A BRAVE Bolton student is flying the flag in the battle against cancer and rallying women to sign up to Race for Life.

Leukaemia survivor Chelsea Brandrick, aged 22, from Egerton, will lead the charge by setting racers off at the Race for Life 5k event at Leverhulme Park in Bolton on Sunday,May 17 .

The Liverpool John Moores University student is urging women across the north west to sign up for the event, which is organised by Cancer Research.

Miss Brandrick was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APML), in August 2013, after she experienced symptoms of extreme tiredness, unexplained bleeding and bruising.

Despite the signs, she thought she could not possibly have cancer because her brother had Daniel had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) aged seven — when she was 13 — and battled the disease for three years, suffering many complications.

He had to be on life support three times, suffered a stroke, and had a serious bowel infection which resulted in him having a colostomy bag.

He also suffered a fungal infection on his brain which has left him with uncontrolled epilepsy and autism.

Miss Brandrick, who blogs about her experiences of having cancer at a young age on www.thechelseaaffect.wordpress.com, said: “I had an evening cleaning job to support my studies and I’d go to bed after that at 11pm, wake up at 12noon and then I’d be falling asleep again on the sofa by 3pm.

"I thought something wasn’t right but I hoped it would go away.

"Then I noticed I had bruising which didn’t go away and I knew I had to see the doctor.

"I had some unexplained bleeding and found I couldn’t even push myself out of the swimming pool or ride a bike. I’d got a really bad immune response and was catching every cold.

“When I went to see the doctor I explained what had happened to my brother but in my mind I thought it couldn’t possibly be happening twice.

"The doctor did a blood test and it showed my blood count was lower than a healthy person but not significantly, which meant it could be an infection.

“The next time I went back all my counts were low and I was sent for a bone marrow biopsy. They used to put my brother to sleep to do this but being older I had to have it done with gas and air.

“Then they rang me that afternoon to say I had to go back to hospital and I was told I had cancer.

“In a way it was almost a relief to hear I had cancer because of all the symptoms I’d been having, so it was almost good to realise doctors knew what it was.

“Straight after I found out and had processed the fact I’d got cancer — the next thing I thought was how the hell am I going to tell my mum? How can I put my family through this again?

“My mum cried for a long time when I told her but then we decided we can do this together. The first weekend at The Christie we sat there in a daze.”

Miss Brandrick was treated at The Christie with oral and IV chemotherapy for six months.

She finished her treatment in January 2014 and is now on maintenance checks.

Miss Brandrick added: “I was lucky compared to my brother because I had six months of chemo where as he had to have three years of treatment.

“My brother spent eight months at Pendlebury Children’s Hospital while me and my little sister Jessica had to be looked after by my grandparents. It was very difficult for my parents to juggle everything.

“After my brother had cancer I felt we came out of the other side weaker but with my treatment my family has definitely come out stronger and more united. We are much closer now.

“I finished my treatment in January 2014 but it took six months to start feeling and looking like myself again. I went back to Uni in September last year to study forensic psychology and criminal justice.

“Even though I’ve got my life back it’s never going to be normal again. I’ve found myself wanting to spend time with other people who have been through the same thing who are my age. I go with the flow now – that’s kind of my attitude to life.

"I don’t worry about silly stuff and I don’t take myself too seriously. Life is for living is my attitude now.

“A lot of the people I have met who have had cancer have had it much worse than me. It’s really helped me to get involved in volunteering with cancer charities.

"I think the Race for Life is a great idea and a wonderful atmosphere when everyone comes together to beat cancer. It’s about people sharing an experience and helping to beat cancer."

This year, organisers want 1,400 women to take part in Race for Life to raise £86,000 for research.

To enter visit www.raceforlife.org or call 0300 1230770.