A happy, healthy you
Hi all, Brian here. I wanted to give you an update on Caroline's book which is going to print next week - very exciting! Thank you to everyone who helped to make this happen and who pre-ordered a copy, we have been overwhelmed with the response. Caroline's brother...
My cancer story part 18: end of treatment
This won’t be a long blogpost, I think I said what I wanted to say about this stage of my illness before Christmas, but there are a few updates to share. As many of you know, after a week of wonderful celebrations for both my and Brian’s birthdays in mid-December, I...
My cancer story part 17: birthday reflections
35, an unremarkable age for most, but for me, a milestone. There have been a number of times this year when I didn’t think I would make it to here; two near heart attacks, and a winter bug that made me critical ill given my vulnerable body and battered immune system....
My cancer story part 16: an update and the future
I was diagnosed with stage IV, terminal cancer over a year ago. At the time, it was devastating and shocking news, but I had huge faith that there would be a treatment I would respond well to, and, whilst maybe I wouldn’t ever be cancer free, I would be able to live...
My cancer story part 15: the cost of cancer
Cancer has enormous costs, physically, emotionally and financially, and in this post I’m going to discuss the latter, because it’s a topic not discussed enough. But first, an update: Since receiving the news my treatment isn’t working, we’ve been exploring as many...
My cancer story, part 14. Bad news on my cancer-versary
It’s a year today since I was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. One of the worst days of my life (the other being a couple of weeks later when I was told it was incurable). It’s been a year of intense emotion; frustration, fear, anger, sadness, pre-emptive grieving, but...
My cancer story, part 13: It’s a waiting game
It’s a waiting game this cancer; waiting for the next scan, the next results, waiting to see how the next round of treatment makes me feel, waiting to see what the next hurdle is that lands me in A&E (no doubt at a weekend, it’s always at the weekend!) And waiting...
Living with cancer: supporting my body with natural options
I have always preferred to use a natural approach to health, something that I’ve increasingly come to believe in with my naturopathic nutrition training. Whilst this is not meant as an exhaustive list of complementary options, I thought some may find it helpful if I...
My cancer story part 12: So many hurdles
It’s been a really tough few weeks. I’ve not written a blog post because I just haven’t had the mental strength or known what to say without sounding really negative. I try my best to stay positive but recently it’s been hard and I’ve definitely had moments when I’ve...
My cancer story. Part 11: My “new normal”
My new normal April was bowel cancer awareness month and Bowel Cancer UK ran a social media campaign to share people’s stories #thisisbowelcancer. They asked people to share a word to describe them and I chose GRATEFUL. Not grateful for cancer in any way, but grateful...
My cancer story. Part 10: Some good news at last
Today was scan results day. After a (fairly agonising) week of waiting following my CT scan, we saw my oncologist this morning. The sun was shining and my appointment was on time; a great start, made infinitely better when my doctor greeted us with the words ‘the scan...
Living with cancer: My diet (and tips for anyone wanting to eat healthily!)
Given I am studying nutrition, diet is pretty important to me! I was already a healthy eater when I got my diagnosis, but I have taken this to another level since. Whilst I am clearly at one end of a spectrum here, I want to share the focus and fundamentals of my...
