WHEN Tracy Bartram was given the all-clear from breast cancer she vowed to “give something back”.

As the wife of former Bournemouth and Arsenal footballer Vince, mum to the couple’s sons Miles, eight, and Heath, five, and one of the people who keeps the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance in the skies, Tracy certainly has her hands full.

But she has kept her promise and has now teamed up with fashion store Peacocks to launch a new range of pink products in support of Cancer Research UK.

“I promised when I was given the all-clear to pay everyone back for their support and I also vowed that day my life would begin again,” said Tracy, 42.

It was the discovery of a lump on her breast, just before her 41st birthday, that changed Tracy’s life forever.

She faced several months of treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy – as well as the shock that she had been diagnosed with the disease.

“You never think the dreaded “C” word is going to happen to you until that day you’re told in the flesh,” she told the Daily Echo earlier this year.

“Vince was distraught, so were all our family and friends. But what helped was the doctors and nurses at the hospital; they were amazing, telling us what to expect and said the cancer may have spread to my lymph nodes, so I had to have additional tests and a CT scan.

“It was the longest couple of weeks of my life. Having breast cancer scared me, but as one of my closest friends had been diagnosed and treated a couple of years earlier, I knew I could cope and that I could beat it.”

Tracy was told the cancer hadn’t spread, but still faced the ordeal of having to continue with her busy life while battling gruelling treatment.

But battle on she did. With a group of friends and family she took part in the Race for Life along Bournemouth seafront for the last two years and was finally given the all-clear last November.

There was more good news when Vince, who had lost his job in February 2010, was appointed Goalkeeping Development Coach for Southampton FC.

Tracy has thrown herself into life ever since.

A former England international netball player, she was part of Team Flora which won the elite Wine Cup in the Bournemouth Sevens Netball Festival in May.

It was the first time she had played netball competitively since breast cancer surgery and it was a boost to her recovery.

As well as raising money for research, Tracy is also fundraising for Bournemouth Hospital in recognition of the excellent treatment she received.

She said: “I travelled the world playing against the world’s best at netball. Before injury brought Vince’s football career to an end, we travelled extensively in this country and Europe and spent time with the likes of Ian Wright, Tony Adams and Dennis Bergkamp.

“I became known to my friends as a WAG. Not Coleen Rooney and Victoria Beckham - but a very small fish, in a very large sea! It was adventurous, but these days I want to do as much as I can to help people who have recently been diagnosed, to know what to expect.

“Cancer can happen to anyone, at anytime, but I also want to show that there are many happy endings. I am living proof that research into breast cancer leads to effective treatments and saves lives.”

Tracy was delighted to join forces with Peacocks, which has raised more than £2.5million to support Cancer Research UK’s charity work in the last seven years.

A donation of 15 per cent from the sale price from this year’s Peacocks collection will support the charity’s new breast cancer campaign, ‘Join the fight for women’s survival’.

The pink products range is on sale now in selected Peacocks stores across the South West, including accessories such as pink ribbon nail files, charm bracelets, wellies, hot water bottles and slippers.

Boscombe store manager, Maria Jones, said: “Breast cancer affects so many women in our region. It has a huge impact on their families, friends and colleagues.

“We are delighted to support Cancer Research UK and want to encourage all our customers to ‘Join the fight for women’s survival’ by treating themselves to the gorgeous pink products on sale to raise money.”

To find out more about Cancer Research UK’s campaign visit jointhefight.org.uk or call 08701 60 20 40.