One aspect of the cancer journey that is not often discussed and goes unnoticed is mental health. It is understood that when being diagnosed with cancer there is a hierarchy of needs and unfortunately mental health is not usually on the top of the list that doctors, nurses and specialists think of. Looking after yourself is so important whether you are going through treatment or have finished treatment. 1. Take time for self-care One of the most significant ways in my opinion to look after yourself and your mental health is self-care. Self-care involves taking time out for yourself, whether th ..read more

When cancer comes into your life, it can have a massive impact on many of the aspects of your life. It can often feel as though your life has been completely flipped upside down, chewed up and spat out!. During the treatment phase, there are usually some big changes depending on whether you have to move closer to the hospital, appearance changes, relationship changes, changes to your lifestyle including health, fitness and eating habits. The treatment stage can last for months and for some even years. When thinking back to my time during treatment it feels like a blur. When I look at my life ..read more

One of the most frustrating things someone can say to you when you are experiencing cancer is “you don’t look sick”. Sure, they are probably coming from a good place thinking that it may make you feel better that you don’t look horrible but for someone who is sick, it means a whole lot more. You see, when most people think about someone with cancer the first image they see in their heads is someone with a perfectly bald head, skinny, pale, maybe a few wires or cannulas coming out of them and even an oxygen tube in their nose. For a lot of us that have experienced cancer, this is not always the ..read more

Something that you often gain during your cancer journey is new friendships, meeting people in the cancer wards in hospital, going to various cancer support groups or support activities where you may meet others going through cancer. Unfortunately, we don’t always get to keep these people in our lives as they are taken away by cancer. It is SO common for a survivor to feel guilt related to one’s death. It may feel so unfair that someone that you loved so much has been taken away, maybe they are younger, have kids and a beautiful family and you think “how did someone like that have to die from ..read more

For approximately a year now our world has turned upside down and we are living in a completely different way from how we were living before Covid-19 hit. Some people have never experienced things like having to social distance, wearing a mask, vigorously and constantly washing hands and sanitising everything you go to touch. If you are reading this today and have experienced cancer most of this stuff is nothing new to you, especially if the treatment included chemotherapy. For many of us, we have gone through some rigorous stages of treatment where we may not have been able to see those we lo ..read more

Today I would like to take the Cancer Talk blog down a different path. I want to share a little more about my experience with cancer and what I will be able to provide for future blog posts. As some of you would have read on the Stories page, please feel free to go have a read, I was diagnosed with brain cancer when I was 11 years old. My treatment included 5 brain surgeries, 2 rounds of intense chemotherapy, and 35 radiation treatments. From these treatments, I now have an acquired brain injury which has left me with short-term memory loss, fatigue, headaches nearly every day, slower processi ..read more

When I finished my cancer treatment and I was able to go back home and get back to my normal life, I had so many different things I wanted to do! I was so excited to get back to school, hang out with my friends and just do everything that a normal 11-year-old girl would do. Not long after I got home from hospital, I was continuously sleeping, this included at night and during the day. I quickly realised that from treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy & brain surgery) I was suffering from some pretty chronic fatigue. I couldn’t even do some of my favourite things, etc. shopping! As soon as ..read more

With everything going on in the world right now, it's normal to feel scared, especially if you're either in the middle of cancer treatment or post-treatment. It’s scary times for immune-compromised people but there are ways around it. I know a lot of these tips you have already heard a million times and it’s been shoved down your throat but I do believe some of them are great ways to stay well. Covid-19 is not just the flu, it's way more serious then that but if you start doing things to be more hygienic and careful, you can get through this pandemic. We are all in this together. Wash your han ..read more

Something that I have experienced all throughout my journey, from when I was diagnosed with cancer to even now, is people giving compliments towards myself about my bravery, courage and how great I look for someone who is or has been sick. Although these comments may come from the right place it can be hard to hear, especially when you feel as though you aren’t as strong as they think you are. I still feel weird when I hear people tell me I am so brave and strong because not once have I ever thought I was. I believe that I didn’t get a choice to be brave or strong when diagnosed with cancer, I ..read more

One of the biggest things I have learnt through my cancer journey is that the cancer journey does not simply end after the completion of treatment or going into remission, the journey of cancer lasts a lifetime! Something I have really struggled with along the way is the loss of support from friends and services after treatment has finished. People see you as someone who has survived, defeated cancer and has finished the journey, in fact, I have even had people say to me things like “it must be so good to have a normal life again now that cancer is over”. This could not be further from the tru ..read more