Grandma battled FIVE different types of cancer - her life was saved by one doctor, and then his son

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A beloved grandma-of-six has battled with five different types of cancer in the past 40 years. Irene North's life was saved by one hero doctor in the 1980s and 1990s, Professor Tony Howell, who became Irene's friend after decades of treatment.

But when she went back to hospital in 2008, Irene could not believe who walked into her appointment. Irene was shocked to see that her new doctor looked exactly like Professor Tony - before he introduced himself as Sacha Howell, Tony's son.

Irene, now 71, was 'left terrified' when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987. The Tameside native was sent to be cared for at Manchester's internationally acclaimed cancer centre, The Christie, but that 'felt like a death sentence' in that era. READ MORE:Stop turning up to A&E with 'stubbed toes' because you can't get a GP appointment, urges paramedic “I was told I needed to go to The Christie and back then, just the name of the hospital felt like a death sentence," said Irene.

The retired NHS phlebotomist who has a daughter, two sons and six grandchildren worried most about her family when she was first diagnosed. “My mum had died of cancer at the age of 41 when I was six years old and all I could think about was how my children would cope if the same happened to me,” said Irene. “Because mum died so young it was always at the back of my mind that I might get cancer.” It was only after she entered the hospital that the stigma around the hospital ended. “Once I was through the door and started to talk to people, I realised that it wasn’t the place I or my family feared.