'This could halt the suffering I went through'

Tina Brown looks the picture of health. The proud mother of a twoyearold daughter, she has just run a marathon for the Flora Light Challenge. Yet four years ago Mrs Brown, of Bexleyheath, had major surgery for cervical cancer.

She was told she would have to undergo a hysterectomy, but two days before the operation she was put forward for pioneering surgery. Mrs Brown, 34, had a trachellectomy which removed her cervix, but left her womb intact and rid her of the disease. A year later she was given the allclear to try for a baby.

Mrs Brown said: "The surgery I had to go through was just awful and if these new treatments will stop women going through what I had to then it has prevented a lot of suffering. My face was swollen and I had problems with my leg because nerves had to be severed during the operation. I still have to have smear tests every six months but fingers crossed, everything is okay."

Mrs Brown married her partner, Jeffrey, last year and together they have a daughter Scarlet. She said: "Women need to know that there is hope. I hope these new treatments will offer more women the wonderful experiences I have had with my daughter."