A MUM-of-two who lost her right eye after battling a rare cancer is to take part in a charity kickboxing fight this weekend.

After being misdiagnosed with neuralgia, Jo Bowness, 43, of Sutton Manor, was told she had adenoid cystic carcinoma of the tear duct in March 2015.

She has been training in martial arts for more than 10 years and will perform a three-round bout with partner Melanie Heaps in The White Collar Boxer Challenge at The Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool on Saturday (March 25) night.

Jo, who has son Callum, 19, and daughter Hollie, 13, is raising cash for head and neck cancers at Aintree Hospital, where she was diagnosed.

She told the Star: "I had been treated for what they thought was neuralgia - I was getting headaches and stabbing pains on the right side of my head and eye ball. At times when it kicked off, it put me in bed. It got progressively worse.

"I had an MRI scan and in January 2015 I was told I had a tumour at the back of my right eyeball. At first they thought it was a benign tumour - it was 3cm and growing up towards my brain.

"After having the tumour removed, I was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma and told the highest chance of survival was to have everything removed – the eye ball, tissue, muscles, everything."

Following an operation, she began intensive radiotherapy in August 2015, involving 32 sessions over a six-week period.

Jo said: "The next stage is reconstruction. They have made me a prosthetic eye – but I'm still waiting for some healing to take place."

She added: "It's been a rollercoaster two years. Kickboxing is a way of staying strong – I'm not going to crumble!"

Jo, who received her black belt in kickboxing prior to diagnosis, trains at The Martial Arts Studio (TMAS) in Haydock Street.

Her friend Sharon Giam said: "Even throughout her treatment, Jo never missed more than six weeks of training at a time. Her journey has been hard but she has faced it head on, never complaining and always staying positive.

"She only started training to encourage her daughter to get involved in martial arts and now both her husband and daughter are black belts."

A percentage of ticket sales for The White Collar Boxer Challenge, which will involve 15 fights, will go towards the cause. For ticket information call 0151 524 9168 or email info@themartialartstudio.co.uk.

A justgiving page has been set up justgiving.com/fundraising/Lee-BownessAintreeHeadandNeckCancers.