A TEENAGER being treated for thyroid cancer was left so toxic she couldn't hung her mum.

Everything 14-year-old Morgan Steele touched had to be binned and her sweat and urine were radioactive because of an aggressive drug given to her during the treatment.

The teenager, from Ayrshire, had to be isolated and was keep away from all her family and friends.

But now Morgan, who has bravely faced three surgeries and two radioiodine treatments, is finally able to spend time with her loved ones.

The schoolgirl, who lives in Catrine, was being treated for tonsillitis when doctors discovered a four-inch long lump in her neck in 2014.

The lump was later removed along with half of her thyroid. A second surgery came weeks later to remove the rest of the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland that sits above the voicebox.

She had her first radiodine treatment, a form of internal radiotherapy in March 2015.

Thyroid cancer cells pick up the iodine wherever they are in the body.

The radiation in the iodine then kills the cancer cells.

But the side effects of the radioactive pill even put Morgan at risk of setting off security alarms in shops and airports for three months.

Morgan said: "The pill, inside several protective boxes and a test tube, was wheeled in to me on a trolley by a nurse wearing gloves.

"She said I shouldn't let the pill touch the sides of my mouth and to swallow it straight down. It was only after I took it that I began to feel scared. I couldn’t help thinking, 'if this pill is so harmful and no-one is allowed to come near me, then why am I taking it?'. I just cried and cried.”

Morgan has now been chosen as the face of a Cancer Research UK's campaign urging thousands of mums, sisters, friends and daughters to sign up for a Race for Life 5K, 10K or Pretty Muddy event in Scotland this spring.

She said: “Race for Life is so important. My mum is running this year and I want as many women and girls as possible to join her. It gives hope to people like me - people who are fighting cancer right now.

A special event - Cancer Research UK’s Battle HQ - will take place at Buchanan Street on Saturday, April 2 from 11am.

It is a chance for women to sign up for Race for Life as well as try funky face paint designs and nail art to get their battle look spot on.

Shoppers can also capture their ‘battle cry’ alongside friends and family in the Battle HQ selfie station.

To enter Race for Life today go to raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.