A Plymouth Evening Herald columnist who has been diagnosed with breast cancer is sharing her experiences of the disease through a diary in the newspaper.

Journalist Wendy Bray, (45), recently discovered she had cancer for a second time - six years after undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

The illnesses are completely unrelated and the chances of getting two separate types of cancer are slim, but rather than dwell on how 'unlucky' she is, Wendy has decided to turn her situation into something positive.

She even admits that her situation is somewhat ironic as her husband works for Cancer Research UK, and she has recently trained as a life coach with the aim of helping others who have survived cancer and is now facing the same thing again.

After being treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma Wendy (pictured) published a book about her experiences called In the Palm of God's Hand, and the response it generated encouraged her to write about her new illness.

Wendy said: "I had such an incredible response from it and it helped a lot of people. Also writing is my therapy and helps me to deal with it.

"It's difficult writing a story but not knowing the end, or the middle or where it is going, but I know if I had found a personal account of someone else going through all this last time around it would have made an enormous difference."

So far two diaries have been published in the Herald, giving a day by day account of Wendy's treatment, feelings and experiences, and they have already been welcomed by readers.

She said: "I've had piles of letters and e-mails saying 'thank you', which is really encouraging.

"I had wondered if I was doing the right thing, but I can put up with a few people who don't like it - it's worth taking flak if I know what I'm doing is making a difference.

"It's not all doom and gloom, my book was quite wacky and I talked about my wig and all the funny things that happened.

"It's important to bring the whole thing out in the open. I don't want to bring attention to myself, but I do want to bring attention to the issues."