An inspirational mother and daughter who were both diagnosed with breast cancer on the same day have won a mother and daughter of the year award.
Courageous duo Diane Leach, 69, from Chester, and daughter Karen Williams, 46, from Ellesmere Port, were named the winners of Mecca Mag’s Mum & Daughter of the Year Award after helping each other through the most difficult time of their lives, and were treated to a weekend of pampering in London.
The pair were secretly nominated by Karen’s partner and were chosen from hundreds of entries by Heartbeart actress Tricia Penrose and her mum.
Beauty consultant Karen said: “Both of us would have moved mountains to stop the other having to go through cancer, but in a way we were lucky, as we had the strongest support in each other.”
Diane and Karen, both now in the clear, enjoyed VIP treatment which consisted of makeovers, tickets to see Thriller in the West End, shopping vouchers and a two-night stay at a top hotel.
Karen said: “It was such a horrible, horrible year and we couldn’t really go out or do anything so our lives were put on hold.
“We were so close anyway – we couldn’t do anything without one another. I didn’t get to see her very much, we just had to talk on the phone instead.
“For me, it was lovely that something good came out of something not very nice. It was wonderful to win.”
Lesly Clifford of Mecca said: “Our Mum & Daughter Award has highlighted the hundreds of women across the country with incredible strength, power and determination, who are truly inspirational to us all.
“We are honoured that so many of these women have shared their stories with us.
“The competition was fierce and every entry was a worthy contender, so we are really excited to offer our winners a bit of fun to honour them. We applaud each and every one of you.”
