Dalglish's wife tells of her cancer fight

Marina Dalglish, 49, who was diagnosed with the disease after a routine mammogram in March, said having cancer had not held her back in any way.

She said:

"Life is for living and there’s no point sitting around moping about something that may not happen for a very long time."

The mother-of-four, who married the former Liverpool star in 1974, said she was shocked when she was first diagnosed.

Following an operation at Aintree Hospital, Liverpool, she will continue chemotherapy at Clatterbridge Hospital, Wirral, Merseyside, until November.

Since undergoing treatment all her expectations about chemotherapy had been dashed, she said.

"I thought I would be lying in bed feeling unwell all the time, but I’ve been fine."

Mrs Dalglish, who met her future husband while working in her father’s pub in Glasgow, said she was initially frightened of going for treatment. But she

said even losing her hair "hasn’t been that bad" and she now wears a wig.

She said her main message for Breast Cancer Awareness Month was that "every woman should examine herself for lumps and not be afraid of going for a screen test".

Tributes have been paid to Sarah Parkinson, the 41-year-old wife of comedian Paul Merton, who died after a brief illness. The writer and producer was diagnosed with breast cancer last February and

died on Tuesday morning with her husband at her bedside.