Womens Thoughts

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39. As everyone, including my GP, was reassuring me that it wouldn't be anything to worry about as I was too young for that, it was an incredible shock obviously. Immediately, I knew life had changed for me and it was as if I was looking out of glasses that were just a bit “off” - something wasn't quite right with the world – everything was now different. As I left the hospital, I remember telling my Mum, “it's not getting me” and so started the fight to be well, get rid of it and make sure it didn't come back. I wasn't going to let my little girl grow up without a mum.

I was advised to have a mastectomy which I went ahead with – I just wanted the cancer out of my body as quickly as possible. Although I'm an ex-nurse & clinical hypnotherapist I wasn't a cancer expert and so was just as scared as anyone else facing their mortality. I looked to the professionals to guide and advise me on the best way to make sure I won!

However, I have the control freakiness gene so wanted to know what I could do to help myself. I hated the thought that I was relying totally on someone else and needed to do something myself and have something I could do/control. I started reading anything and everything I could get my hands on about breast cancer, the treatments – conventional and otherwise.

I realised that having chemotherapy etc was very damaging to my health and came with significant risks, both short and long-term. The same applied to radiotherapy so should I go ahead with this type of treatment given that we all, including the medics, were hoping that the cancer had been removed at surgery? The treatment which could damage me was being recommended “just in case”.

As a hypnotherapist, I realised that if I believed chemo would be bad for me then it probably would be. I decided that I couldn't justify the risks of treatment so decided to quit chemotherapy half way through (but not because I couldn't cope with the side-effects), refused radiotherapy but I didn't step away from conventional treatment to do nothing.

Instead, I focused on my health and building my immune system. I used nutrition, cleansing, the power of the mind, along with nutritional supplements and some other non-toxic approaches to maximise my body's ability to do what it's designed to do: protect, defend & repair itself. It worked for me.  I can't guarantee that what I did will help others but my point is that people should be encouraged to get information in order to make the right choice for them - and then accept responsibility for the consequences.

I have continued to be clear of cancer for some years now and, actually, my overall health has improved significantly compared to before diagnosis.

What I discovered during my journey towards health has surprised and at times shocked me but I'm very glad to be better informed. I realise that there is so much one can do to help oneself but am frustrated with the “system” we find ourselves in. I'm saddened that we have put so much faith in the system that we seem to ignore the responsibility we have for our own health and often seem unable to do anything to help ourselves. I see so many people put their lives in the hands of someone else, relying entirely on that person to make them well and not doing anything to help themselves when there is so much they could do that would make a difference.

So I've written a short guide containing information about things that people can do (mostly fairly easily) to help themselves in their desire to be well. To get the guide, and further information and guidance, go to my website at Towards Better Living Otherwise, please enjoy my blog, or connect with me on twitter or facebook using the links on my site.