A new website set up by a Southampton woman allows breast cancer sufferers to compare notes about their battles against the disease...

ONE of the first times Jan Diaz ventured out in her wig, she fled the shop in tears. The mum of three had carefully positioned the short, brown hairpiece before venturing to Sainsbury's with her son's girlfriend.

But while they were in the fruit and veg aisle, disaster struck.

The pair realised the label on Jan's wig was sticking out.

Giggles started - followed by outright guffaws when attempts to rectify the problem only made it worse.

Jan, 60, said: "It was a comedy scene fit for any Only Fools and Horses episode.

"I attempted to get the label back, only to find I had dislodged my whole wig and it was then at a terrible slant."

In the end, the pair left the store with tears of laughter trickling down their cheeks.

The anecdote is one of the lighter moments of Jan's cancer journey.

Diagnosed with breast cancer last summer, she has kept a personal diary of her experience.

From being whipped in to hospital to have her breast removed, to the months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy which followed, every step was jotted down.

Now Jan has decided to share extracts of her moving account in a bid to help others going through the same ordeal.

With help from her son Jose, 28, a software engineer, she has set up a website to give women the down-to-earth, practical advice and support that she herself badly needed over the past seven months.

Jan, of Midanbury, Southampton, said: "I went into total shock when I was told I would have to undergo surgery to remove my breast.

"When family spoke to me, all I seemed to do was cry.

"After my initial reaction, I went into denial. Then I decided I had to be positive and fight this thing, but when I looked for people in the same position, all I could find was medical advice.

"I wanted to know what women in the same predicament as myself were feeling day by day and how we could help each other."

Jan's online journal allows women to publish their own personal breast cancer experiences and read those submitted by others.

At the touch of a button, users can share information and tips.

Former catering manager Jan, who lives with her Spanish husband, Bernardo, 62, went to her GP when she discovered a spot on her breast last July.

Within a fortnight, she was in hospital for a mastectomy.

Now at the end of a six-month course of chemotherapy, she will have to take tablets for the next five years.

But she refuses to feel sorry for herself.

"At first, I used to think 'why is this happening to me?' I was really, really low," she said.

"Then when I was at the hospital I saw a 17-year-old girl with a long wig on who was laughing and laughing, and that put it all into perspective."

WEBSITE: www.thebreastcancerblog.com