A mother-of-two who defeated breast cancer was devastated to discover it had spread to her lungs but says she’s still determined to always look on the bright side of life.

Joanne Aston is now trying to help others by raising £100,000 for a top-of-the-range mammography machine, which produces better images and reduces patients’ waiting times.

She’s hoping a Facebook singing challenge, featuring the Monty Python classic, will further boost funds.

Mrs Aston, of Ringwood Road, Maidstone, is taking a tablet form of chemotherapy to prolong her life after it was discovered that the disease had spread.

The 43-year-old, who has children James, aged six, and two-year-old Sophie with husband Stephen, 37, found a lump in her right breast in July 2013, a month before her daughter’s first birthday.

“I thought it couldn’t be cancer because it was so big. It was about the size of a matchbox,” Mrs Aston said. “I told my husband and family not to worry about coming to the hospital with me as I was so convinced it was a build-up of calcium from breastfeeding.

“I had a biopsy immediately, then the nurse said I would need to start chemotherapy and everything just seemed to stop. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t think I would even make my daughter’s birthday.”

The accountant underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy to cure the advanced illness but was dealt a devastating blow last year when doctors found six tumours in her lung.

Since she began taking the medication about four months ago, three of the masses have disappeared.

Mrs Aston said: “I remain hopeful as I want to live as long as possible for my children and husband. There are days when I when I take myself off to breakdown in tears but we live a normal life most of the time. I work part-time and still pick my son up from school. I refuse to let it beat me.”

The brave mum has used her diagnosis to throw herself into various challenges, including a sponsored wing walk, and has raised £2,700.

Her fundraising campaign is being backed by Breast Cancer Kent, which will present the 3D tomosynthesis to Maidstone Hospital in Hermitage Lane.

The equipment, which is only available in the UK at King’s College Hospital in London, will examine the whole breast without causing creases, which increases the chance of early cancer cells being spotted.

The Facebook campaign encourages people to post a clip of themselves singing a few lines of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, from Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and nominate three others to do the same.

Each person is asked to donate £3 by texting BREA27 to 70070.