A CEROC fan who went from suffering a stiff neck to being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer has told how a local charity has helped keep her dancing.

Julie Moors, from West Moors, moved into a new flat in September, just a month after starting a new job with a service engineering company.

She was looking forward to a "new start" when she noticed a tiny lump in her neck.

Her GP prescribed Julie with anti- inflammatory pills and she continued to practise her passion for Ceroc dance. But she also noticed she was becoming increasingly breathless and, in November was sent to hospital where an x-ray picked up a blockage in her chest.

She said: “I’m a very positive person and was determined to have a plan of action if the news was bad, but even so, being told you have something called Primary Mediastinal Diffuse Large B cell Lymphoma was terrifying.”

Julie was advised that although she was suffering from a very aggressive form of cancer, treatment carried a 70 per cent success rate and she began six rounds of chemotherapy.

She said: “Obviously I had to tell my new employers that I had cancer and I was signed off, which made me feel extremely guilty.

“It was a struggle living on statutory sick pay. And between every round of chemo I developed a dreadful chest infection and even sepsis at one point. I was completely knocked out by it.”

Julie’s long hair came out in handfuls and she developed neuropathy, a loss of feeling, in her fingers as a side-effect of the chemo.

She heard about Dorset Cancer Care Foundation through the Macmillan cancer charity. The local charity's supporters raise money to fund financial grants for Dorset families struggling because of cancer.

With the foundation's help she bought some hats and headscarves, which made her feel more normal, and a dexterity aid for her hands.

Julie is now in metabolic remission with no detectable cancer cells in her body.

She said: “My new start turned into a nightmare almost overnight. But I’m thankful for the treatment I have had, the friendship and love I have been shown and the generosity of strangers, who through DCCF have helped keep me smiling."