I’m now furloughed from work which means a have a lot of thinking time and time to reflect over the past few days. I’m very conscious that I might slip into a negative headspace given I currently have no future goals or set structure to my days at present. It’s good to be aware of it though, so I can keep checking in. The sense of guilt I’ve started to feeling for being well is immense at times. I feel so guilty for being well during this time when so many others are suffering, not just with cancer, but with the dreaded Coronavirus too. The COVID-19 death toll in the UK is still on the to ..read more

As quickly as it began, the month of May has come and gone again. I turned 33 about ten days ago, being in lockdown felt very different to previous birthdays, it sort of came and went, but as always I am beyond grateful to have lived another year on this earth. So far 2020 has been good to me in the health sense, but it has change my life in so many other ways. Quite frankly, this shift has been unimaginable and never part of a backup plan. I have spent the most part of the last 10 weeks inside, navigating an even newer version of ‘normal’ than the one I’d been trying so hard to get my head ar ..read more

In October 2016 I was one of twelve participants interviewed for a documentary about people living with a terminal illness for the BBC. The documentary, entitled A Time to Live aired exactly three years ago today. By some surreal turn of events I was guest on This Morning the previous day with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield to promote the film. I’d had the chance to watch the documentary alone before it aired, and I am so glad I did it on my own. Looking back, I think It would’ve been too difficult to watch with others present. I flew to Prague to visit some friends the morning of ..read more

I’m going through a weird state of flux at the moment; a phase of feeling very lost, like I am treading water with nowhere to go. It is as though someone has pressed the pause button on the whole world, all plans for the next few months are on hold, and it is very strange to have hardly anything in the diary over the new few weeks. The lost days are really difficult at the moment! There have been a few moments over the past couple of weeks where I’ve struggled with not knowing what’s next. Although I have been told to stay inside until the end of June, I took it upon myself to go for an early ..read more

Last week I received a text from the NHS telling me I am in the extremely vulnerable category for Coronavirus and need to stay at home until the end of June. I was half expecting it a few weeks ago, but somehow thought I’d got away with it as I am fortunate enough to no longer on treatment. Since then I’ve received multiple texts about having shopping and essential items delivered, prescriptions collected and suggestions of ways I can pass the time at home. The letter arrived two days after the text messages started and it felt odd to read it in print. Despite half expecting I’d be on the vuln ..read more

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about Cancer and Coronavirus, and since this post it seems the coverage about Coronavirus on the news has significantly increased, with daily briefings from our Prime Minster after it was declared a pandemic. The whole world is now navigating a new way of living. Providing the public with information on how to take appropriate hygiene measures and the advice on staying indoors feels as though its been effective, and I hope as a nation we continue to listen so we can get through this tricky time together. Life with cancer, for both those undergoing trea ..read more

I’ve just returned from a blissful few days in Morocco with Twins That Travel and Intrepid and had such a great time getting to know eight other awesome ladies over Moroccan mint tea and cookery classes. Since I’ve returned it seems the coverage about Coronavirus on the news has increased ten fold and there have been numerous updates, including just this afternoon ago from the UK Government. Who’d have thought I’d talk about another ‘Big C’ more than cancer! I’ve been blissfully unaware of the news over the past six days and spent 24 hours glamping in the Agafay desert with no electricity or W ..read more

Over the past three and half years I have participated in numerous challenges to help raise funds for Trekstock. My friends and I took part in the 10k Urban Trek (2019), Lake District 5 Peak Challenge (2018) and Conquer The Tower (2017) to raise funds for this awesome small chairty. My 2020 challenge is to walk 26 miles across Hadrian’s Wall in one day! I’ve put the tears and tantrums of the Lake District behind me, invested in some new walking boots, and am raring to go. As those who follow my blog will know, I discovered Trekstock in 2016 when I began writing about my cancer journey, since t ..read more

I lost a friend thought cancer for the first time this week. I found out a couple of days ago that sadly one of my stage 4 cancer friends has died. I met Caroline (aka Nutritious Living) at the end of 2018 at an event run by cancer charity Trekstock. Although we had different types of cancer we bonded over our shared experiences living with cancer. Despite being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer ten years ago, Caroline was one of my first ‘cancer friends’. I knew for a little while that Caroline would likely die soon, but it still hit me hard when I read the news. Although I didn’t know Caroline f ..read more

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! I am a bit late to the New Year blog post. I’ve seen lots of posts online looking back over the past 10 years, and its hard to imagine my life being any other way than how its played out thus far. 2010 was the year I got diagnosed with stage 4 cancer with an awful prognosis, so to be writing this post in 2020 at the age of 32 is pretty phenomenal. The past decade has been one for serious illness, stress and heartbreak on a personal level but also for breakthrough cancer therapies without which many people reading this, myself included, wouldn’t be alive to see ..read more