Julia Gailes (left) with sister Wendy Moffett (Image: Lee McLean / SWNS)
Julia Gailes, 48, found a lump in her left breast and while waiting for test results, sister Wendy Moffett, 57, discovered a similar lump in her right breast. Not wanting to worry her little sister, Wendy secretly had tests and was diagnosed with the same cancer as Julia, five weeks after her sibling. The pair both had single mastectomies two months apart and Julia had chemotherapy and radiotherapy - Wendy receiving limited radiotherapy and no chemotherapy due to a weak heart.
They supported each other through 18 months of treatment, and in March last year Julia got the all-clear.
Ten months later Wendy was told she has a year to live.
The pair are closer than ever and even threw a joint party to celebrate life.
Married mother-of-three Julia, of Consett, Co Durham, said: "If I was going to go through this with anyone, it's Wendy but knowing that I'm going to be OK when she will not be has been too much to bear."
Grandmother-of-four Wendy, a former end-of-life carer, of Bishop Auckland, said: "I
