THE visionary surgeon behind Worcester's breast unit battled a lung disease which left him unable to breathe at the very height of a gruelling charity campaign.

The Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven at 220 Newtown Road has opened its doors to patients but the man behind the unit, consultant breast surgeon Mr Steven Thrush, has admitted there were times when he doubted the unit would ever open as he wrestled with personal health problems and feared letting down his patients and other campaigners.

While fighting for the breast unit Mr Steven Thrush has revealed he could not breathe because of the lung disease Pulmonary fibrosis or "scarring of the lungs" which he developed in July, 2011 but which continued to trouble him for the next two years.

Despite being unwell Mr Thrush only took a few days off work, continuing to care for his patients and to campaign for the dedicated unit.

The 47-year-old father-of-three of Wick, near Pershore, said: "There were times when I thought this would never happen.

"I had a period when I was very unwell and had a lung disease. I should have stopped working but I kept on going. "My lung function went down to one third of what it should be and I could not walk up a flight of stairs.

"I was going blue. It took me two years to get over it. But you just have to get on with it."

He also spoke of the sleepless nights he suffered as he worried about whether the unit would ever be finished.

Mr Thrush said: "I felt responsible, that people have worked hard to raise money for it. If it didn't happen how would I tell them they had done all that work for nothing?"

It began to sink in that the unit was finally a reality when he welcomed his first patient and he said she was very touched to be the first to benefit from the unit.

Mr Thrush had always been hands on in his fundraising and actively involved in the campaign, however arduous the journey.

He estimates he has raised well over £10,000 himself towards the £1.8 million unit.

His own fundraising endeavours have ranged from organising quizzes to running the London Marathon and completing the gruelling Three Peaks Challenge which involves climbing the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales.

Before he completed the marathon last April Mr Thrush prepared by training for two hours a night.

Mr Thrush hopes the television screen in the breast unit in Worcester can be used to promote charity fundraising for the Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven in future as well as giving information and advice.

Mr Thrush said he had enjoyed so many highs during the campaign despite his illness because of the incredible people had met.

He believes there is space at the unit to expand and develop it also an arena for ongoing fundraising work to make the unit even better.