A BATTLE with cancer gave a woman the courage she needed to get a new job where she has risen through the ranks.

Petrina Murphy secured a job on the railway after her cancer scare.

Now, more than two decades later, she has created a career that has seen her become a familiar face for thousands of commuters every day.

Petrina, who works as Abellio Greater Anglia’s area customer service manager for Tendring, quit her job as a taxi driver and became a ticket office clerk at Chelmsford station in 1993.

She said: “Being diagnosed with breast cancer definitely gave me the impetus to change my life.

“It made me look at things differently. I couldn’t bear the thought of dying.”

After five years in the ticket office, she was promoted to station supervisor before being seconded to become duty manager at Liverpool Street station in 2000.

Now she has become area customer services manager on the Clacton and Walton branch lines.

Petrina added: “I’m proud of my achievements.

“Working my way from the ticket office to supervisor to where I amnow has given me a good insight into the industry.

“The job is about being there for everyone. I always try to take responsibility for things.”