WHEN Debra Clark was diagnosed with both type 2 diabetes and cancer she found her fighting spirit.

The 61-year-old former NHS worker received the devastating news in 2016 then spent 18 months being treated for pelvic sarcoma at the Royal Marsden Hospital, in West London.

Complications during a major op for the cancer meant she lost a kidney, but by December 2017 she felt revived enough to tackle the diabetes.

At diagnosis, she had been prescribed statins and metformin, to lower her blood sugar, but was given no dietary advice.

She now figured there was not much she could have done about the cancer but she could certainly ensure her one remaining kidney stayed healthy.

Debra, who has now moved from London to Roche, Cornwall, says: “I felt I’d been given a second chance at life.

“Previously, I hadn’t really been looking after my health. I was stressed in my job and living on coffees and KitKats.”

The diabetes.co.uk website opened her eyes. The mum-of-three signed up to the Low Carb Program in February last year and, just six weeks later, her average blood glucose reading (HbA1c) had dropped from 66 to a healthier 41.

By June it was down to 39. Anything over 48 is considered diabetic.

The battle to put her type 2 diabetes into remission had been won.

These days a typical lunch for Debra is smoked salmon, egg and avocado salad, and breakfast could be cheese-and-mushroom omelette or poached eggs.

Not eating breakfast is OK, too. Debra loves coffee with double cream, a naughty-but-nice low-carb alternative. She says: “It is delicious.”

And she adds: "To think I spent years following diets like Weight Watchers and actually put on weight . . . I also didn’t enjoy the food anywhere near as much.”

Weight loss was not a big deal for Debra because she had already lost nearly three stone though her cancer ordeal.

But she is delighted to be eating normally and weighing around 9st, which she is maintaining with lots of walking.

Although she has been told she no longer needs medication, she has decided to keep taking a low dose of Metformin due to possible anti-cancer benefits, which are currently being investigated.

“I feel healthier than I have done in years. I figured that having cancer was just down to bad luck. There wasn’t much I could have done about it.

“Diabetes, however, I found I could do something about.”

Get your exclusive meal plan approved by the NHS

TYPE 2 diabetes is a ticking time bomb.

But The Sun newspaper exclusively brings you a revolutionary eating plan to help you kick it into touch – or stop you developing the condition in the first place.

We have teamed up with The Low Carb Program, the world’s leading platform helping to combat type 2 diabetes. But the plan can be followed by ANYONE who wants to achieve sustainable weight loss and improve health, with no need to count calories or go hungry.

In January it was approved for use within the NHS, and added to the NHS’s library of apps. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also backed the plan.

It can help support type 2 diabetes remission but is not aimed at those with type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease usually diagnosed in childhood.

The Sun's print edition will give you a taster of the plan, its great recipes and show you how you can still enjoy a takeaway without spiking your blood sugar levels.

In Tuesday's paper you can find delicious lunch recipes to help you eat your way to better health in the second of five special pullouts to collect.

Husband Paul, 60, and daughters Vicki, 33, Ellie, 28, and Maia, 23, love the new diet, too, and have been delighted by the wide choice of tasty meals helping to keep them all trim.

Favourites include bolognese using courgette ribbons instead of spaghetti, and slow-cooked cuts of pork and lamb with lots of veg.

She says: “My sweet tooth has all but disappeared but I do have the occasional sugar-free jelly or berries and cream.”

In fact, Debra now feels so fit and well, she has introduced a new member of the family — miniature Schnauzer dog, Dennis.

They go for walkies three times a day. Debra says: “Taking him for a run is a pleasure after all I’ve been through.”

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