Lecturer credits Glasgow for helping her beat cancer

And the brave university lecturer says even with cancer "life is amazing"... and she credits Glasgow with getting her well again.

The 36-year-old is now back in the job she loves - an information studies lecturer and expert in medieval manuscripts at Glasgow University - after a tough 12 months.

Johanna said: “I was in shock when I heard the word cancer as I’d never even been in hospital for an operation before.

“I owe so much to the NHS heroes who got me through cancer.

"My first annual CT scan has just come back clear and I can officially say that I’m in remission.

"So many people deserve my thanks, from the tea lady who kept me smiling each day with a cuppa in hospital to the phenomenal surgeon Martha Quinn who gave me back my life.

"I was lucky to meet amazing nurses looking after me during chemotherapy sessions and wonderful district nurses who later cared for me at home.

"I wouldn’t be here without them.

“I moved to Glasgow 18 years ago when I started university and I’ve never left.

"It’s a gem of a city and I feel so proud to be able to help raise awareness and say thank you Glasgow for getting me well again.

"People make Glasgow. There’s no doubt about that.”

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Johanna, who grew up in Sunderland, vividly recalls the uncertainty when she visited the out of hours clinic at Gartnavel Hospital with crippling stomach pain last July, the week before her 35th birthday.

She was sent to the Royal Infirmary for tests which showed a tear in her bowel had caused an infection.

After an intravenous drip of antibiotics, Johanna was discharged from hospital.

At the follow up appointment on August 14, she was told she had cancer. Fortunately her parents, Wynn and Dave were with her.

Johanna said: “I’m so glad my mum and dad were with me in the room that morning.

“They’ve been a brilliant support since day one. We actually went out for lunch in the West End after the appointment and I remember thinking, ‘What just happened?’ "I was so young with no family history of bowel cancer. I couldn’t believe it.

"At least it was a cancer they could operate on and get out. Everything happened quickly after that.”

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On August 22 last year, Johanna had a seven hour operation at Glasgow Royal Infirmary to remove the tumour. Her left ovary was also removed and a colostomy bag fitted.

A colostomy is a procedure that sees the colon diverted via an opening in the abdomen known as a stoma.

Johanna spent three days in the intensive care ward then finally got home from hospital seven days later.

Doctors explained they’d graded the cancer at stage four but were confident they’d got everything out.

In October, Johanna started the first of 12 rounds of chemotherapy at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre.

She was well enough to attend Glasgow University graduation in November and proudly watched as the 42 students she’d loved teaching graduated with MSc degrees in Information Management and Preservation.

It was an unforgettable moment when the class presented her with a ‘literary hamper’ packed full of specially selected gifts including stickers, pencils, a book and a mug.

Johanna said: “I’d not really cried a lot during treatment for cancer but receiving this beautifully thought out gift from my students completely broke me.

“I missed work so much when I was unwell. People at work have been great.

"They’ve made a horrendously difficult situation manageable.”

Johanna completed cancer treatment in April this year and is currently preparing for a new academic year to start this autumn.

And she has wise words for anyone going through cancer right now.

She said: “It’s been the most crazy year but I’m still here.

“I never thought bowel cancer could happen to me in my mid 30s. I thought it was a disease that happened to older people.

"Now I’m keen to raise awareness that bowel cancer can happen to young people too.

"If I’d known more about the risks and the symptoms, perhaps things would have been different for me and the cancer caught earlier.

“Of course there are difficult moments but you can still live your life while going through cancer.

"Life continues and it can still be amazing. My life has definitely been enriched by all the people I’ve met along the way.”

Now she’s been chosen as VIP to sound the horn and send around 1000 Scots on Cancer Research UK’s Shine Night Walk in Glasgow on Saturday August 17.

The 10K will see people of all ages and abilities uniting through light to raise money for life-saving research.

It will be an emotional moment for Johanna when she steps up on stage to rally the crowd - almost exactly a year since her world was shattered by cancer.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and last year Cancer Research UK spent more than £42 million on research in to bowel cancer.

Money raised from Shine Glasgow will help Cancer Research UK scientists find new ways to treat cancer and save lives.

Participants can choose to raise money for the area of cancer research closest to their hearts, selecting from 12 different areas of scientific research.

Entries are still open for The Shine Night Walk on August 17 at 9pm which starts at the Scottish Event Campus.

The 10K route crosses over Bell’s Bridge, passing BBC Scotland and STV headquarters.

Participants will then pass back over the River Clyde and along the Broomielaw then up to George Square and past Glasgow Cathedral and landmarks including the Duke of Wellington statue outside the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow Cathedral and Strathclyde University.

The route will also pass Cancer Research UK flagship shop on Queen Street before heading back to the River Clyde and the finish line.

Lauren Robertson, Cancer Research UK’s event manager in Scotland, said: “We’re so pleased to bring Cancer Research UK’s Shine Night Walk to Glasgow again.

“We hope the whole community will unite behind this special, emotional event on August 17. The battle against cancer never stops. We need everyone to sign up and start fundraising towards research that will bring hope to people affected by the disease."

To enter Shine Night Walk, visit www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved