However, the day before her sister was scheduled to walk down the aisle in July 2010, the Old Kilpatrick mum-of-two had her world turned upside down as she was given the devastating news she had cervical cancer.

She said: “It was an absolute nightmare. I was just devastated. I was so young and have two young children.

“I felt like I was fit and healthy at the time. And my smear tests were all up to date and fine so I never gave it a thought that anything could be wrong. I didn’t really know anything about cervical cancer — only what I had heard about Jade Goody.” The 36-year-old decided not to tell her sister Lynne or the family that she had the disease until after her sister’s wedding, although Adele says she couldn’t have got through the day without her husband Stephen by her side.

She said: “It was my sister’s big day and I didn’t want everyone to be miserable. So we just tried to put it to the back of our minds.

“We thought we could deal with it after the wedding. It was a beautiful day. We knew this bombshell was coming but we wanted to be happy for my sister.” Adele had been to see her GP after she had some abnormal bleeding and a biopsy and further scans revealed she had cervical cancer.

As one of four sisters who are all close, she says it wasn’t easy for her to keep the devastating news to herself but she eventually revealed the truth around three weeks later, when the newly-weds had returned from honeymoon.

She added: “I wanted to let Lynne enjoy her honeymoon. Trying to stop the news coming out somehow online wasn’t easy. She couldn’t believe we kept it from her. I still felt bad telling her then. She had just come back from Thailand on a high and then I had to hit her with this terrible news.” However, it was even harder having to break the news to her children Eva, aged nine, and five-year-old Logan.

She added: “I didn’t use the word cancer. I didn’t want Eva worrying and Logan was so young.

“We just told them mummy wasn’t well and had a sore tummy but the medicine was making her better.

“I think it did really affect them. They must have seen references to cancer on TV and one night when I was reading Eva a story she asked, ‘are you still breathing mummy?’” Adele had chemotherapy, followed by surgery and radiotherapy and has responded well to eight months of treatment.

She is now passionate about supporting life saving research and is lacing up her trainers to do Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life in Glasgow.

She said: “Before I got cancer I felt like I was the fittest I had ever been. I was running, going to Zumba and was a full time working mum. Then after surgery I think I lost my confidence.

“I can’t wait to do Race for Life again. It helps people survive this terrible disease I was very lucky and have been overwhelmed by the care and support I received. If I can now help raise awareness or in any way I will do it.” Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life is an inspiring women-only series of 5k and 10k events which raise millions of pounds every year to help defeat cancer by funding life-saving research.

To enter Race for Life today go to www.raceforlife.org or call 0845 600 6050.