After that day in 2011, she was forced to spend six months in bed, undergo chemotherapy and deal with excruciating pain.

Today, she looks back on those dark times from a better place, from somewhere much healthier and happier.

Although she thanked her oncologist for her lifesaving treatment, Mrs Steele said it was her stubbornness and her animals that saved her life.

On a rural property near Prospect, Mrs Steele and her husband Brett share their 1o hectares with more than 450 animals.

The goats, cats, cockatoos, cows, pigs and rabbits of the Big Ears Animal Sanctuary can be heard from a mile away.

The sanctuary takes rescued or unwanted animals and nurses them back to health, gives them a new home on the property and looks after them for life.

Admitting to a life-long love of animals, Mrs Steele works more than full-time hours, alongside a team of volunteers, to take care of her ever-growing extended family.

And when things got really tough and she could not get out of bed, Mrs Steele would make sure she could see photographs of her animals.

When her mind could have wandered to a much sadder place, she thought of her animals, of the progress they had made and the happiness they had brought her.

While she still has cancer in her body and a terminal diagnosis, Mrs Steele said  the cancer was not doing anything new and  she felt healthier than she had in a long time.

‘‘It was shocking when I first found out I had cancer,’’ she said.

‘‘My first thought was what is going to happen to the animals.

‘‘I was extremely sick, after the first diagnosis I was hospitalised a number of times and it was just a long, hard journey.

‘‘I’m doing really well at the moment.

‘‘I have had a number of tests recently and they have shown that I have cancer in my body but it’s not doing anything bad, it’s good news because I shouldn’t be here really.’’

With a real belief that love and attention from animals has healing-like properties, Mrs Steele is still around today to give her animal family constant care.

‘‘When I was stuck in bed, Brett would bring me in pictures of the animals that I couldn’t see and that just kept me going because I missed them so much,’’ she said.

‘‘I wasn’t ready to go because I kept thinking that I had to see the new bunny pens and I had to bond the cats.

‘‘Today, I feel like I have a second chance and anything’s possible.’’

Mrs Steele’s good health is a welcome relief after a period last year when the couple thought they would have to seriously consider what would be feasible for the property’s future due to her illness.