Treatment for cancer meant that Gill Harding was unlikely ever to have children. She tells Barry Nelson how she beat the odds.

GILL Harding remembers the look of surprise that crossed the cancer specialist's face when she told him: "I'm pregnant." Gill, 35, an air hostess from Newby Wiske, near Northallerton, had extensive chemo and radio therapy after developing Hodgkin's Disease, cancer of the lymphatic system, in late 1998.

"I was diagnosed fairly quickly although I may have had it for some time. I had an x-ray which showed up a shadow which turned out to be a tumour on a lymph gland in my chest and neck," says Gill.

Although she didn't know it at the time, the position of her tumours - and the way they were irradiated at that time - were to store up trouble for the future.

Before treatment at Darlington Memorial Hospital started, Gill was warned that the powerful anti-cancer drugs she was about to receive could seriously affect her chances of ever having a family. In fact, the outlook was so poor that the hospital even offered to remove one of her ovaries, put it into cold storage and harvest the eggs from it as a safeguard against future infertility problems.

At the time Gill had no plans to have a family and the instinct of survival came out very much on top. "I didn't have an ovary removed, mainly because they wanted to start the chemotherapy as soon as possible and they didn't think I could have a general anaesthetic for something like that, it was too much of a risk," says Gill. "I just decided it was better to get on with the treatment. The question of fertility didn't seem so important at the time," she adds.

So the British Airways hostess, who was 30 when she was diagnosed, began a gruelling 18 month treatment programme - chemotherapy at Darlington and radiotherapy at South Cleveland Hospital, now the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.

Being diagnosed with cancer - even a form of cancer which has a high cure rate - is always a huge setback for even the most optimistic of people.

Gill puts on a brave face but admits that if it wasn't for the "fantastic" support from her parents, Malcolm and Nancy, and the care she received from doctors and nurses that she would have found the whole experience even more difficult to cope with.

Gill lost her hair and had times during her treatment when she felt desperately ill. "I was quite lucky because the anti-sickness drugs worked well for me but I did go through some very difficult times," she says.

What also helped her get through this difficult time was her own spirit.

"I am very stubborn and I don't give in easily... my dad would confirm that," she laughs.

To say thanks to the nursing and medical staff who cared for her on ward 42 at the Memorial hospital, Gill did something rather special.

"At that time, after seven years working as a BA air hostess, you used to be presented a pair of club class tickets to the destination of your choice," she says.

Instead of using them herself, Gill decided to offer a pair of luxury tickets to New York - worth around £7,000 - to ward 42 to raise money to improve patient facilities. They raised around £3,000 in a raffle.

By the end of 1999 Gill felt well enough to go back to work and was looking forward to flying again. One of her first flights after her illness was on Millennium Eve itself.

"Despite all the Millennium Bug problems, the plane didn't fall out of the sky that night, that would have been a bit annoying after all that I had gone through," she laughs.

Since the cancer scare Gill has had regular hospital checks. "The tumour is still there but it is in remission. It has shrunk and has remained the same size since the treatment," says Gill.

Within five months of going back to work - and getting involved in a serious relationship with Mark, Rebecca's father - Gill discovered that she was pregnant.

"It was really fantastic, a lovely surprise," says Gill. "I had a regular appointment to see my consultant at Darlington. When I told him, he couldn't believe it at first."

Gill was given extra checks to ensure everything was going well. "I had to have a detailed scan at 13 weeks at the Friarage hospital in Northallerton. They were worried that the chemo might have damaged the baby," says Gill. "The scan showed everything was fine but they did keep a very close eye on me. My baby was actually due on Christmas day, which made it even more special."

Baby Rebecca Sarah actually made her appearance on January 3, a few weeks late, weighing in at seven pounds and 11 ounces.

When it came to the christening, Gill remembered a friend from her days on the haematology ward at Darlington in a special way.

"Sarah was a girl I had treatment with but, unfortunately, she died. I said if I ever have a little girl, I would call her Sarah after my friend," says Gill. "Instead of people buying presents I asked if they would make donations to the ward in memory of Sarah, I think we got about £650, which was pretty good."

Gill went back to work part-time and her parents have helped to look after little Rebecca. But a few weeks ago, an official notice released by the Department of Health cast a potential shadow on Gill's happiness and the lives of hundreds of North-East women treated for Hodgkin's Disease. Experts have come to the conclusion that women aged 35 or under who were given radiotherapy to the chest as a part of treatment for Hodgkin's Disease over the past 40 years are at an increased risk of breast cancer.

Hospitals in the North-East and the rest of the UK are currently trying to contact women who fall into this category. Gill is one of them. Characteristically, she is taking it in her stride. "I am too busy househunting at the moment to worry about it," she declares. "With any medication there are always risks or side-effects but the benefits outweigh the risks. If I hadn't had that treatment I probably wouldn't be here now."

A working party from the National Cancer Research Institute has calculated that women treated with "supradiaphragmatic" chest radiotherapy before the age of 35 have a cumulative risk of developing breast cancer of between one in three and one in seven. The estimated risk for the general population of developing breast cancer by the age of 50 is about one in 50. The lifetime risk is about one in nine.

Gill is expecting to be contacted and offered early breast cancer screening. Changes in the way radiotherapy is now delivered means that women are no longer being put at risk.

Gill is, as ever, positive about the future. "I am very happy that I've got Rebecca, she means everything to me. Who knows what lies around the corner?

"You just have to accept that you are lucky to be still here and if there are some consequences of my treatment I will just have to deal with them."

* Anyone who thinks they may be affected by the notification should ring the dedicated information line 0845 850 9850.