When it comes to inspiration to survive, St Hilda's Collegiate principal Melissa Bell says you just can't beat the support of your pupils.
''They gave me strength I didn't know I had.''
The 41-year-old was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in March.
After surgery, 12 rounds of chemotherapy and half her radiation treatment, she returned to full-time work this week.
"It feels like coming home to my second family and I'm quite excited about the rest of the year.''
The support she had received from pupils, staff and the school community had been ''absolutely incredible'', she said.
''I've literally had hundreds of cards and a constant stream of support - meals, baking. It's been quite overwhelming actually.
''They've given me so much strength. In a situation like this, you could feel quite alone, but through all of this, I haven't felt alone at any time.
''The girls and staff have been a huge part of that.''
Members of the school's student council decided to show their support earlier this year by running pink ribbon events at school.
They packaged ribbons and sold them to pupils, staff and the public, to raise funds for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation. Ms Bell has turned adversity into an inspirational life lesson for her pupils.
She has been a positive role model, sharing details of her illness, treatment and emotions over the past eight months because she wanted pupils to have the tools to deal with breast cancer if they experienced it in later life.
However, being a role model was not something she had planned, she said.
She was inspired to bring her illness into the public arena after overhearing two women talking about her in a Dunedin shop soon after she was diagnosed.
''They were saying I had had some tests done and I only had x number of weeks left to live, which was news to me and it couldn't have been further from the truth.
''People should think more carefully about what they say because it does have implications.''
She still had two and a-half weeks of radiation therapy to complete. ''The cancer was fairly well established when it was found. So it's not known what the prognosis will be until treatment has finished.
''But I'm feeling really positive about it.''
