about me

In 2018, I was diagnosed with early bowel cancer. My beautiful, carefree and predictable life as I knew it changed in a moment. As a woman, wife, mum, daughter, friend and colleague I become a cancer patient seemingly overnight.

My journey of surgical treatment, a plethora of cancer-related complications and an emotional rollercoaster unfolded. I pushed my body, mind and soul to a place of strength and determination that I didn’t know existed.

Navigating illness and recovery while caring for two young boys, maintaining a relationship, managing chronic symptoms, changes in friendship circles, processing the “why me”, ‘scanxiety’, post-cancer food phobias, survivor guilt, results PTSD, end of life fears, forgiveness, body distrust, altered body image, and returning to work have all been lengthy and enlightening roads to travel.

Many lessons have been learnt along the way:

• Modern medicine has a strong focus on physical recovery, with very limited emphasis on emotional recovery and mindset.
• Physical and mental health are often treated as two separate entities.
• A healthy mindset is the key to recovery.
• There is a misconception that once a person returns home from hospital they are ‘well again’.
• The recovery work is done at home.
• A lot of cancer resources and funding is targeted at older adults
• There is a gap in education for younger adults regarding nutrition, fertility preservation, cancer fog, early menopause, intimacy, relationship breakdowns, and grief.
• There is a place for modern and holistic medicine- neither has all of the answers.