A 20-year-old woman who was inspired to lose nearly half her body weight after winning her fight against cancer has been named Slimming World's Miss Slinky 2012.
Emma Parker shed more than eight stone after believing she had been given a second chance at life.
In August 2010, aged 18 and already unhappy with her weight, the customer services adviser from Jacksdale, Nottinghamshire, was devastated when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
But when doctors confirmed she was beating the disease, she decided to join her local Slimming World group and managed to lose 8st 3.5lb and drop seven dress sizes in just seven months.
Miss Parker said: "Having Hodgkin's lymphoma made me realise how important life is and not to take things like your health for granted.
"I wanted to be as healthy as I could so that if anything ever happened again I would be fitter and stronger, and I wanted to change everything that made me unhappy, which my weight definitely did."
Miss Parker, who lives with her parents and works for the Co-operative Group, was overweight from the age of eight or nine.
At her heaviest she weighed more than 18 stone and found even simple tasks like cleaning, walking the dog or climbing stairs left her out of breath and her joints aching.
Then, 18 months ago, she discovered a lump in her neck and was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
She said: "I'd been struggling with my breathing a lot and even started using an inhaler, then I got a cough that wouldn't go away.
"I thought it was all down to my weight so it was a real shock when I found out I had cancer, especially as I was only 18.
"Now I've lost weight I feel so much fitter and healthier and I don't get out of breath any more - even when I go jogging."
After undergoing 12 gruelling chemotherapy sessions and a biopsy, she was delighted when doctors decided she did not need further treatment and, with her doctor's approval, she started her weight loss journey by joining her local Slimming World group in Leabrooks, Alfreton, in March last year.
By October she had reached her target weight of 9st 11lb and had gone from a size 22 to a size 10.
She went on: "I never tried any diets because I didn't believe they'd work for me and I thought I'd always be big.
"My auntie was going to Slimming World and every time I saw her she looked better and better.
"I was nervous because I thought I'd be the youngest person there and worried people would laugh or stare, but there were people of all ages and I got such a warm welcome I immediately felt more relaxed. The results have been unbelievable too."
She started following Slimming World's Food Optimising healthy eating plan and replaced takeaways and fatty foods with healthy home-cooked meals including her favourite chilli con carne and rice.
She said: "It isn't really a diet. There's so much variety that I've never felt bored and it encouraged me to try lots of new foods.
"I lost 4lb in my first week and that's when I knew I could really do it, because I realised I could lose weight without feeling like I was missing out on the things I like."
Her group voted for her to represent them in Slimming World's Miss Slinky 2012 competition and now she has been named the national winner she plans to spend her £2,000 winnings on a new size 10 wardrobe.
Miss Parker, who is hoping to be able to celebrate being given the all-clear for a year next month, added: "Losing weight hasn't just changed the way I look, it's changed my whole outlook on life.
"I'm so much happier now and I believe I can achieve anything I want to. I feel that after having cancer, I've been given a second chance and I want to make the most of it."