A young mum has told of the heartbreaking moment she broke the devastating news of her cancer diagnosis to her little daughters, telling them "mummy has a naughty boob".

Charlotte-Louise Crowe, 30, was diagnosed with breast cancer two days before her 28th birthday, a time when she'd been married for only seven months and had two girls aged just three and four.

Breaking the awful news to Summer-Rose and Lillie-Mae, now six and four, Charlotte recalled sitting them down and telling them her breast was going to be removed.

Charlotte, trying to make it easy for the children to digest, said: "I sat them down and said mummy had a naughty boob and it had to come off to make mummy better and they had to be careful of my left arm.

"They didn't really get it."

In a another blow for Charlotte she was told the mastectomy to remove her left breast would take place the week before Christmas.

Remembering how her "heart sank," she said because she knew her girls wouldn't understand that she couldn't be jumped on or knocked into, she spent the week before Christmas with her mum.

Speaking of how sad she felt to miss out on those precious, festive moments with her daughters, she said: “Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to do anything Christmassy with my kids was more devastating than losing my breast."

Charlotte-Louise Crowe was only 27 when she received her diagnosis (
Image:
Charlotte-Louise Crowe)

Friends and relatives helped her husband Gary - who she has now separated from- at their Norwich home where they lived with Summer-Rose, Lillie-Mae and Gary's 13-year-old daughter Taneisha, who is Charlotte's stepdaughter.

But despite video-calling Summer-Rose and Lillie-Mae, Charlotte couldn't help feeling like she was missing out on the magical Christmas moments she usually experienced with them.

"I could see how excited they were on the video calls but it wasn't the same," she said.

She described how she was unable to see the wonder in the youngsters' eyes as they marvelled at Christmas lights and enjoyed other wonderful festive experiences.

Known as a 'selfie queen' by loved ones, Charlotte was also unable to take treasured photos of her daughters.

"It absolutely broke my heart," she said. "But the alternative was to potentially die.

"I cried a lot and I screamed but I dealt with it."

Charlotte had always been careful to check her breasts after her nan sadly died of breast cancer when she was only 16.

The mother-of-two went to the doctor's two years ago after discovering a lump in her left breast, under her armpit. Within just three days, she was undergoing tests in hospital.

Charlotte had to have a mastectomy (
Image:
Charlotte-Louise Crowe.)

Charlotte said: "I went to the doctor's about my lump and they referred me to hospital. The mammogram didn't show much because of my age."

But after undergoing a biopsy, she discovered she very likely had breast cancer.

She told: "They called myself and my husband into a room, where there were two consultants and two nurses. She gave me that look.

"I knew before she even opened her mouth."

Although the test results weren't yet confirmed, one of the consultants told Charlotte that from her 25 years' worth of experience, she was almost certain she had cancer.

"My whole world just collapsed," said the mum. "I wasn't even 28. It was like a horn had gone off. It's every person's worst nightmare."

She said she began worrying about how she would get the kids up and take them to school - and who would help Gary to get around the house, as he uses a motorised wheelchair due to Type 1 diabetes and also has epilepsy.

"I came back to hospital a week later. I took my mum with me," recalled Charlotte.

It was during that visit her cancer diagnosis was confirmed.

"My mum just broke down," she said. "I found myself being her support.

"I was diagnosed in 2015, two days before I turned 28 years old. I'd been married for seven months, had two little girls, aged three and four. I was just a normal working mum."

Charlotte in hospital (
Image:
Charlotte-Louise Crowe)

Following her official diagnosis in November 2015, Charlotte was told she would be undergoing a single mastectomy the week before Christmas, to remove her left breast.

"As soon as they told me the date, my heart sank," she said.

"Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I buy advent calendars, do Elf on the Shelf , buy homemade stuff, take the girls to see the lights... I go all out.

"The girls were only three and four so Christmas was extremely magical. We'd go to see Santa, go to garden centres. I was absolutely gutted."

Charlotte was devastated to be told she would need to spend a week doing "nothing" after the operation - then a further two weeks "taking it easy".

And on top of missing out on Christmas celebrations, she knew she would be going through her recovery "mutilated" and with "only one booby."

Shortly after her operation, doctors removed some of Charlotte's lymph notes.

She was told the disease had spread to her armpit, which meant she had to undergo further surgery.

After this, she says her left arm was left "very weak".

"Even now, it's noticeably weaker than my right arm," she said.

Charlotte subsequently battled through six sessions of chemotherapy - which took place over six months - and 15 sessions of radiotherapy.

"Chemotherapy, without exaggerating, very nearly killed me," she said, describing how her white blood cell count was, at one point, dangerously low.

However, she fortunately recovered and, in August last year, was told she was in remission. A check-up this September also came back all-clear.

But despite all the surgeries and treatment she went through, Charlotte says the one thing that sticks out in her mind is that she missed so much of Christmas with her girls.

Almost one in five (19 percent) parents – approximately 357,000 people – have struggled at Christmas in the last five years because they have cancer, new research from Macmillan Cancer Support shows.

Many are too unwell to enjoy time with their family, while others struggle with the emotional impact of the disease and are unable to cope, or need to conserve their energy to travel to hospital for vital treatment.

Charlotte had to break the devastating news to her little girls (
Image:
Charlotte-Louise Crowe)

Thankfully, Charlotte was able to spend Christmas Day that year with Summer-Rose and Lillie-Mae. However, she couldn't help them to unwrap presents or open cards.

"I was really upset that I missed out on the Christmas festivities - it's my favourite time of year," she said.

While going through radiotherapy, Charlotte says she and her husband split up.

"I went into a bit of a mental breakdown really," she recalled.

The mum, who ended up moving out of the family home, added that she believes her battle with cancer was partly responsible for the separation.

"Cancer certainly contributed to us splitting up, but I think there were issues there before I got diagnosed," she said.

Last Christmas, she was able to make some special memories with her daughters - even though she had split from their dad and moved out of the family home.

She now lives in Malta after getting a job in recruitment there and is in a new relationship.

Her daughters still live with their dad in Norwich, Norfolk, which Charlotte says means they are able to stay in their childhood home in the same city as their friends and other family members.

She flies back regularly to see her daughters and for Christmas, she has bought them their first passports so they can hopefully come out to visit her in January.

Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive at Macmillan Cancer Support said: “It is heart-breaking that parents who have cancer can’t enjoy Christmas with their children because of their diagnosis.

"Most of us take festive celebrations for granted, yet some who have cancer and really need the respite, won’t be able to afford it.

"I want those struggling to know that Macmillan is here for people living with cancer and their families during the festive season and all year round.”

For information and support visit www.macmillan.org.uk/christmaswithcancer