How to sleep, wash and stay well during recovery. A mastectomy is major surgery, and as with any major surgery there is a period of healing that follows. For some time afterwards, you will have limited mobility, drains, bandages and general discomfort. It can be challenging to sleep, wash and …
When people refer to someone that is going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment, you often hear them use the term “fight.” As someone that has been on this journey twice, I both hate that terminology, and agree wholeheartedly. It IS a fight, but NOT for the reason you might …
Triple negative breast cancer recurrence. This is one of the hardest articles I’ve had to write. So much so that as I write this I have already had surgery and am 12 weeks into chemotherapy. I suppose I have resisted putting it on my blog. After all, I’m supposed to …
Tips and what to expect. Chemotherapy, our feared enemy but fiercest ally. Something that can save our lives, but in doing so strips us of so much that makes us “us”. One of the most obvious ways it does this is by causing the recipient’s hair to fall out. It …
The youngest in the waiting room; breast cancer as a younger woman. Research shows that only 4% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are under the age of 40. So if you find yourself one of the unlucky ones, it can be a particularly tough pill to swallow. Breast cancer …
Something that all breast cancer patients wonder is what caused our cancer, particularly those of us that were relatively young at diagnosis and have no genetic link. Of course, we want to avoid it happening again. One of the big questions I see asked time and again, is whether or …
As a survivor of triple negative breast cancer, I am always seeking ways to reduce my chances of recurrence. And as someone that enjoys a glass of wine (OK a few) at the weekend, I was curious as to how consumption of alcohol fits into that. Is there a link …
As your world rocks, cracks and shifts after a diagnosis of cancer, some of the people that you considered your closest friends, family even, fall off the edge. There might be an initial fuss and offers of help. But as the dust settles, phone calls from certain people stop and …
Lets talk about sex…and breast cancer! The impact of cancer, more specifically treatment for cancer, on sex can be profound. The physical changes that various treatments cause as well as the immeasurable psychological fall out, can wreak havoc on even the healthiest sex lives. This is a topic I feel …
In this article I am speaking on behalf of my fellow sisters in breast cancer. I interviewed a group of patients and survivors of the disease to pinpoint the most common and frustrating things that have been said to them while in the trenches. I also dug a little deeper …
I had a rule when I was undergoing active treatment for breast cancer, focus on one treatment at a time. One day at a time if necessary. So when radiotherapy rolled around after the great spectres of chemo and surgery had been monopolising my head space, I felt vastly unprepared. …
Feelings of guilt are one of the many ways that having cancer can have an impact on your mental health. Upon diagnosis, in a state of fear and shock, many of us naturally question ourselves. What did I do to make this happen? Worse still, you see others searching your …