#CancerCanDoOne. After Awareness, Then What?

  Fake news, websites, 'kryptonite'. There's a sizable list to get through here. And since when has stress been a key factor in our cancer susceptibility? We're all stressed - a bit or a lot. Life can be a bit of a handful at times, and we know we need a bit of stress to keep us...well...aware; alert. Bystanders like me who simply don't know, for certain, the how and why answers to the above - and...

Anna Rathkopf was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer. She was 37. She was suddenly unable to express herself, temporarily cut off from the day-to-day.  As she puts it, she felt she was 'no longer a driver in my own story.'  So she turned to what she best understood.  Already an accomplished photographer she began documenting that story with her camera, taking hundreds of images over seven...

The extraordinary power of music and how it changes lives. Music therapy has a massive, positive impact on helping cancer patients find some peace and bring back valuable memories at a very tough time.  Alphonso Archer previously worked in sales in IT in the UK, but his own cancer diagnosis shifted priorities.  Now with a Masters Degree in Music Psychotherapy, he helps patients, including those wh...

More than 24,000 cancer cases have been confirmed since the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. And the story is as relevant today as ever.  Because new cases continue to come forward, and getting those cases officially recognised is an ongoing battle. A struggle made harder for those with English as a second language. It's still a raw story to tell for the many who...

As if cancer isn't enough, life throws menopause into the mix.  Not always, but it can trigger early onset. And while we're at it let's increase the pressure on our already fragile mental health.  So...one set of figures I read suggests 'For women under 40, the risk of premature menopause (from chemotherapy) is between 30–40%. For women 40 and older, the risk is greater than 80%.'  Now clearly, th...

Fear of losing their job, of being a burden to colleagues but needing to work for all kinds of reasons. Those worries are with someone right now, somewhere. The stark reality is too many businesses have no cancer awareness policy. Zero.  And so when a staff member is diagnosed, no one has a clue how to respond. How to support them, how to talk to them even and certainly not introducing a cancer aw...

Dr Liz O'Riordan, consultant breast cancer surgeon. She was highly respected in what is still largely a male-dominated arena. Now retired, not out of choice. Back in 2015, she was appointed consultant in oncoplastic surgery in Suffolk. Two years later it's Liz who hears the words, you have breast cancer.  And that's happened three times. Now continuing her valuable work but this time through her b...

Turn Louth Pink. It just grew and grew...and grew. This was just a bit of an idea. And then the parish church goes pink. Businesses bathe in pink, shop windows go pink, and another and another and... Venues become day-long pink festivals of pink fun, friends hurriedly put together pink fundraisers in their homes. It was a last-minute 'let's see what happens' moment from the Louth Run For Life char...

Can a book of cancer stories ever be positive? Uplifting?   Now maybe you're sceptical.  And if you are then it's my very great pleasure to say that you are wrong, big time. Because this is a spectacularly positive book in so many ways even though the subject is not an easy one. Kevin Donaghy has cancer.  And over some time he's part written and curated this book essentially told by those who have...

Question! Did you know that a cancer diagnosis could mean your household bills increase by anything between £900 and £1,000 every month? That's in the UK and is likely far higher in many countries. I said 'could' because clearly not everyone is affected in the same way.  But those numbers are real, not 'exaggerated-awe-headline-stuff' and have come as a genuine shock to many in the cancer sector....

When Laura posted her first Stage 4 secondary cancer update on Facebook she couldn't have known what would happen next. It was originally intended to be a way to update her family and friends on her treatment.  But very quickly she noticed something unplanned and unexpected. People from outside her circle were finding her on social media. She took her story across to Instagram and without any plan...

You'd think all ambition would be finished right there. Dreams gone. Surely that's logical? If you get cancer in your teens and recover, you're still not going to achieve what you thought you could. Maybe that's what many think. And maybe that's true for some. But that's not the case for Ellie Philpotts.  She gets exclusives, such as breaking a national covid vaccination story in December 2020. Sh...

Feeling bullied. And her anxiety attacks were often not recognised at school. She felt punished for feeling the way she did. Not all teachers reacted this way; she did get some support. But looking back now, she feels it’s the education training system that doesn't give teachers the skills they need to recognise these situations. Fast forward and it’s now social media that can be a best friend one...

How do you tell a child their parent has cancer? What words do you use...when? There's plenty of help on the internet. But what about the real world? What is it like to be a child and hear those words? Is there any advice for all of us who may have to sit a child down and tell them at some point? Imogen was just eight years old when that happened to her.  Now 17 she has plenty to say about how the...

'Patients in my position finish the main hospital treatments then you are left with very little support and many patients feel uncomfortable and not certain how to pick their lives up...'  It's a feeling many cancer patients experience. They know the NHS is extraordinary. The skill, compassion, and relentless work have transformed their lives and restored hope. But...it's when that life-saving tre...

Imagine ignoring that bump or that pain because...you can't afford the cost of a test or the treatment.   That's the stark reality for millions. Some British expats are giving up on their retirement in the sun dream and heading home because health care costs are spiralling beyond reach.   That's certainly true in Northern Cyprus currently gripped by 70 percent plus inflation. Bridget Tuxworth runs...

1,000 + runners, huge crowds and another record-breaker from this national flagship fundraising group in a tiny town. 18 years ago £3,000 was raised - this time around £30,000 plus gift aid. It's June 30, 2024, 7 am and the team has been there for quite a while already... Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK

If you're showing signs of prostate cancer, it's probably too late. That's a stark fact. The current test for men isn't 100% accurate as it is but it's by far the best option. I had mine a couple of months ago which is ridiculous. Stupid. Because men over 50 in the UK are entitled to the test and I'm a long way the other side of that. I just kept forgetting to go to my GP.  NO excuses. So I was lu...

  Louise wasn't prepared to sit back and do nothing. After her double mastectomy, she became a well-known campaigner fighting the stigma faced by women in a similar situation. Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK

Nipples and areolas. For some women who lost nipples and the areola during reconstruction following breast cancer, it can be devastating. In some cases, they no longer feel like a woman. You can also hear an episode on this podcast from Louise Butcher, The Topless Runner,  who opted not to have reconstruction and she strongly supports that choice. But if you do, then what? Katie Harrington has bee...

We spoke to NHS Patient Advocate Anna Mamwell before about long-term patient health during and after treatment. It's something she knows all about. Anna also had leukaemia. In hospital for 6 months. And she was terrified.   Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK

It will take laws and social change combined to save lives. That's the view of Gower Tan, a Fundraiser and volunteer Campaigns Ambassador with Cancer Research UK, and more recently employee in the Campaigns team. He was a long-term smoker and it took many years of trying to finally quit. He says smokers can't necessarily be solely blamed for smoking. They're stuck with little or no choice and a hi...

Are we doing enough for long-term patient health during and after treatment? And for carers..? NHS Patient Advocate Anna Mamwell, in remission herself, isn't so sure... Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK

Evenings and weekends. We join the volunteers collecting £3,500 of household items in a couple of hours. And the long haul of encouraging locals to sign up for their flagship charity summer run, on windy days in April. If they didn't do it, no funds for cancer research. Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK

Laurence died from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma a few weeks ago. His partner, Victoria runs the Puddle Ducks Day Nursery with her sister at Alvingham in Lincolnshire. They have two children.  Keeping busy is how she's dealing with the days. Because what else can she do..? And she just wishes someone had answered her question: How long have we got? Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK