A harrowing cancer diagnosis has the mum seizing every day.

Competing on My Kitchen Rules with her daughter, Maree, is a “dream come true” for proud Greek mum, Anne.

“I’ve loved this show ever since it started,” she tells New Idea.

“I used to watch it with my own mother, Mary, and she’d say to me, ‘You should do this’.”

Sadly, Mary passed away two-and-a-half years ago, so Anne, 66, and Maree, 42, named their instant restaurant ‘Yia Yia Mary’s’ in her honour.

“I think Mum was watching over us when we cooked,” says Anne.
Anne and late mum MaryAnne’s late mum, Mary, pushed her to do MKR. (Credit: Supplied)
She and Maree scored 78 out of 110 and were fast-tracked to Kitchen HQ alongside contestants Justin and Will.

“Mum would’ve been doing a little dance in heaven; she’d be so proud of us,” Anne adds.

Anne says she was also inspired to compete on MKR because she tries to “grab life with both hands”, ever since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her mid-forties.

Her doctor said it was “a miracle” that her cancer was caught when it was.

“My grandmother had breast and ovarian cancer, so I was having regular mammograms,” Anne explains.

“But a year before I was due to be examined again, I just knew something wasn’t right. There was no lump, and I felt well, but I just had a feeling.”

That feeling saved Anne’s life because the early mammogram discovered an aggressive cancer, at an early stage, in her left breast.
Anne, Maree, HarryHarry has been cheering his wife and daughter on. (Credit: Supplied)
“If I’d waited another 12 months, my doctor said I would most likely have had full-blown stage-four cancer,” Anne shares.

Anne says it was a “yucky” time, explaining: “I was so afraid of leaving my kids, and my husband, Harry. I was also terrified that I’d never get to meet my grandchildren.”

But, after a year of intensive treatment and close monitoring, five years later, a relieved Anne was given the all clear. To celebrate, her family threw a massive party.

Despite it being a tough time, Anne says she “wouldn’t change the experience for the world.” “It made me stronger, more resilient, and it brought us even closer together as a family,” she tells us.

“Now, I’m doing MKR with my wonderful daughter. Even if we don’t win, I am already so blessed.”