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When I was diagnosed with cancer, I wanted to find someone like me.
Someone I could relate to, who’d been through a similar journey. I was (relatively) young, sporty, a mum - and suddenly I had cancer. Everything I read seemed to be for people much older or more sedentary than me. So this blog aims to be what I needed to read. I hope you enjoy it. I hope you find it useful. I hope it gives you hope !
![Cancer. Osteoporosis. Osteopenia. The gift that keeps on giving!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1710532161141-KGMM4ZET6AMWWYUQUXH0/Screenshot+2024-03-15+at+20.40.51.png)
Cancer. Osteoporosis. Osteopenia. The gift that keeps on giving!
3 days ago, I put my back out. Doing one of those silly, twisty moves you know you shouldn’t do. It’s the first time in my entire life I’ve hurt my back.
![Why I’m still a cardio addict. And why it’s essential for cancer patients.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1709839736273-W0CDXN072W6LIH6WKFH2/IMG_6366.jpg)
Why I’m still a cardio addict. And why it’s essential for cancer patients.
There is so much noise in the media around strength training. But I will still always be a cardio girl at heart. Why?
Alcohol & me. The end of the longest relationship of my life.
Alcohol is classed as a group 1 carcinogen. Which is the highest, up there with tobacco and asbestos. There is a proven link between breast cancer recurrence and drinking.
Fear of Recurrence. It never goes away. But it does get easier.
When a ‘normal’ person has a headache or a funny twinge somewhere in their body, they ignore it. For anyone who has had cancer, we automatically think “METS”.
![Strength Training. Why it’s essential for cancer patients.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1708975204329-7RFCG5F5H2XWP6GFKCEB/IMG_9500.jpg)
Strength Training. Why it’s essential for cancer patients.
I feel like everywhere I look, someone else is banging on about strength training. So I’m jumping on the band wagon. What’s all the hype?
![Lymphoedema. How I’m preventing it from getting worse.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1708701127955-6IWVPI4RE5C8E3D0SJHK/IMG_0062.jpg)
Lymphoedema. How I’m preventing it from getting worse.
If, like me, you’ve had lymph nodes removed - I’ve had a full clearance - it means you’re at high risk of lymphoedema. What is it and what am I doing to dodge the bullet?
![Losing my femininity. A cancer side effect I wasn’t expecting.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1708431901556-K7GO9HEA35LYP5R0E96Z/_AJP1837072.jpg)
Losing my femininity. A cancer side effect I wasn’t expecting.
I have never been a girlie girl. I’m sporty and outdoorsy. But I didn’t take into consideration the cancer cost of losing my femininity.
![Why menopause after cancer doesn’t mean weight gain.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1708097987925-P04K2L6POGB1VXXP2QHH/IMG_9899.jpg)
Why menopause after cancer doesn’t mean weight gain.
At 48, I am post cancer, post menopause and taking hormone therapy. For the next 10 years. All of those are associated with weight gain. So how have I avoided it?
![Insomnia and night sweats. How having cancer has cured my sleep problems.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1707727160721-T5I7IQML2KPXR6ZR6OCA/IMG_9638.jpg)
Insomnia and night sweats. How having cancer has cured my sleep problems.
There is a reason why sleep deprivation is used as torture. It’s brutal. The world is very bleak at 2 o clock in the morning, night after sweat soaked night.
![Why cancer is harder after cancer is over](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1707482043129-KJUBJEKWSPGII90SJ7PO/IMG_1421.jpg)
Why cancer is harder after cancer is over
Having cancer is undeniably terrifying, life changing, and lonely. But what no-one tells you is that many - most? - cancer patients find it harder once the treatment is all over.
![How to - and what - to eat during chemo.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1707216815205-E7MSDLKH7SE5898FFCEN/IMG_0048.jpg)
How to - and what - to eat during chemo.
This isn’t a sermon about nutrition or a lecture on fasting during chemotherapy. But here’s what worked for me. I hope it helps!
![Chemo Brain. The struggle is real. And it’s scary.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1707161035249-M471LKJ0DLDQMRGRTZLS/IMG_9673.jpg)
Chemo Brain. The struggle is real. And it’s scary.
I expected to feel sick. I expected to be tired. I expected to go bald. I didn’t expect to become stupid and lose my mind.
![Menopause and me. There are some positives too!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1706816435573-OZH0OUGWVGP92774ENWE/Screenshot+2024-02-01+at+20.40.09.png)
Menopause and me. There are some positives too!
When I started chemo, I was plunged into chemical menopause. Here’s how it’s treated me. Menopause gets a lot of bad press, but it turns out there are some good things too!
![Let’s talk about joint pain. I’m 48 but I sometimes feel like an eighty year old.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1706519076515-0MNE2XC6EA29E5QUUSW0/IMG_6366.jpg)
Let’s talk about joint pain. I’m 48 but I sometimes feel like an eighty year old.
My instagram life, with all the smiley, sporty pictures would have you believe that I have no lasting effects from cancer treatment.
How cancer has changed my reason to exercise.
I have pretty much always exercised. It’s not new to me. But my reason why has changed completely since cancer. Here’s how. And what I’ve learnt.
![How a decade of partying and ultra running prepared me for cancer.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1706020352496-V8WGLGET9YC6PKJU6B6R/Screenshot+2024-01-23+at+15.14.01.png)
How a decade of partying and ultra running prepared me for cancer.
Happily, my teenage years and 20s are not documented on social media. I spent a lot of it drunk or hungover.
![What does healthy eating look like for me?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1706013278345-WDS5F8CVRG6ZRX3T8TCK/IMG_9357.jpg)
What does healthy eating look like for me?
Eating healthily means something different to everyone. Post cancer, here are my top 5 rules to eat by.
![Chemotherapy and exercise. My story.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1705931582716-T7SJ5RXEF3JJ36EL6YP6/IMG_0347.jpg)
Chemotherapy and exercise. My story.
When my oncologist told me he wanted me to carry on doing sport through chemo, I nearly fell off my chair. Here’s how sport saved me through cancer and beyond.
How have I changed my lifestyle after cancer?
Don’t eat sugar. It fuels cancer. Don’t eat dairy products. They’re linked to cancers. Don’t drink alcohol. It causes cancer. How have I separated fact from fiction?
![Why me? Managing the mental battle and guilt.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6509f78e8813fe52e105ac5a/1705415339275-71GOD8IVXNWZ2NCPGYKA/IMG_0455.jpg)
Why me? Managing the mental battle and guilt.
It is impossible to be diagnosed with cancer and not ask yourself ‘why me’? Here’s how I dealt with self blame.