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The Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow is the second biggest in the UK. It treats a population of almost three million people across the West of Scotland, from Lanarkshire to Ayrshire and includes the Western Isles. A centre of excellence in cancer care, the Beatson offers state-of-the-art treatment, and is heavily involved in the development and trials of new cancer drugs.

This three-part series tells the stories of patients undergoing treatment at the Beatson, showing the work of the medical staff, and revealing how cancer care has improved in leaps and bounds in the past decade.

Each programme focuses on a different cancer - breast, lung, and prostate. These are among the most common in the UK, and account for a large proportion of cancer deaths each year. The Beatson is developing new, innovative approaches to their treatment.

In the first episode the focus is on breast cancer and six women, whose cancers are at different stages, share their stories.

Among them is the 36-year-old mum and gynaecologist Louise who is receiving treatment for curable, early-stage breast cancer; 50-year-old Jeanine who has a mastectomy and combined reconstruction, to show how surgery is advancing; and 60-year-old Marie, who was successfully treated for breast cancer seven years ago, but who is now faced with its return and must go through further treatment. Also featured is 25-year-old patient Jasmin, who has an incurable breast cancer, but who is able to live life mostly as she wants, thanks to advances in drugs.

Throughout the series, senior doctors and other staff provide a sense of context for the stories and explain the reality of modern cancer treatment, and how thanks to new treatments, the diagnosis is no longer quite the terrifying and hopeless prospect it once was.