"THIS is the new normal."

That's how Melanie O'Neill's 11-year-old daughter Lois described life after finding out her mum's body was clear of cancer.

It has been an incredibly emotional six years for the O'Neill family in Penketh after hairdresser Mel was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.

After appearing on the front page of the Warrington Guardian newspaper in 2011, the mum-of-two has regularly been blogging the highs and many lows of her treatment for our website.

But last week her latest entry revealed there had been a major breakthrough.

After being placed on a clinical trial, which started in November last year, Mel was told by doctors the 2.5cm nodule they had previously thought was cancerous was actually a bone in her chest.

She added: "It's surreal and it took ages for the news to sink in.

"My husband Carl didn't believe me and it took three phone calls to convince him.

"My day-to-day life still involves scans as the trial will go on indefinitely.

"The side effects mean my eyes are constantly watering but it feels good to know I'm doing something for a treatment that's worked so well for me.

"It's inflammatory breast cancer so it will never go away.

"I'm not stupid so I do know the cancer could still be lurking but at the moment I've not got it anywhere and that's the best news I could have hoped for."

The news received hundreds of likes, shares and comments on our Facebook page and helped add to courageous Mel's ever-growing fanbase.

She said: "I started the blogs because I needed to get my feelings down on paper.

"But now women come into the shop (O'Neills Hair and Beauty) asking how I am after reading the blog and two strangers stopped me in the supermarket last week to say congratulations.

"I'm just glad I'm helping so many people when originally I did it to help myself.

"I've got 800 friends on Facebook and only personally know about 200 people as I've had so many friend requests from people who have been through the same journey."

While Mel has helped many people with her candid blogs, her two biggest fans will always be her daughters Lois, 11, and Darcey, 10.

The proud pair admit they struggle to remember a time with their mum before seeing her in the school playground with no hair due to chemotherapy but are now looking forward to the 'new normal'.

Mel added: "All I want now is to stay well and see my kids grow up.

"I'm not thankful for having cancer but it has made me think and appreciate life and teach the kids to live in the moment and enjoy everything.

"I've met so many wonderful people because of cancer and experienced so many amazing things on top of the fantastic Rainbow Balls organised by my best friend Nicola Leadbetter.

"They gave me something wonderful to look forward to each year. 

"But something I would have struggled to get out of bed without is hope.

"Doctors have a lot to learn about bedside manners as when they take your hope away it's so hard to come back from the depths of despair.

"I'm so fortunate to have had an oncologist who cares.

"My advice to anyone with cancer is nobody has a crystal ball and anything can happen so have some faith and positivity and visualise yourself being well."