JILL Hindley did not think twice when she was asked if she would be photographed showing her mastectomy scar for a national breast cancer awareness campaign.

And the Cwmbran 60-year-old’s candour in front of the camera has helped earn the charity Breast Cancer Care a national award for helping promote body confidence and self-esteem.

Mrs Hindley was diagnosed with breast cancer out of the blue in June 2012, subsequently undergoing the mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and further treatment with the drug Herceptin.

“I had a routine mammogram and was recalled, but that had happened before and it turned out to be nothing, so the diagnosis came as a big shock.

“I’d had no worries and felt fine, but thank goodness for the screening programme,” said mother-of-three Mrs Hindley, who also has two grandchildren.

Breast Cancer Care leaflets and a course run by the charity proved very helpful to her in providing advice and support following her diagnosis and through her treatment, and when she was asked to pose showing her scar for its body confidence campaign last year, she had no qualms.

“I had no trouble because I thought the scar looked fine.

“I was very happy, it was wonderful that I had gotten rid of a part of my body that was not right and I thought the surgeon had done a marvellous job,” she said.

“I’d been shown a photo (of a mastectomy scar) by my breast cancer nurse before my operation and had wanted to see more, but I couldn’t find many.

“Breast Cancer Care’s support programmes had been very informative and helpful, and I had filled in a form in the early days describing what I’d had done and indicating I was willing to talk to other people about it, and help the charity.

“They were planning a campaign on body confidence after breast cancer because they felt it was not an issue that was addressed well enough, and they asked if I would be willing to be photographed showing my scar.

“I was very positive about how I felt about my body afterwards.

“My husband Peter and the children were behind me 100 per cent, and I was thrilled to take part.”

The campaign launched in autumn last year featured Mrs Hindley with two other women.

One – who has since died of incurable secondary breast cancer – also showed her mastectomy scars, while the other displayed a letter to her body written on her back.

“Every step of the way Breast Cancer Care checked that I was OK with it, but I was just very sure that I wanted to do it,” said Mrs Hindley.

“Being involved in this campaign has been a very positive experience and there has been lots of good feedback about it.

“It is an issue that needs to be aired.”

Mrs Hindley attended the Body Confidence Awards ceremony at the House of Commons where the charity received the Dove Self Esteem Award.

l For more information, visit the Breast Cancer Care website at www.breastcancercare.org.uk