Triumph for woman who beat cancer and then shed pounds

Emma Parker shed more than 8st after believing she had been given a second chance at life.

In August 2010, aged 18 and already unhappy with her weight, the customer services adviser from Jacksdale in Nottinghamshire, was further devastated when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. When doctors confirmed she was beating the disease, she decided to join her local Slimming World group and managed to lose 8st 3.5lb and drop seven dress sizes in just seven months.

Miss Parker said: “Having Hodgkin’s lymphoma made me realise how important life is and not to take things like your health for granted.

“I wanted to be as healthy as I could so that if anything ever happened again I would be fitter and stronger, and I wanted to change everything that made me unhappy, which my weight definitely did.”

After undergoing 12 gruelling chemotherapy sessions and a biopsy, she was delighted when doctors decided she did not need further treatment.

Then, with medical approval, she started her weight loss journey by joining her local group in Alfreton in March last year.

By October she had reached her target weight of 9st 11lb and had gone from a size 22 to a size 10.”