By . Lizzie Parry for MailOnline . A mother convinced her sore throat was tonsillitis was horrified to discover the pain was actually due to 35 cancerous tumours. Tracey Stear was diagnosed with throat cancer while in hospital for an unrelated procedure. Telling doctors about the lumps, they ordered a biopsy, which confirmed the devastating diagnosis. Surgeons operated on the 52-year-old, opening her throat from her ear to collar bone to remove the growths - two of which were the size of goose eggs. Mother-of-three Tracey Stear was diagnosed with throat cancer after tests revealed 35 lumps in her throat were cancerous tumours . She was fed through a tube for four months and faced repeated rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, losing more than two stone as a result of her treatment. Ms Stear has now beaten the disease and is fronting a national campaign to raise awareness of the early symptoms of cancer. The grandmother-of-two from Plympton, Devon, said she owes her life to Tass Malik, consultant head and neck surgeon at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, who spotted the problem. She said: 'I had noticed a few lumps and thought it was tonsillitis. I went to hospital for a totally different operation and mentioned I had a problem with my throat, just in case it affected the breathing tube. 'The anaesthetist noticed I had a lump in my neck and took me to a specialist who diagnosed me straight away. Everything just escalated from there. 'I had a biopsy and remember Mr Malik saying: "I can tell you it's cancer". It was at a stage where if I had left it a few weeks longer, I wouldn't be here. 'But he said he could cure me - I owe my life to Derriford Hospital and Mr Malik.' Ms Stear had an operation to remove the tumours, followed by three bouts of chemotherapy, then radiotherapy. She said: 'It took the doctors longer to operate because the biggest tumour had attached to the blood vessels - I was picked apart and put back together again. 'I finished treatment on June 4, 2008 and I will always remember that date. I was fed through my stomach for around four months. I lost about two stone - it's the first time I have ever fit in size eight jeans. The 52-year-old credits her life to consultant head and neck surgeon Tass Malik . 'Losing my hair didn't really bother me and I didn't have a wig. I forced myself to eat yoghurts to start eating again and did the Race for Life in a wheelchair. 'I never worry about anything serious any more. I'm quite happy to stand in the rain. 'Life is precious - you don't realise until you nearly lose it. It changes you totally.' Ms Stear, a support worker for people with learning difficulties, is fronting a new campaign with Cancer research UK and Channel 4 to raise money, awareness and accelerate new cancer treatments to save more lives. She is also drumming up support for the March On Cancer event, a series of fundraising marches taking place across the country on October 11. She said: 'I am through it all now and know I was so fortunate that my cancer was caught early. I want to give something back. 'Even so, my treatment was really harsh. I am standing up to cancer so that we can find kinder treatment for people like me. Research is the key.' Alison Birkett, of Cancer Research UK, said: 'One in three people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. 'Thanks to the incredible progress that's been made in the last 40 years, more people are surviving than ever before. 'But we can't afford to stand still. We have the technology and the knowledge to conquer cancer, we just need the funds to turn it into real-life treatments.' Mr Malik and his team operated on Ms Stear at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, removing the tumours before she was given rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She has now beaten the disease .
Tracey Stear was convinced she had tonsillitis after suffering a sore throat .
52-year-old was in hospital for an unrelated procedure when doctors discovered the lumps and performed a biopsy .
The test confirmed the mother-of-three and grandmother had throat cancer .
Surgeons operated to remove the cancerous growths and Ms Stear was given chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat the disease .
She has beaten the cancer and is  fronting a national awareness campaign .
By . Lizzie Parry for MailOnline . A mother convinced her sore throat was tonsillitis was horrified to discover the pain was actually due to 35 cancerous tumours. Tracey Stear was diagnosed with throat cancer while in hospital for an unrelated procedure. Telling doctors about the lumps, they ordered a biopsy, which confirmed the devastating diagnosis. Surgeons operated on the 52-year-old, opening her throat from her ear to collar bone to remove the growths - two of which were the size of goose eggs. Mother-of-three Tracey Stear was diagnosed with throat cancer after tests revealed 35 lumps in her throat were cancerous tumours . She was fed through a tube for four months and faced repeated rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, losing more than two stone as a result of her treatment. Ms Stear has now beaten the disease and is fronting a national campaign to raise awareness of the early symptoms of cancer. The grandmother-of-two from Plympton, Devon, said she owes her life to Tass Malik, consultant head and neck surgeon at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, who spotted the problem. She said: 'I had noticed a few lumps and thought it was tonsillitis. I went to hospital for a totally different operation and mentioned I had a problem with my throat, just in case it affected the breathing tube. 'The anaesthetist noticed I had a lump in my neck and took me to a specialist who diagnosed me straight away. Everything just escalated from there. 'I had a biopsy and remember Mr Malik saying: "I can tell you it's cancer". It was at a stage where if I had left it a few weeks longer, I wouldn't be here. 'But he said he could cure me - I owe my life to Derriford Hospital and Mr Malik.' Ms Stear had an operation to remove the tumours, followed by three bouts of chemotherapy, then radiotherapy. She said: 'It took the doctors longer to operate because the biggest tumour had attached to the blood vessels - I was picked apart and put back together again. 'I finished treatment on June 4, 2008 and I will always remember that date. I was fed through my stomach for around four months. I lost about two stone - it's the first time I have ever fit in size eight jeans. The 52-year-old credits her life to consultant head and neck surgeon Tass Malik . 'Losing my hair didn't really bother me and I didn't have a wig. I forced myself to eat yoghurts to start eating again and did the Race for Life in a wheelchair. 'I never worry about anything serious any more. I'm quite happy to stand in the rain. 'Life is precious - you don't realise until you nearly lose it. It changes you totally.' Ms Stear, a support worker for people with learning difficulties, is fronting a new campaign with Cancer research UK and Channel 4 to raise money, awareness and accelerate new cancer treatments to save more lives. She is also drumming up support for the March On Cancer event, a series of fundraising marches taking place across the country on October 11. She said: 'I am through it all now and know I was so fortunate that my cancer was caught early. I want to give something back. 'Even so, my treatment was really harsh. I am standing up to cancer so that we can find kinder treatment for people like me. Research is the key.' Alison Birkett, of Cancer Research UK, said: 'One in three people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. 'Thanks to the incredible progress that's been made in the last 40 years, more people are surviving than ever before. 'But we can't afford to stand still. We have the technology and the knowledge to conquer cancer, we just need the funds to turn it into real-life treatments.' Mr Malik and his team operated on Ms Stear at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital, removing the tumours before she was given rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She has now beaten the disease .
convinced her sore throat was tonsillitis was to 35 cancerous tumours. Tracey Stear was diagnosed with throat cancer while in hospital for an unrelated procedure. Telling doctors about the lumps, they ordered a biopsy, which confirmed the devastating diagnosis. Surgeons operated on Ms Stear has now beaten the disease and is fronting a national campaign to raise awareness Malik.' Ms Stear had an operation to remove the the tumours before she was given rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She has now beaten