• Family,  Kids,  Motherhood,  Slider

    You are four

    It’s hard to believe that you’ve only been with us for four years, Isla. From the moment you were born you completed our little family. We knew we were always meant to have you. Severe reflux aside, you were a happy baby, a patient babe. You never really made a fuss unless you’re reflux was hurting. You were happiest being held and cuddled. We thought you’d be a quiet little thing who loved books. You’ve turned into the brightest, funniest little girl. You are so caring and kind and your smile is like sunshine, which fits since your favourite colour is yellow. But I wish I could say this day…

  • Lifestyle,  Slider

    A Little Support Group

    Linked to my facebook page you will now find a linked group called “A Little Support Group”. It’s going to be a female only group focussing on women’s health in all aspects. So please, feel free to join us if you’re going through something right now and you could really do with some like-minded individuals to chat with then click here!

  • 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…

  • Slider

    The End of a Chapter

    On the 24th of March 2021 a specialist anaesthetic doctor was placing a spinal block and an epidural in my back. Slowly the nerves in my legs that had been causing so much pain were switching off, the pain in my hip was dulling. The doctors helped me lay down and then they placed an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. My eyes closed and with them so did a whole chapter and of my life. When I came around, I woke up with a new scar that will tell the story of the Avascular Necrosis in my left hip, of the year in bed I was forced to…

  • 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…

  • 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

    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

    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…

  • Cancer,  Gynae Cancers,  Health

    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…