A YOGA teacher has written a book of poems covering her battle with cancer and her friends' fights with the disease.

Edwina Thompson, from Leigh, wrote 44 poems for A Warrior's Words: A Journey Through Triple Negative Breast Cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in January 2017.

After joining a Facebook group for women with the same disease, she made friends with Cath Quigley, from Leigh, and Julie Ainsworth, from Westhoughton.

Julie lost her battle with cancer in May at the age of 51 and Edwina has dedicated her book in her memory.

Mum-of-two Edwina, 49, said: "Julie, Cath and I were like the three amigos. We met up and talked about our experiences of going through the treatment together.

"I decided to start writing about what it is like having cancer as well as how people with it feel at different times.

"After Julie died, her brother David also read out one of my poems at her funeral service.

"A lot of people have said the writing is brutally honest and raw about cancer. There is a myriad of things which the poems cover.

"It is great to see what people have said because I want them to know what living with it is like."

Edwina, who has had 15 rounds of radiotherapy and six rounds of chemotherapy, is currently in remission but knows her cancer can come back.

She added: "One of the main reasons why I have written the book is because there needs to be more funding for triple negative breast cancer.

"It had a tendency to affect women in their 20s and 30s and it is not known what is feeding this type of cancer at the moment."

Money from the sales will be donated to the Shine Bright Foundation, which specialises in raising money into research for triple negative cancer.

Edwina, who runs classes at Lotus Flower Yoga and Wellbeing Centre on Lord Street, has also recorded yoga podcasts in London recently explaining how the exercise can help people with cancer.

Her book will be launched at The Lamp Bar on Market Street in Atherton on Sunday from 4pm to 7pm.

Edwina will be there to sign copies.

To order it online click here.