VAL PESARRA was just 31 and the mother of a young child when doctors gave her the news she had been dreading. The pea-sized lump she had found in her right breast was cancerous. She had a mastectomy, then Val took the decision to have her left breast removed as well to limit the chances of the disease returning. Now 45, the bed-and-breakfast owner and part-time sales negotiator for Miller Homes, wonders how she coped both emotionally and financially. "I had a 10-year-old son and the year before we had bought a bed and breakfast in Chollerford. "We had a massive commitment with the mortgage and then whoosh, I was diagnosed with cancer. "It wasn't like Ronnie and myself had jobs where we received sick pay. Ronnie is a self-employed driving instructor and I am a self-employed bed and breakfast owner. Even though I was undergoing treatment for the cancer, we had to keep the bed and breakfast going to pay the mortgage. "If it hadn't been for the help of friends and family, I don't know how we would have kept it all going." Neither Val nor Ronnie had any savings to fall back on. "Ronnie has always had long-term sickness cover if he can't work because he has always earned more than me. But I have never had anything. "We don't have pensions either. We have always had a big mortgage and put all our money into our home. Property is our fallback." Val's cancer was diagnosed in April 1991 - at the start of the holiday season. With money tight the couple were forced to sell off part of their home in Chollerford as a self-contained cottage. "We were fortunate we lived in a big old mill and could do that. With the money we were able to pay off a chunk of the mortgage," Val says. Fourteen years on and she is fully recovered. But Val still hasn't taken any financial precautions should serious illness strike again. "I think it would be very hard for me to get any sort of insurance cover. We changed mortgage and, because of my cancer, it all got very messy. We had to really jump through hoops. "At least now I am working part-time so, if anything happens, I will be entitled to sick pay. And, if the worst comes to the worst, we have our home to sell. I count myself lucky. I have survived breast cancer and I have family and friends who have rallied around. "But God knows what you would do for money if you were single and fell ill and couldn't work, or if your partner walked out on you. I suppose that's a good reason for getting your finances in order" | 
