Northumberland model diagnosed with breast cancer is back to work

Kelly said it "took a lot" to get her in front of a camera again

A model with 30 years' experience who was diagnosed with breast cancer says she is feeling good again after getting back in front of a camera.

Kelly Stobbs, from Morpeth, has been modelling since she was 17 and got scouted by an agency while shopping with her mum in Newcastle.

She was told she had breast cancer in August last year at the age of 47.

She told BBC Radio Newcastle that these days she feels she needs to "make the most out of life, every day".

Kelly, who is 21 in this picture, has been modelling for 30 years

Ms Stobbs said she has been conscious that she needed to check for signs of breast cancer since her mother was diagnosed at the age of 50.

Her mum has since fought the disease and Ms Stobbs said she is doing well.

"I've always checked myself," she said. "And this time I was in the bath when I found a hard, round lump and I just knew something was wrong."

Fourteen months after her diagnosis she is back at work as a booker for a Newcastle talent and modelling agency.

"I look back and think it was all a bad dream: losing my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows as well as the fatigue. It was such a gruelling treatment. Really, really hard."

'Get her confidence back'

Her treatment, which involves an injection every three weeks, is continuing at Wansbeck Hospital in Ashington and is due to finish in spring next year.

She said it "did take a lot" to get in front of the camera again but having her photo taken had helped "get her confidence back" and made her feel good.

"I felt like I'd lost who I was," she said. "I wouldn't say I'm 100% as I was - but I'm ready to make the most out of life.

"Every day is so precious."

She has urged women to get any breast cancer symptoms checked out with a GP. "The earlier the better," she said.

Common breast cancer signs and symptoms include a lump or swelling in the breast, upper chest or armpit that may not be visible and changes in the size or shape of the breast.

Kelly has urged women to get any signs of breast cancer checked by a GP