thought it was a virus at first and prescribed antibiotics.

She said: "It didn't clear up and I was sent to the one-stop clinic at York District Hospital where I was told I had breast cancer. I was devastated."

Alison had the lump removed two weeks later in York where surgeons discovered another lump in her breast, which was also removed. After four sessions of chemotherapy, the stem cells - which make red and white blood cells - were removed to protect them and frozen while the high-dose chemotherapy was given. They were then returned to Alison's body.

Alison said: "I was in isolation because I had no immune system, but luckily my blood count started to pick up within three weeks. I then underwent four weeks of radiotherapy, and I now have check-ups every three months. It all made me feel very ill, but I've been clear from cancer for 20 months and I feel very positive."

Alison said her husband Trevor, a stocktaker at Sam Smith's brewery in Tadcaster, had been "a rock" throughout her ordeal. They had celebrated with a party at Tadcaster's Magnet Social Club where they raised £1,600 for the Cookridge Hospital appeal.

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