CANCER is one of the world's biggest killers, it breaks up families, strips people of their character and eradicates hope.

But what happens when you survive it?

This week Sophie Mogridge meets five women with five very different stories who are all united by one thing: they have finally beaten cancer.

THERE is a room in Oxford where you can go and be yourself and you won't be judged for the way you feel.

For two months, a group of women travelled across Oxfordshire every week to use the room at the Maggie's Centre for advice on how to re-build their lives after battling cancer.

Great-grandmother Denise Bright signed up for the "Where Now?" sessions as part of her recovery from endometrial cancer, after being diagnosed in February 2015.

The 70-year-old from Kidlington said the diagnosis tore her world apart and forced her to put most aspects of her life on hold.

She said: "The doctors told me I had a very high-grade Cancer and that I would need to have a hysterectomy.

"I ended up losing my ovaries, womb and cervix.

"When you have cancer it's a case of pausing all of aspects of your life.

"That's what it's so important to live life to the full because you never know when your time is up."

The grandmother-of-six first visited Maggie's around the time of her diagnosis and said its services were instrumental in helping her hold everything together throughout the harrowing ordeal.

She said: "After I had my diagnosis I was very scared but Maggie's gave me everything from emotional to practical advice and were both caring and professional towards my needs throughout my illness.

"They're there for you if you want to talk – get things off your chest and have a chat, but they're also there if you don't want to say anything at all and you just want a cuppa."

Now Mrs Bright is no longer fighting the disease, she said she has relied on the Where Now? classes to help her get her life back on track.

She said: "The people at Maggie's have made a big difference in improving my life and my overall outlook on it.

"They've helped me through my toughest moments.

"The strange thing is, if I hadn't been diagnosed with Cancer and I hadn't visited Maggie's I wouldn't have got so involved in art and now I am much more determined with it than ever before.

"Cancer has made me an even better and stronger person."