In 1992, American author Marilyn French, a smoker for 48 years, was diagnosed as having cancer of the oesophagus, which is almost always fatal, and was told she had only a year to live. Five years later, having battled with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a heart attack and a breaking back, she was still alive - and, remarkably, her body showed no sign of cancer. This is her account of the fight against disease and death.