Archive for the cancer Category

Getting Physical After Cancer

On February 7, 2016   /   cancer, cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   22 Comments
Getting Physical After Cancer

In the work I do I feel I have discussed so many subjects related to cancer, but after a conversation with Sam I realised I hadn’t really talked too much about our physical relationships. Many might say, that is the least thing to worry about, but for a lot of us they are so important. Of course cancer doesn’t only affect us but our partners too, and things can change dramatically after treatment. What is also crucial here is that cancer affects all ages, and there are so many young people dealing with these issues as I write. I can’t begin to imagine starting my time of ‘sexual exploration’ having had serious treatment and trying to deal with the physical and emotional issues of that. On reflection in all my 8 years of treatment,

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To Tell Or Not To Tell, That Is The Question?

On September 27, 2015   /   cancer, cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   4 Comments
To Tell Or Not To Tell, That Is The Question?

With the sad unexpected death of Jackie Collins this week many people revisited the question about how people deal with their own cancer diagnosis. This has hit the headlines again as Jackie decided to keep her news private, which was surprising to many, as she had been used to living her life in the public gaze. It has once again shown us what an incredible personal decision this can be. In this generation of sharing almost every micro event with each other on social media, I think this probably told us much more about her as a person than if she had shared her unfortunate news. Personally I couldn’t imagine living alone with that sort of news, and once I had received my own, my first plan was to tell my

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How Do You Cope With Adversity?

On June 28, 2015   /   cancer, cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   6 Comments
How Do You Cope With Adversity?

Living so much of my life now in the ‘cancer world’ I am always amazed at the things people are able to achieve despite the health cards they are dealt. But this week I saw two examples away from cancer, where these people have overcome incredible hurdles and are achieving things much beyond what they might have dared hope for. In both cases life was very cruel, but they found resilience and determination and never lost hope that they could do something special with their lives.  My first example is Gill Hicks who is a double amputee victim from the London 7/7 bombing. Gill describes how her determination and a strong empathy for the plight of others helped her to create a ‘second life.’  “I’ve managed to create a constructive anger,” she

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Sharing a cancer experience

On February 23, 2014   /   blogging, cancer, public speaking, sharing experiences   /   4 Comments
Sharing a cancer experience

Having been unwell for most of December, and early January, I made a deliberate plan to not chase any more commitments for the new year. I had cleared my diary, and had completed my work. Although I had few speaking engagements on the horizon, my blogging and social media work, quite quickly fill up the gaps in between my treatment sessions, so there is always plenty to do. I wanted to give myself some time to think about the coming year.   However, my speaking engagements are really what helps my work come alive, and makes my blogging etc feel real. It is an opportunity to hear other peoples experiences, who, through me sharing my story, have felt able to talk about their own. I have been doing presentations for

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The power of nature!

On February 16, 2014   /   cancer, cancer treatment, floods, man v nature, nature, the power of nature, wind   /   Leave a comment
The power of nature!

In the last couple of months the weather has been absolutely crazy in the UK. I don’t think I can remember such a prolonged spell of wind and rain, in my life time. I have seen pictures of flooding and damage, that I could never imagine I would ever see, and in recent days, we have been hoping that our house withstands the constant battering we have received from the wind. So many peoples lives are being scarred by these events. I have heard talk about long term plans, and Governments not spending money, so many different reasons for why we cannot cope with these circumstances. I’m sure you will all have your own ideas. Building on flood plains, dredging rivers, flood defences, the list goes on. I seem to recall

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A life after surgery (Breast Cancer)

On January 11, 2014   /   appearance after cancer treatment, breast cancer, Breast Cancer Care, cancer, life after surgery, psychological importance of appearance   /   5 Comments
A life after surgery (Breast Cancer)

We are certainly well and truly back into the work routine, after a couple of weeks off! Communication is starting to get back to its normal level, and as usual, the ‘cancer world’ is moving quickly. I had planned a quiet start to the year, but early treatment, and a few interesting emails,have woken me quickly from my slumbers.  However, the most important thing this week, was a communication I had with someone regarding issues of appearance, during cancer treatment. A subject that I feel very passionately about, as I am aware of the importance of it, psychologically, in the treatment pathway. It is a subject I will cover in greater depth in my next blog. The below poem was written by a wonderful friend of mine. Here she talks

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A new year must always bring hope!

On January 5, 2014   /   #ukba14 #Facebook, 2013, 2014, cancer, celebrating, hope, making changes, new year   /   4 Comments
A new year must always bring hope!

Well it has finally arrived, 2014. We seem to have been thinking about it for a long time,in a similar way to talking about Christmas from September onwards! Traditionally we give these events a massive build up, and I personally wonder, if once the days have arrived, we are quite glad, to get back to our normal lives, as we are fed up with hearing about them. This year in the UK, almost for the entire break, the weather has been atrocious, with constant wind and rain, bringing chaos to many people. This is still continuing into 2014. I also understand that the weather is poor in many parts of America.   Unfortunately, I was not well enough to go out on New Year’s Eve, as I traditionally would have

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