A TEACHER in Salisbury who has faced breast cancer twice is lacing up her walking boots to thank the hospital team who helped her through her darkest days.

Jo Argyle, head of maths at South Wilts Grammar School, will take on this year’s Walk for Wards fundraiser for Salisbury Hospital’s charity, the Stars Appeal, at Wilton House on Sunday, July 5.

Jo, first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 aged 41, said taking part is her way of giving back to the Breast Unit team who cared for her after cancer returned last year.

“I was so convinced it was just a lump,” she said, recalling her first diagnosis. “I had all these scans and went to see the consultant who told me they were treating it as breast cancer.

“I just cried, I said ‘I don’t want this’. It was very hard telling my children who were ten at the time. It was a big shock for everybody.”

Scans revealed five tumours and Jo underwent a mastectomy and six rounds of chemotherapy, finishing treatment in August 2016.

However, in April last year, she found another lump where her breast had been removed.

“They got me in very quickly and I had scans and two biopsies there and then. I started to cry, I knew then what it was, that the cancer was back,” Jo added.

“It was so traumatic the first time; to have it happen again was devastating.”

Jo underwent surgery and radiotherapy in June 2025 and now has regular checks at Salisbury Hospital’s dedicated Breast Unit, opened in 2017 with support from the Stars Appeal.

“The Breast Care nurses run the unit like their home. I feel completely at ease there,” she said. “The Breast Care team look after you and take care of everything.”

This year, walkers raising money for the Breast Unit will help fund a new £300,000 mammogram machine.

Participants can choose from 3k, 5k, 10k or 15k routes. Entry is free and includes lunch plus access to Wilton House gardens and adventure playground.

To sign up or donate, visit www.starsappeal.org or call 01722 429005.