Mother's Day has become a difficult landmark for Emma Aitkenhead.

Three years ago she lost her mother, Helen, to secondary breast cancer at the age of 57.

Whenever the date comes around, Emma and her sisters are reminded of all the memories of their mum and everything they have missed out on since she passed away.

"It was a shock, I really didn't see it coming and it was terrifying," Emma, from Edinburgh, says.

"It's a word that puts fear into everybody and has pretty horrible associations.

"The doctors told us that the scans had also shown spots in her liver and her lungs. That was an even bigger blow, to immediately be in the situation where it had spread.

"Mum had chemotherapy for six pretty gruelling months and, to put it simply, she handled it like supermum."

The Aitkenhead family lost Helen just nine months after receiving a diagnosis. One of their last family outings was on Mother's Day, following a weekend together at a family wedding.

"Before we knew it was secondary cancer, I do distinctly remember saying to my sister, 'nobody dies of breast cancer now really - that's not going to happen to us is it?'," Emma, 27, adds.

While those nine months were far shorter than Emma or the family had anticipated, she says the family remained strong during this time and have many memories they treasure from those difficult days.

"As a family, we battened down the hatches," says Emma. "We just wanted to be there for mum as much as possible.

"We had a really good Christmas all together at home and we had a trip to the beach the weekend she was diagnosed, which always really sticks in my head.

"Her focus was always just on making sure we were all OK and looking after each other. Sometimes she was strong, sometimes she was scared but most of all, she was there for us and we were there for her."

This Sunday, Emma and her two sisters will join their dad, Geoff, in their family home of Lauder to spoil him and remember their mum together.

"For me, Mother's Day is a difficult day, a day where we all miss her even more than usual," she says.

"We usually remember daft things about her and laugh lots but we have also all adopted the approach in the last couple of years of wishing dad a Happy Mother's Day as well on that date because that's something he has had to embrace and he has done an amazing job at being mum and dad to us."

Three years on, Emma is joining Breast Cancer Now to Share Some TLC in support of their Touch Look Check campaign, which encourages women to be aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer.

"It is still something that needs vital input and research and funding because it is still taking lives," Emma says.

"I never really felt a part of the normal world after mum died. She didn't want to go and that is what troubled me the most. I also hated seeing my sisters and dad in such pain. We were devastated but I found immense strength in my family.

"I can't change our story but I hope I can be part of changing the bigger picture and ensure that other families won't go through the same thing.

"I think about mum all the time but Mother's Day is another hard day where you feel robbed of having her around.

"I really hope that within my lifetime, we'll see the day when no one dies from breast cancer."

Every year in Scotland, more than 4500 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women, around 30 in men.

Breast Cancer Now Scottish director Mary Allison says early diagnosis can give people the best chance of beating it.

"This Mother's Day, we are reminded of the thousands of families in Scotland who are affected by breast cancer - and sadly may not have mothers to share this special day with," she says.

"The reality is that in the next ten years nearly 10,000 women in Scotland could die from breast cancer; that's 10,000 mothers, grandmothers, daughters or friends.

"Most cases of breast cancer are found by women noticing unusual changes and visiting their doctor to get them checked. The earlier breast cancer is found, the better the chance of beating it."