Wiltshire cancer survivor wins £2.4 million lottery windfall (From This Is Wiltshire)

Wiltshire cancer survivor wins £2.4 million lottery windfall

4:43pm Monday 6th July 2009

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A mum who is battling cancer told yesterday how she ended the worst year of her life by scooping a £2.49 million lottery jackpot.

Supermarket assistant Nicky Cusack, 43, has endured a nightmare year after undergoing two operations for breast cancer.

Last month she was forced to cancel her summer holiday to undergo a gruelling course of chemotherapy.

But just two weeks after going into remission the single mum-of-four hit all seven numbers with a lucky dip ticket in last Wednesday's lottery.

Yesterday she recalled the surreal moment she scooped the jackpot - but vowed to return to work normality as a supermarket assistant once her treatment was over.

Miss Cusack, of Swindon, said: "I go to bed before the lottery comes on so didn't check the numbers until Thursday morning.

"I read the first two numbers out to my daughter Jade and she said you've won £10, then I stopped when I realised I had all the other numbers but we both couldn't believe it.

"I phoned my oldest daughter Kelly and asked her to check and she thought we were joking, then she said 'mum you've won the lottery.

"She told me to phone Camelot but by this point I was shaking and it all became just a blur.

"It still hasn't sunk in, it's been surreal."

Her year got off to a disastrous start after she was attacked and savaged by a pack of six baying dogs as she protected her teenage children in January.

She had only just recovered from the brutal dog attack when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April.

Nicky had two operations to remove the cancerous growth and just two weeks ago was old she was cancer free.

She is now set to undergo a preemptive treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to ensure she is given the all clear.

Nicky admitted that all she wants is to get back to normality following her torrid cancer-stricken year.

She has four children, Kelly, 21, Jade, 15, and Mark, 14, and son Adam, 20 - a soldier with the Royal Logistics Corps who returned from a six month tour of Iraq last year.

But admitted that she only broke the news to the rest of her stunned family after organising a 70th birthday party for dad Les Slade on Sunday.

Yesterday Mis Cusack promised to return to the music and film section of the Asda store in Swindon as soon as she has recovered.

She added: "I need to get back to whatever is normality to me so I am going to carry on working after the chemotherapy because I love my job.

"People may say I am mad to go back, but being off sick has been awful, getting back to work has been all I wanted."

Mr Slade said: "I just hope that this brings Nicky the happiness that she deserves.

"But first and foremost the priority is to get her better so luxury holidays are not on the agenda right now."

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