POPULAR receptionist Tina Rees returned to work this week after a cancer scare forced her to give up her job last year.

Tina, 47, has worked at Minchinhampton Dental Practice since she left school but had to give up last December after being diagnosed as having breast cancer.

"When I was first diagnosed it was just a complete shock," she said. "I had never been ill before and it was just before Christmas. I was completely devastated."

The SNJ recently reported on how Tina's brave fight touched her colleagues so much they decided to run the Cancer Research UK Race For Life last summer in her name.

The group - which included fellow receptionist Keri Courtney, dental nurses Jackie Gazzard, Jo Johnson and Bev Tomnitz and dentist Abby Michael - raised around £1,600.

Tina, who lives in Randwick with husband Mark and has a 21-year-old daughter, Sarah, has been touched by the support from both staff and patients at the dental practice.

"Everyone I know has been so kind including the patients, who kept asking after me and sponsored the others to do the race," she said.

Initially Tina, who has had two operations, chemotherapy and radiography over the last year, is only returning to work for two days, while she gets back into the swing of work.

"I used to work four mornings a week and I'm not going back to that much yet," she said.

"I only finished my treatment on December 23 so I'm still very tired and my hair is only just growing back now.

"This time last year I didn't know what was going to happen to me and I didn't have a clue what chemotherapy would be like.

"So I was quite eager to be go back to work this week because it means I can get my life back to normal again after the treatment."