The powerful photo sharing the reality of breastfeeding after a mastectomy.

After enduring a mastectomy, breast cancer survivor Bo Smith feels incredibly lucky to be able to breastfeed her newborn son.

In a post shared to Facebook which has now gone viral, the 32-year-old Texas mum shared a photo breastfeeding her 10-day-old son James, along with the quote: “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you”.

“I can’t begin to explain how this feels everyday to be able to breastfeed my son, after losing one breast to cancer and being told I may not ever have this sweet boy in my arms,” the new mum wrote in the Facebook post.

“I am not ashamed of my body,” she added.

“This is what continues to remind me of how lucky I am to be here today.”

Back in 2015, amid wedding planning with her partner, Bo was told she had a 40 per cent chance of survival after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

After undergoing cancer treatment including chemotherapy, she had a mastectomy on her left breast, opting to keep her right breast in the hopes of breastfeeding her children in the future.

But after she was told she was in complete remission, she discovered her fertility had been affected by the cancer treatment.

Hoping to avoid IVF, Bo was placed on hormone therapy drug Letrozole before she fell pregnant with baby James shortly before Christmas last year.

Speaking to Mamamia, Bo shared why she decided to share the powerful photograph to Facebook.

"I shared the photo because I had shared everything during my cancer journey. It was important to me to show the raw reality of life after cancer," she said.

"I never expected the photo to go viral," she added.

"I figured if it could reach someone who needed to see there was hope, that’s all that mattered to me.

"The response has been pretty much amazing. There have been some negative comments, but I just appreciate all the supportive and kind comments I’m receiving."

Bo's emotional post has since been shared over 5,000 times and liked over 17,000 times too, with many women leaving messages of support.

"This is one of the most beautiful pictures that I have seen, thanks a lot for sharing this beautiful moment in your life with us," one person wrote.

"What a beautiful photo of strength and love. You are doing a wonderful job nuturting your precious baby. Warrior mum!" another wrote.

"You are living proof that you can get through a bad patch and come out the other side strong and beautiful, such a beautiful little boy," another woman commented.