A FLINTSHIRE mum and author has revealed it's 'dream come true' to have her first book published a year on from a battle with cancer.

Nevmah Morris, raising five children, fought off stage 2 breast cancer in 2018 - and has now fulfilled life-long ambition to have a book published.

The 38-year-old from Nercwys opened up to the Leader about her experiences while battling the disease - and how it is changed her outlook completely on life.

She said: "The diagnoses came completely out of the blue - I felt a pain under my arm, went to get it checked out and two weeks later I was starting chemotherapy.

The Leader:

Nevmah shows her children Tien and Rylee her book for the first time

"The treatment was a living nightmare - all the dreaded side effects I suffered from.

"It led to me falling, for the first time in my life, into a deep pit of depression. I'd never experienced anything like it before but having been through it I have so much more time and respect for people battling mental illness.

"I reached the point where I questioned how ever do people break the cycle of depression?"

It was then when Nevmah's outlook completely changed.

She explained: "You just need to have sheer strength of mind - every time a negative thought came in I'd literally say no, and suppress it by not letting it manifest itself something more significant.

"Obviously I've met so many people undergoing treatment, and in my experiences those who appeared to have given up mentally very rarely made it.

"I'm a fervent believer that having a healthy and positive mind is absolutely key to the treatment being successful."

And Nevmah explained how literally taking treatment day by day - and not looking too far ahead - was key to her maintaining a positive mindset.

She said: "I remember one day in particular when I was literally on my hands and knees going to hospital for treatment because of the effects of the chemotherapy.

"It was the day before my daughter's first birthday - and I thought 'right, just get through the next 24 hours' for your daughter.

"Seeing my daughter's first birthday was something I had been worried I wouldn't be there for - it's these things that keep you going."

A year on from receiving the news that she was in remission, Nevmah has paid homage to the brilliance of the NHS.

She said: "On my treatment alone, the NHS spent £200,000 - I was just blown away when I heard that.

"So for close family members, they've realised their payment of taxes has ultimately saved my life - it's led to a completely different outlook even on something like the payment of taxes.

"Without the NHS I'd probably have terminal cancer now."

And Nevmah says the cancer battle was what gave her both the inspiration and impetus to get her first book published.

She explained: "For many years I've always wanted to write a book but I always had the general excuses of 'not enough time or maybe another day' - but last year my perspective changed to 'what are you waiting for?'

"Once you've experienced the feeling of not knowing whether you're going to live, it changes everything.

"Everyday I wake up and feel blessed to be here, and I want to make every day count.

"Suddenly it became a no brainer to get on with writing the book."

The book, titled 'My Daughter Believes', is a collection of memories of her children's early years Nevmah jotted down in a notebook.

She said of the book: "I was desperate to hang onto every moment of my own children’s childhood days so I wouldn’t forget.

"My Daughter Believes is a collection of those truly wonderful childhood experiences to share with a child.

"In my opinion we must preserve the dreams and we have a responsibility to pass them down to the next generation.

"Obviously it'd be great if the book does well, but for me I've already achieved my goal by having it published. It's a dream come true."

The book is priced at £10, with £1 of every purchase going to Cancer Research.

As well as this, Peter Morris' Funeral Directors - the family's business - will match every £1 donation made when a book is sold.

Nevmah added: "As insanely tough as it was I do feel I am blessed to have travelled my journey and my intention is to encourage others to be inspired and put into 'action' things they've only ever 'thought' about.

"My answer to everything now is, why wait? Make things happen - take that one step."

And taking that one step includes people going to get any sort of health issue checked out.

She said: "Mine was just a pain in the arm, something many people will ignore - but because they identified and treated it so early I'm still here today.

"So my advice to people is - regardless of how seemingly insignificant the issue is - go and get it checked to be on the safe side. Nine times out of 10 it will be nothing, but you just never know what's around the corner."

You can purchase a copy of 'My Daughter Believes' at https://nevmahmorris.co.uk/childrens-books/