I had my breasts removed

When Gina Symmons was diagnosed with breast cancer for the third time she feared she would never see her children grow up.

In a final attempt to rid herself of the terrifying disease that kept returning, the mother-of-two eventually made the brave decision to undergo a double mastectomy.

Now the 40-year-old can finally live a normal life, free from the fear of breast cancer.

Today, she is one of 107 women taking part in a colourful awarenessraising event for Cancer Research UK.

Celebrities will join breast cancer survivors at the new Hungerford crossing, between Waterloo and Embankment, to create a "bridge" of bras for the launch of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The women, mothers, daughters, sisters and friends plan to hold up pink bras - the symbol for breast cancer awareness - and stand side by side along the bridge.

For Mrs Symmons the day will be a celebration of winning her own battle against the disease.

The housewife, from Fulham, first noticed a lump in her left breast in 1999 when she was six months pregnant with her daughter, Poppy, now three.

"I was in the shower and I just felt this huge lump, about the size of a plum. At first I thought it might be something to do with my pregnancy but deep down inside I knew it wasn't good."

Mrs Symmons immediately told her husband Guy, 33, who runs his own finance company, but waited three months before telling doctors about the lump.

"I was scared that it may be cancer and that any treatment I would have to undergo would harm the baby, so I decided to wait until Poppy was born and then I told a doctor immediately."

Mrs Symmons was sent for tests which revealed she had a cancerous tumour. Thankfully, it was successfully removed and, following a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she carried on with her life as normal.

But last year came another dreaded discovery - a second lump in her right breast.

"I was terrified," said Mrs Symmons, who also has a five-year-old son, Louis. All I kept thinking was I didn't want to die - I didn't want to leave my children.

"The first time I knew very little about breast cancer and just thought I wasn't going to live. I didn't realise it is treatable. The second time I was very scared. I couldn't believe I had another lump."

The operation to remove the second-lump was also successful but Mrs Symmons was so worried about the possibility of cancer returning she began considering a double mastectomy.

"It was a hard decision to make. I had always been quite proud of my breasts and I didn't want to lose them. But as one of my friends said to me - what use are beautiful breasts in a coffin?"

Mrs Symmons was booked to undergo the operation in February this year.

But only a month before the hospital appointment came another cruel twist of fate - a third lump in her right breast. "It was then that I knew I was making the right decision," she said. "I knew I didn't want to be in and out of hospital all the time while my children were growing up.

"I didn't want to be full of fear every time there was another lump, not knowing whether my children would be left without a mother."

Mrs Symmons underwent a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction earlier this year. She returns to hospital later this week to complete the reconstructive surgery.

Among the celebrities that the courageous mother will be joining on Hungerford Bridge at 11am are television presenter Lisa Riley, newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, model Emma B, the Bond girls Catherine McQueen and Rachel Grant and actress and former Page Three girl Jilly Johnson.

The 107 women taking part represent the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer every day in the UK.

Susan Osborne of Cancer Research UK said: "We hope the bridge of bras will raise awareness of a serious issue which affects one in nine women at some stage in their lives."