FRIENDS and family of a 36-year-old mum who lost her year-long battle with breast cancer this month have paid tribute to her determination to stay positive to the last.

Cerys Hudson, who had a six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter, was described as “an amazing person” by her mother, Rhian Hudson.

Speaking ahead of the funeral tomorrow, Mrs Hudson said while her daughter’s struggle had eventually ended in tragedy, she hoped Cerys would provide inspiration to all those who would go on to beat breast cancer in the future.

“Cerys was diagnosed in April last year,” said Mrs Hudson.

“She took it on the chin and came out fighting. She didn’t let it beat her right until the very end.”

Mrs Hudson said her daughter’s strength saw her through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a mastectomy while still being a mother to Jack, six, and four-year-old Leah.

Mrs Hudson said: “She was very open with the children and we tried to tell them as much as possible and that mummy was not going to feel very well at times. But she kept winning through.”

Cerys was born in York and was a pupil of Fishergate School before going to Fulford School near her home in Broadway West.

After leaving school, she embarked on a career as a clinical trial administrator with the drugs company Smith & Nephew then, following the birth of her children, she took a job as a controller at Station Taxis in York.

Keith Hatfield, a former colleague, said: “She never once complained about a thing. I never saw her cry or shed a tear. She phoned me three weeks ago and said it was terminal, but she was still strong. She was an example to everyone in what must have been very difficult times.”

After learning the cancer had spread to her back, Cerys died only weeks later at home on March 23, surrounded by her family.

Her mother said she and her husband, Gerry, are currently taking care of Jack and Leah with help from the whole family, including the children’s father, Cerys’s ex-partner.

The funeral takes place at St Oswald’s, in Fulford, at 1.45pm tomorrow – a date her mother said she would have found funny, being April Fools’ Day.

She thanked all the medical staff who had helped her daughter and Fishergate School for providing support for Jack and Leah.