• Health,  Mental Health,  Slider

    One Single Thought

    If I had to pin things down to one point in time – no, even smaller – a single morsel of time; the particular thought in fact, then it would have to be this one: I was in the radiology department of the Royal Berkshire Hospital, on level one in the MRI section. The room is standard NHS weird off white colour that seems to weirdly reflect the lights and grey linoleum style flooring for ease of cleaning. My name is called and I stand up to talk to the radiologist. I don’t remember them, only their red scrubs and yellow name badge, and the black beaten up clipboard they…

  • Health,  Pain,  Slider

    Chronic Pain & Me

    In December 2017 I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer for the first time. I didn’t know what “having cancer” would entail and I never expected the level of pain that it would cause me both physically and emotionally. Although I managed to find myself in remission from the cancer itself, it left me with a stark reminder of it: constant pain. We flew through the basic pain killers going from paracetamol to morphine to fentanyl pretty quickly as well as drugs like Gabapentin to try and control the neuropathy that formed in my feet initially due to the chemotherapy. By the time I finished treatment the neuropathy began to spread…

  • Family,  Mental Health,  Slider

    1,825

    There are 1,825 days in five calendar years. Did you know that? Does that seem like a lot of time to you? Or like less than you had imagined? Have you achieved all you wanted in the last five years? Do you wish you had achieved more, or spent more time doing something that sets your soul alight? Are you happy? In the last 1,825 days I have gone from having one child to two. From being single to married. From healthy to sick. Life changed for us on a sixpence. The day my beautiful sunshine Isla was born, so to came the news that something was there that shouldn’t…

  • Family,  Health,  Pain

    The Bionic Woman!

    God, it has been a shockingly long time since I have done a full blog post, but Tom and I just finished watching Home Before Dark on AppleTV, that features the story of a nine year old journalist and it made me remember why I started writing my blog in the first place so I decided to get back to it! I have plans to begin a YouTube channel where I will make some short educational videos about different gynaecological cancers as well as share my story and maybe some vlog type videos too. But before I update on how we all are, I want to take a moment to…

  • Cancer,  Gynae Cancers,  Health

    Two Years On

    Two years ago today I attended my first colposcopy appointment. I was 29 years old and I had just had my second baby. I was pretty much exuding happiness, tired happiness, but happiness nonetheless. Cancer. It’s a word none of us want to hear, ever. Not for ourselves or for those around us. It’s deceitful, it’s cunning and sly. It hides and it eludes is. It puts those who are diagnosed with it through hell (and that’s putting it mildly). It’s the word I heard by the end of that first appointment. As time goes by I become increasingly aware that I’m able to examine this memory from different angles.…

  • Health,  Pain

    The Thing about pain management…

    Pain management is a really tricky thing. It’s a like trying to walk through a whirlwind to find the middle of the storm, a place of sanctuary and peace. Once you climb up the opioid ladder there aren’t many places left to go, and it becomes less about medications and more about exploring alternative avenues of pain relief. Acupuncture is highly recommended to help with neuropathic pain (nerve pain from broken or damaged nerves) and also to help with the hot flashes from the menopause. But it IS hard to find an acupuncturist who has the relevant experience of dealing with a cancer patient with damaged nerves, but I’m still…

  • Health

    A long overdue update

    Oh goodness, it’s been such a long time since I did a proper update. Things have been hard in so many ways. Now I’m just trying to think of where to begin to really update you. I guess a while back in July seems a good place to start, when I first heard the term “long term prospects” and was told that palliative care would be starting to had over to the pain clinic. This was amazing news but with the end of my radiotherapy came the beginning of my neuropathy. Neuropathic pain is notoriously hard to manage. There are drugs available to help but they often aren’t the loan…

  • Cancer,  Gynae Cancers,  Health

    Vaginal Cancer

    This a cancer that was realtively new to me to be honest, I knew that cervical cancer could spread down into the vagina but this is all about cancer that begins in the vagina.  The NHS says it’s rare, especially in women under 40 but I still think it’s well worth knowing about it, and how to look out for it. Symptoms of Vaginal Cancer include: Vaginal bleeding after the menopause Bleeding after sex or pain during sex Smelly or bloodstained vaginal discharge Bleeding between periods A lump or itch in your vagina that won’t go away Pain when peeing, or needing to pee a lot. If you have these symptoms…

  • Cancer,  Gynae Cancers,  Health

    Vulval Cancer

    While I was fighting cervical cancer, my aunt was going through Vulval Cancer and it was the first time I’d ever heard of it to be honest. When we think of cancers we mostly assume they are inside the body. Then we think about skin cancer being down to sun exposure, but the vulva isn’t exactly a part of the body you think of getting much sun exposure now is it? So, Vulval cancer is a rare type of cancer affecting women. Vulva is the word we use to describe the external female genitalia including: The lips surrounding the vagina (labia minora and labia majora) The clitoris The Bartholin’s Glands,…

  • Cancer,  Gynae Cancers,  Health

    Womb Cancer

    So, although I knew Womb Cancer existed, this is a new cancer to me. I will be learning just as much as you guys are as I write the post.  Cancer of the womb, also sometimes known as uterine or endometrial cancer, is a common cancer affecting women’s reproductive systems. It is more common in women who have experienced the menopause. The most common symptom of Womb Cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding. That simply means bleeding that is unusual for you, including heavier periods than you usually have. Other symptoms include: Pain in the back, legs or pelvis Loss of appetite Tiredness Nausea Most Womb Cancers begin in the cells…