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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…
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Cervical Cancer
Of the five gynaecological cancers this is the one that I have battled. This is the cancer that has robbed me of organs, has caused me so much pain, meant I’ve been through treatment that has stripped my nervous system and left my immune system in tatters. This is the cancer that has made me want to fight to make sure every woman knows her own body and how to ensure she stays healthy ❤️ So, here we go, your very own crash course in cervical cancer: Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix (the entrance to the womb). It’s thought to mainly effect sexually active women between the ages of…
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The Eye of the Storm
During the middle of some of the most intense pain flares I’ve had, I seem to have found the eye of the storm. A place where I can stand and breathe where I can dream of being pain free. It takes some finding, and sometimes I question if I’m really in the middle of it or just so overwhelmed by the pain that my body just gives out. I suppose it could be either. When it starts I can feel the buzzing in my feet begin to increase and then it starts to creep up my legs, slowly at first, as if teasing me “ooh, you know what’s coming but…
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Telling it As it is
Now, every time I witness a strong person, I want to know: What darkness did your conquer in your story? Mountains do not rise without earthquakes ~ Katherine Mackenett Tuesday, 19th December 2017 The day that the darkness began. This was the day that I first heard the word cancer. That I saw the look on the doctors face and I first asked if I was going to die. The day I phoned my mum and sobbed down the phone to her “What if I am dying Mum?”. This was the day in my history that will forever be written as the one that the C-bomb exploded on, casualties still…
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I Was In Woman’s Own!
Yup! Little old me made my way to the pages of Woman’s Own as one issue’s “From The Heart” piece! Just in case you are wondering, I didn’t write it myself. My story was written by the wonderful Bess Browning and she did an amazing job. I’m really glad I have been able to get my story further and further out there and I still plan to work hard at continuing to raise awareness of cervical cancer, smear testing, the HPV vaccine. I have a pretty huge goal of achieving yearly contact with a gynaecologist including yearly smear testing. I believe that the HPV vaccine, amazing as it is, is…
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Stationary Subscription Box: Under The Rowan Tree’s
Under the Rowan Tree’s is a little independent craft and stationery online store that I’ve posted about a few times. The store was founded by Danielle Stanley, a self admitted stationery addict. I first found her on Etsy and I’ve purchased many rolls of washi tape and planners and journals alike. Her stock choice is always on point and the more I’ve purchased and loved from her the more I want to buy from her. It’s definitely become addictive. But this time, I want to talk to you about her subscription box service because, well, guess what? I love that too. Danielle creates a themed stationery box to ship each…
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A New Path
I remember being a little girl playing mummies and daddies knowing that my ultimate goal in life was to have my own family. I wanted the perfect bloke (and I did pretty well on that front, even if I do say so myself), the house, 2.4 kids, you know, the whole 9 yards. I wanted that more than anything else. I think it’s why I struggled so much when people asked me what I wanted to “do”. I loved what I studied but I always wanted to answer that question with “be a wife and a mother”. That’s why when I was diagnosed with cancer it felt like a particularly…
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Oh Shit… I got Sepsis!
I hope you’ll all forgive my lack of activity over the past month – especially when I tell you it’s because I got sepsis. Now, when I started chemo, this was something we were petrified I might get, yet throughout my chemo my white cells stayed good and actually, I never fell ill with anything that wasn’t chemo related. We’d just started to relax and then boom! It hit. I woke up one morning and everything seemed fine at first and then suddenly it wasn’t. My left arm was red all the way down to my wrist, it was hot and painful. Tom called our GP for advice and was…
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A Health Update – My Stent & I.
Since May 2018 I have had a stent in my right ureter. Not to be confused with urethra. (Quick biology lesson: ureters run from kidney to bladder. Phew, it really was quick!) My pelvic tumour was pressing on it, causing my right kidney to become every so slightly enlarged because it was having to work ever so slightly harder than it was to pump urine down to the bladder. (Hence why kidney pain can be a symptom of advanced cervical cancer) These stents are temporary and need changing every 4-6 months. My first one barely made itself known until just before it was due to be whipped out and replaced,…
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Remission
This part of my life is something that is worthy of more than one insta post. It’s massive, beyond all understanding. It was entirely unexpected and triggered a whole host of wild emotions. Elation, total pure joy, disbelief, fear. Remission was unexpected. I remember being told that the cancer was incurable and asking if remission was a possibility. My oncologist told me that it wasn’t, the term remission was usually held for cancers like leukaemia, not cervical. It was then she told me that the cancer was “life shortening” (her exact words) and she progressed to give me 5 years left to live. That moment is one that will be…
