Living flat and recovery after breast cancer
Photo credit: Ami Barwell for Stand Up To Cancer Defiance – what does that mean to you? One dictionary definition is: proud and determined opposition against authority. To me it means challenging the norm, being brave enough to speak up for myself. Ami Barwell’s Defiance exhibition for Stand Up to Cancer shows the gritty and … Continue reading Defiance
Nearly three years ago I had my first mastectomy. My left breast was removed because a seven centimetre tumour had taken up residence in my GG cup. Despite having had a lumpectomy three weeks previously, the tumour was too large and too dispersed and so the whole breast had to go. Being told that I … Continue reading Horror vs Happiness
At the weekend, Facebook reminded me that I started this breast cancer blog a year ago. When I wrote the first post, I had no idea what reaction I’d get – if any! I had no idea how blogs worked...and even less about search engine optimisation. I still haven’t worked that out and it did … Continue reading Weather report
What to do to commemorate the third anniversary of my breast cancer diagnosis? It's today, by the way - 22nd January 2019. I decided to celebrate, rather than commemorate. I celebrated being alive and being one of the lucky 1 in 8. I celebrated life and family and flowers. I celebrated by getting inked. A … Continue reading No tits and a tat
How a joyous, yet poignant, visit to RHS Chelsea Flower Show reinforced my love of flowers but came at a time when I was experiencing acute anxiety, two years after being diagnosed and being treated for breast cancer. Two years on On Wednesday I spent the day at Chelsea Flower Show with Liam. Nothing too … Continue reading Flower power
How it felt to lose all of the hair on my head and body as a result of chemotherapy to treat breast cancer, following my mastectomy. Two years ago my hair began to fall out. I had a great summer lined up in 2016 - Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon tennis, both of my children's graduations, … Continue reading To baldly go
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” Luther Burbank, Botanist & Horticulturalist 1849-1926 Breast cancer and mastectomy are big parts of this blog, but I also want to write more about flowers and seeds and all things horticultural. It’s these little beauties that are … Continue reading Sunshine, food and medicine
How a love of flowers and sowing seeds provide a metaphor for recovery from breast cancer and mastectomy. Seed n. – definition: the unit of reproduction of a flowering plant, capable of developing into another such plant. Seed n. – definition: the cause or latent beginning of a feeling, process, or condition Where to begin about my … Continue reading The one about the seeds – and growth
