Cancer patient's luck -- a big lottery win

SWINDON, England, July 7 (UPI) -- A British cancer patient says the worst time in her life ended in a burst of luck when she was declared cancer-free and then won a big lottery jackpot.

Nicky Cusack, 43, of Swindon, 80 miles west of London, was the only winner in a Lotto drawing last week, The Daily Telegraph reported. She won 2.49 million pounds ($4 million).

"It still hasn't sunk in," she said. "It's been surreal."

Cusack, a single mother of four, said she plans to return to her job in a supermarket once her chemotherapy and radiation therapy is done. She said she will need the "normality."

In January, she was attacked and bitten by a pack of dogs as she tried to shield her children from the animals. In April, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and endured two operations. She learned two weeks ago the cancer had been completely removed.

"Since January my luck has been awful, its been a horrible six months but something at last has come good for me," she said.

Once she is through with the "absolute hell" of cancer treatment, she plans a delayed vacation with her children.