A Canadian woman with cancer wins C$1.5m lottery and retires

Diane Bishop is retiring so she can focus on her treatment

A Canadian woman who could not afford to quit work despite an advanced breast cancer diagnosis has had a stroke of luck with a substantial lottery win.

Newfoundland's Diane Bishop is going to retire on her C$1.5m ($1.18m; £886,000) win and focus on battling her illness.

The single mother, who has been struggling to manage both a convenience store and her illness, made news in the province last October.

People raised funds to help - money she is now donating to a fellow patient.

Ms Bishop, from the town of Mount Pearl, bought her winning Atlantic Lottery ticket at a convenience store she owns as a franchisee.

It was a purchase she says was made on a whim.

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Ms Bishop has already used some of her winnings to buy a new bed and a recliner, both of which help ease the discomfort and pain that comes with her illness.

"This money wasn't about going out and buying a new house or taking trips," Ms Bishop told CBC News. "This was about survival. I can survive now, and my kids can survive."

She can also afford to travel to take part in clinical trials for a new cancer treatment, and she plans to pay off both her and her son's mortgage.

Ms Bishop was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2016 but, despite a full course of treatment, the cancer returned and spread to her lungs and her hip.

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"It's Stage 4, but I'm not giving up. We are still going to do the fight," she told journalists when she went to pick up her cheque.

Funds raised by the community before her win are being donated to another cancer patient who is similarly struggling financially as she undergoes treatment.

Ms Bishop is also donating money to a facility that houses cancer patients who travel to St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador's capital, for medical care.