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• I'm really proud of Sara, says her partner in touching tribute
  

By Claire Bates

Last updated at 3:03 PM on 22nd February 2012

When Sara Duncan appeared on ITV's breakfast show this morning she knew she would be talking to the presenters about her battle with breast cancer.

What she didn't realise was that she would be receiving a proposal of marriage from her long-term partner and father of her two children.

Scroll down for video

Magic moment: Craig goes down on one knee as he asks his partner Sara to marry him. He had asked permission from her partner yesterday

Sara and her fiance Craig Etchells, from Oldham, were on the red Daybreak sofa to talk about a touching video they had posted on YouTube. Sara decided to leave her bald head uncovered for the interview.

They had filmed their six-year-old daughter Lola cutting her mother's hair to help her come to terms with the effects of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. The video quickly became an internet sensation after they posted the footage online to share it with their friends and family.

Mr Etchells revealed during the couple's chat with presenters Kate Garraway and Dan Lobb that he had taken 15minutes of footage and then cut together the most special moments. 

He said that the response from the public had been overwhelmingly positive. He added that coping with Sara's cancer had brought the family closer as a whole.

'I'm really proud on Sara,' he said.

'The way it has brought us together has been phenomenal. I think it has brought out the best in both of us and our family.'

I do: The couple kiss after Sara agrees to marry Craig. They said the cancer had brought them closer together

Big softie: Kate Garraway gives Dan Lobb a hug after he becomes emotional watching the marriage proposal

Shifting in his seat, and looking a little nervous, he continued: 'I planned to do something on the London Eye later this morning, but if I can I'd like to hijack 20 seconds to do something special?' he asked Kate, who readily agreed.

Taking Sara's hand and kneeling on the floor beside her he said: 'Sara you are the bravest most beautiful girl I've ever met in my life.

'I spoke to your dad yesterday and asked for his blessing and he said yes.

'Make me the happiest man in the world. Will you marry me?'

Barely had the question popped out of his lips then Sarah responded: 'Yes'.

As the TV crew clapped, the video panned around to the presenters to show a sheepish Dan shedding a few tears.

'Who else needs tissues? I've absolutely gone!' he exclaimed.

Happy family: Sara and Craig with their children Lola and Finn after the show. Daybreak presented the couple with a bouquet

It was a happy event during a difficult time for Sara. Earlier she revealed that she had undergone four sessions of chemotherapy since December and had two more to go.

She will then have three weeks of radiotherapy followed by five years of hormone treatment.

'The last one was horrendous,' she said.

'I had lots of side effects but having so much support and the children... helps keep you going.'

Scroll down for the hair-cutting video

Intimate: Lola carefully clips her cancer-stricken mother Sara's hair

Ms Duncan, 44, was told she had breast cancer last September and underwent a mastectomy on her left breast in October.

When she began losing her hair after starting chemotherapy, she decided to cut it all off - and asked Lola for help, so she could start to understand 'how mummy will look' after the treatment.

Ms Duncan agreed to be filmed as Lola, with the utmost concentration, gently cut lock after lock and carefully placed them in a ceramic bowl. The video then shows Mrs Etchells helping her little girl use an electric clipper to remove the remaining strands of her brown bob.

Team effort: Sara Etchells carefully collects the shorn hair

Lola and Sara share a giggle as they prepare Sara for chemotherapy

Ms Duncan, a breastfeeding support worker, said of the video: 'Lola cutting my hair off was very cathartic. We were both laughing. We made it into a happy, giggly positive thing.

'After it had finished it was sheer relief – one, it was a decision made, and also it wasn't as bad as I thought and the dread was over.

'All my friends said really positive things, giving me confidence.'

Mr Etchells, former sound  engineer and producer, filmed and edited the video.

Ms Duncan, who has a degree in photography, carefully selected the clothes, background and lighting for what was originally intended as a tender keepsake for mother and daughter.

Their family and friends were so moved by the three-minute film they urged the couple, from Manchester, to use it for charity.

They posted it on YouTube and have linked it to a 'Just Giving' donation page, which they hope will raise up to £100,000 to be split between ten cancer charities.

Sara, who works as a breast feeding support worker at Tameside Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne, was told that she had cancer last September

The Etchells family hope the video will help raise money for cancer charities

Proud: Sara pictured on her graduation day in 2000

Mr Etchells, 40, said previously: 'I put it all together and realised the impact it could have.

'It's a very personal moment and it was very brave of Sara to let it go but we thought we might be able to do some good with it so put it on YouTube.

'We were trying to help Lola understand what it all means. At first it was difficult for her to watch the video without getting upset but she now knows it's for a good cause.'

The couple have two children together, Lola and her brother Finn, nine, and four boys between them from previous relationships – 16-year-old twins Charlie and Rory, Jake, 18, and Oli, 22.

Watch the full Daybreak interview here