A mother of two is making a big splash to mark five years of being all clear from breast cancer.

Nadine Lewin, along with 17 friends and colleagues at Leicestershire County Council, has begun a 90-mile sponsored swim to raise cash for Cancer Research UK and awareness for the disease.

Team members, between them, will swim 5,760 lengths of a 25-metre pool over the next 10 weeks.

Ms Lewin, from Ellistown, said: "In January, I reached the end of my five-year recovery period after being diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted to do something to raise awareness and help save lives.

"My breast cancer was diagnosed in October 2006.

"I was devastated. It was a terrible shock. My daughter Emily was three at the time and I wondered if I would ever see her grow up."

Ms Lewin, now 50, first went to her doctor because she could feel a small lump in her breast.

Specialists at Glenfield Hospital confirmed it was cancer. A few weeks later, she underwent surgery to remove the lump but had to have a second operation, in January 2007, because surgeons felt they needed to remove more tissue to be on the safe side.

Ms Lewin, an operations manager with the county council's library service, then had nearly seven weeks of radiotherapy.

She said: "I was gutted I had to go back for a second operation but doctors said they had found the cancer early and it was curable.

"I decided I just had to get on with it and I tried to hide away my worries.

"I carried on working while I was having the radiotherapy. I just wanted to keep myself going and to stay motivated.

"My colleagues were a fantastic support."

Ms Lewin and colleagues have already done a number of sponsored swims over the past few years.

She said: "We have never done one as long as this – it is the distance of the Irish Sea crossing between Holyhead and Dublin, 62 miles, followed by a cool down swim of the River Soar, 28 miles.

"I wanted to do something big to mark the five years since I had my diagnosis.

"I also want to raise awareness of the importance of women checking themselves.

"I always did and it has helped to save my life."

Ms Lewin is hoping to swim at least two miles a week for the next 10 weeks and her daughter, Emily, will also be taking part to help the team raise £1,000.

The event is being backed by the firm Stena Ferry, which has promised a free car and two passenger ticket for the Holyhead to Dublin ferry as a raffle prize.

Debbie Fitzgerald, Leicestershire area volunteer manager for Cancer Research UK, said: "Our fund-raisers constantly amaze us. Ninety miles is a massive distance to cover by any means, let alone in the water.

"We thank Nadine for her inspiration and all of her supporters that will make this a great success."

Anyone who would like to sponsor the team can visit:

www.myprojects.cancerresearchuk.org/fundraise/ fundraising-pages/ 90-mile-sponsored-swim