East Anglian Daily Times columnist Rhona Damant traded her pen for a microphone when she hit the airwaves to help present BBC Radio Suffolk’s morning show.

The 44-year-old, whose newspaper diary has featured her battle against terminal cancer, was on air alongside regular host Lesley Dolphin.

She began writing her weekly diary around two years ago after she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and developed secondary, inoperable tumours in her lungs, liver, brain and spine.

The column has captured the imagination of thousands of readers and gives an insight into the life of people who suffer with the disease, as well as helping to raise awareness about the illness.

It proved so popular that in April this year Rhona published a book to chronicle the diaries, entitled Sit Down and Stop Laughing. It coincided with the launch of the East Anglian Daily Times’s Ray of Hope campaign, which aims to raise £100,000 for breast cancer charity Suffolk Breakthrough.

She said she thoroughly enjoyed the whole radio experience.

She said: “I didn’t feel nervous to be honest because I’ve been on the show a few times just on the phone chatting from home, so it wasn’t that scary. I’ve spoken to Lesley quite a bit in the past anyway and she put me completely at ease about everything.

“It was how I expected but I don’t think it went totally to plan. There were people coming in all the time, which I’ve been told doesn’t usually happen, and there was a real party atmosphere. Everyone had a lot of fun.”

Speaking of her admiration for Rhona, Lesley said: “We invited Rhona along because she is an amazing woman and totally frank about everything that she has gone through. We had lots of people ringing in to say how inspirational and fantastic she was.”