What a difference a year makes. Last year, Dundee schoolgirl Megan Fletcher was eagerly looking forward to Christmas with not a care in the world.
Today, Megan, 14, is reflecting on an eventful 12 months which saw her diagnosed with cancer.
In September of this year, the St John’s High School pupil was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and since then her life has been very different.
She started chemotherapy almost straight away at the Sick Kids’ Hospital in Edinburgh and is now more than half-way through six rounds of treatment.
Megan also became the face of the Tele’s Bald is Beautiful Campaign to help us, along with Charlie Kean, raise £20,000 — a target we reached only eight weeks after we started.
She said: “If you had asked me last Christmas what would happen this year I would never have believed you.
“Everything happened so quickly after I was diagnosed and I really didn’t have time to stop to think about it.
“When I was first diagnosed it was really scary.
“I didn’t know what would happen or how I was going to be.
“However, I made up my mind not to worry about things and get on with my life as normally as possible.”
Megan said her treatment was going really well and although she had been sick with the current round of chemo it was helping her.
“I have been told that so far the chemo is working so it’s all worthwhile,” she said.
“Being involved with the Tele campaign has been great fun.
“It’s given me something to focus on other than my illness.
“It’s even been the thing that’s got me motivated on days when I haven’t been feeling so good.
“I’m looking forward to spending Christmas with my family before returning to hospital for treatment in the New Year.”