Two years on, almost to the day, of a Breast Cancer diagnosis, I will always be immensely grateful for the support I received from those who had been through the same journey and come through smiling, resilient, optimistic and raring to continue to live their best lives.
To anyone who is facing this particular challenge on World Cancer Day, I too offer my support. Everyone’s experience is unique but I am hugely optimistic for anyone under the care of our NHS. Treatments for breast cancer have come on leaps and bounds and success rates are staggeringly good. It’s a ‘journey’ certainly, but when I dance on a Monday night, or admire the city from the top of Arthur’s Seat, and am probably the fittest I have ever been, there is much for which to be thankful.
Sharing the ‘whats’ and the ‘whens’ is crucial. What to ask when. What’s next, what happens, who to ask, who to tell, how to tell. Never easy. Under-estimated frequently. Over-estimated just as often. Talking to someone who has been there and got the T-shirt, is incredibly helpful. As are, of course, the experts at Breast Cancer Now or Macmillan or Cancer Research amongst others. Talking shares the load. Makes you stronger. And wiser. Whether you’re the one having ‘the experience’ or loving someone who is, reach out. It really helps.
For those you love, cancer is frequently a difficult subject to bring up, there is a myriad of ways to start the conversation, thankfully outlined on the World Cancer Day website here.
The ‘journey’ [not a particularly helpful expression but so commonly used] is winding, but putting one foot in front of the other, and walking beside someone else – literally or metaphorically – will take you forward and out the other side.
