Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow is the title of a book by Elizabeth Lesser. She opens the book with a quote from Anais Nin: ‘And the time came when… Continue reading
You never think it will be you. You go about your days making plans, imagining futures, dreaming ordinary dreams. Life feels steady, predictable. And then it isn’t. One phone call. One scan. One… Continue reading
In 1948, two French scientists noticed something unexpected in their lab samples: fragments of DNA drifting in blood plasma. At the time, the discovery seemed trivial, even puzzling. DNA, after all, was supposed… Continue reading
You’ve likely heard people talk about “chemo brain”—or maybe you’ve even felt it yourself. It’s that foggy sensation that can make it tough to find the right word, recall a friend’s name, or… Continue reading
So few grains of happiness measured against all the dark and still the scales balance. – Jane Hirshfield “The Weighing” I’ve been reflecting on these lines from Jane Hirshfield’s poem The Weighing and how its… Continue reading
In many cultures, greetings are often seen as polite and routine exchanges. However, in some Muslim cultures, there exists a profound dimension to these everyday interactions. When someone asks, “How are you?” in… Continue reading
I discovered that today, September 16th is ‘Tattoo Story Day’. While I am not sure if this is a day that’s universally marked, it gives me the prompt I need to tell the… Continue reading
Checking my August Awareness Day Calendar, I discovered that today, August 30th is designated as Grief Awareness Day. Sometimes I feel we are awash with grief in our community. Not just in our… Continue reading
Are you looking for a new job after cancer treatment? Perhaps you left your last employment after your diagnosis, or maybe you are still in your current job but want a fresh start… Continue reading
“In a society which is much more inclined to help you hide your pain rather than to grow through it, is necessary to make a very conscious effort to mourn.” – Henri Nouwen Grief… Continue reading
T for this week’s round-up of the best of the blog posts which I’ve read over the past week. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Don’t forget if you have written a post which you would like readers to see, just […]
The Thing Is to love life, to love it evenwhen you have no stomach for itand everything you’ve held dearcrumbles like burnt paper in your hands,your throat filled with the silt of it.When… Continue reading
The Butterfly Effect For Marie Ennis O’Connor So close and still Quietly far away From the company Who chose you The day you heard The word we all Heard. Echoes In a canyon… Continue reading
26 posts. 26 days. 26 letters of the alphabet, one blog post beginning with each letter. H is for Hair I started this blog a few years after my breast cancer diagnosis and… Continue reading
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow is the title of a book by Elizabeth Lesser. She opens the book with a quote from Anais Nin: ‘And the time came when… Continue reading
In his bestseller The End Of Over-Eating: Taking Control Of The Insatiable American Appetite, author and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, David Kessler proposes that our western obesity crisis is due… Continue reading
Today’s Meat Free Monday recipe is an easy salad which makes a great light supper dish or a tasty lunch. Haloumi with Lentil Salad Ingredients (serves 4) 2 x 400g cans brown lentils, drained, rinsed 1… Continue reading
Ok, so the headline in tabloid sensationalist, but it did catch my attention today when I was buying my usual Sunday paper, splashed across the front page of the Sunday Express. It is a… Continue reading
When I was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, I was told, as all chemo patients, are to report any signs of colds or flu straight away, to avoid situations where you know germs… Continue reading
All cancers are due to changes in our genes, called mutations. If you are born with a gene mutation that leads to cancer, it is called a hereditary cancer. Learn what makes hereditary… Continue reading
There are many myths surrounding the causes of breast cancer. The first of these which we should clear up right away is that a diagnosis of cancer is an automatic death sentence. It… Continue reading
The 4th annual Courageous Women, Fearless Living Retreat for women touched by cancer will take place August 26-30 at Shambala Mountain Center, Colorado, USA. I have written a lot about the emotional and… Continue reading
A campaigner who is the youngest man in Britain to be diagnosed with breast cancer is to launch a nationwide campaign calling for the name of the illness to be changed Nicky Avery, 27,… Continue reading