Denial, shock, panic… These are some of the emotional stages cancer patients go through when they hear their diagnosis.

Grab the shock, multiply it by two, add some fear of the unknown and the feeling will remotely resemble what it’s like to hear the C-word when you have always led a healthy life.

Elspeth Knott, 71, is one of the patients who has been on this emotional rollercoaster.

Having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, Elspeth’s first reaction was disbelief.

“I thought I had lived a healthy life – a non-smoker, a vegetarian and a fit marathon runner”, she said.

“I had no idea what to expect, and no-one to turn to for help.”

Despite the challenge, Elspeth, who lives in Little Bromley, never gave up on exercising.

Three years ago she even became an ambassador for Harwich 5K Your Way, Move Against Cancer – a support group which encourages those living with and beyond cancer, their families and friends to walk, jog, or just cheer.

Now she inspires everyone touched by the diagnosis and reminds them they are not alone.

She said: “I had a lumpectomy and the first visit to my consultant was not what I had expected.

“His first question was ‘What treatment would you like?’

“My mouth must have fallen open, not a word was uttered.

“He then explained, I could choose. It was like taking out insurance when going on holiday - would you choose first class insurance, mediocre or poor?

Elspeth laughs as she said she and her husband never used insurance, but in this case she chose the safest option.

She added: “ I went for first class and had six sessions of chemo at three weekly intervals, followed by six lots of radiotherapy.

“I even learnt how to inject myself to boost white cells.”

Elspeth had to come to terms with her new self, and accepting the hair loss was just a small step towards achieving self-love.

What nurtured that love was her exercise group, the Harwich Runners.

She said: “People were just looking and wouldn’t talk to me.

“It was so strange and difficult to be a different you.

“But my running club was a life saver. I was treated the same as usual, not like a freak without hair and there was no mention of my running being so much slower.

“And that is what I wanted - to get my life back. I needed normality.”

Now Elspeth is offering support to other cancer patients by encouraging them to join the Harwich 5K sessions, which take place on the last Saturday of the month starting at Cliff Park in Dovercourt.

There are about 15 members who have one goal in common – to improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

Elspeth added: “We have people who have had cancer, are finishing treatments now and are going for regular check ups, or have been affected because their husbands, sons, members of the family have had cancer.

“It is important to remember that although the cancer sufferer needs support, so does the family because they are left worrying not knowing how to help.

“I know how much it helped me to get out in the fresh air and run.”

And 20 years after her diagnosis, running is still Elspeth’s safety net.

She said: “My favourite saying is ‘movement is medicine’.

“You can have 101 problems and think about them on the way around but buy the way you have finished your mind is at rest.”