India, Aug. 20 -- After enduring one heartbreak after another, 57-year-old Sam Adams thought she had already faced the worst life could throw at her. Within months, she had lost her father, her beloved dog, and seen her marriage fall apart. But just as she began to rebuild, an unexpected health scare revealed a condition that would change everything. (Also read: 29-year-old woman with 'healthiest diet' shares she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer: 'My body started giving signs' )

Sam, from near Brighton, East Sussex, recalls how 2020 was the year that broke her. She cared for her father in his final weeks, mourned the sudden death of her dog, and tried to cope with a collapsing marriage. "The grief was unbearable. It shook my sense of wh...