A BRAVE cancer patient from Greenock is following her dream to compete in a top class race at Silverstone or Brands Hatch despite her diagnosis.

Michelle Montgomery, 41, is a keen biker and she hopes to take her love of motorsport up a gear by taking part in the Formula Woman competition.

The former engineer and lecturer has overcome a series of health issues in her life but has never let them hold her back.

Michelle, a single mum-of-three from Branchton, said: "I've had depression for 19 years and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia six years ago.

"Then in April I was diagnosed with cancer.

"I was concerned about a few bruises I'd got from moving the bike out of the garage.

"Then I noticed there was a lump underneath.

"I saw my doctor on Thursday and on the Friday I was up at the hospital for a biopsy and a mammogram.

"I needed another biopsy, because the first one was inconclusive, and an ultrasound and within two weeks I had a diagnosis."

Michelle, who has two sons, Rhys, 19, and Aidan, 16, and a daughter Abbie, 15, has undergone a double breast reduction and lumpectomy and has had lymph nodes from under her arm.

Only a week before her surgery she did the North Coast 500, a 516-mile route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle.

She said: "I went with a few guys I’ve been riding with for over two years - we had actually been planning the trip for a couple of years and I thought I was going to have to cancel but my surgery was put back two weeks meaning I was able to go."

When Michelle was initially told that she may have to have chemotherapy, she went into the hairdressers and had her long hair shaved off, raising over £500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The mum has recently undergone two weeks of radiotherapy treatment and has to take hormone blockers for the next 10 years.

She says the latest health scare got her thinking about 'her bucket list' and when she saw the advert for Formula Women, she went for it.

She said: "I have always been into motorsport and I've always loved Knockhill.

"The day I was told that the chemo was cancelled I applied."

Michelle has to go through a series of hurdles to make it into the track contest.

One of her friends from the biking group donated her entry fee and another paid for a track day assessment while Michelle forked out £300 for a simulator session.

She said: "If I get through to the final stage I could be racing in Brands Hatch or Silverstone on a McLaren GT, which would be amazing."

Michelle dreamed of being an engineer before going in to social care and although she loved it she still hankered after her dream job.

She told the Telegraph: "I went back to college and I was an apprentice with Rolls Royce - I was the oldest apprentice in the whole of the UK.

"Then I took my redundancy and worked in the oil and gas industry."

When her son was diagnosed with tourettes she had to come home and taught at the nautical college for two years before having to stand down due to her fibromyalgia.

But she is relishing her latest challenge and is fundraising to help her on her journey.

You can support her via https://www.facebook.com/Mels-Moto-106335755064686/