After awareness, then what? #CancerCanDoOne.

Tired versus fatigue. Big difference.  Did I know that? Absolutely not.
Thankfully Andy Mullaney realised that his 'tiredness' wasn't just overdoing it, or Covid jab after effects or just getting the other side of 60 years old.
It wasn't going away and he could sleep as long as you like and still feel exhausted. He documented what was happening for a few weeks and so did his wife. So when he did go to the doctor he could present hard evidence of what was happening.
Good job he did.  Andy wasn't tired. He hadn't realised his 'fatigue' was bowel cancer...
 

Breasts are a private matter. Talking about them, touching them, exposing them to examination. Photograph them? No. Absolutely not comfortable with any of that. At all. That’s not what we do.
And anyway. Breast cancer is a white woman problem  - so it doesn’t affect me, does it?
Cultural conversations are just one part of the serious cancer conversation issue. The visual messaging relied on by much of the online and print media - even that of some charities - Invariably shows a white woman at a breast screening clinic. Rarely are those stock photos of a woman from black or Asian communities.
What exactly are those women supposed to think if they don’t recognise themselves thanks to lazy and potentially dangerous content? Why would they..?
Cancer presents itself differently, not all doctors know what to look for because it’s different to white skin, the images, culture, jargon and language - it’s a horrible mix of barriers that is still putting lives at risk. Which all sounds like a cliche mix until you talk with Dr Olubukola Ayodele.
Bookie, as she calls herself, is a Consultant Medical Oncologist and heads the Breast Cancer Unit at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in the UK. It’s a large, strong ethnic community. She’s also Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester. And along with very many published achievements and collaborations, she also sits on the European Cancer Organisation Inequalities Network.
Bottom line is. She’s tired of women being diagnosed too late because no one told them what cancer awareness actually means to them.
So, if anyone recognises the frustration, the inequality, the danger and the scale of the mountain still to climb, it’s Bookie Ayodele. She needs support herself - to get accurate information out there. There's a great deal to take in. Collectively, we can't keep ignoring this.  You can help right now by downloading and sharing this episode.
Because the messaging on all sides is clearly very badly wrong.
 
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More on Bookie Ayodele's research profile.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Olubukola-Ayodele-2
 
 
 
#breastcancer #breastcancerawareness #ethniccancer #ethniccommunity #cancervoice #cancerdisparity

How do you explain what cancer is to children?  How to do that with facts they can understand, in an every day way they can follow and without frightening them?
Jen and Nic meet by chance at a cancer convention. Jen is a teacher and designer and Nic a nurse. They hear suggestions made but they're not sure they're the answer. At all, in fact. Anyway, the two women keep in touch and that children-and-cancer thought keeps coming back.  There must be a better way?
They had no idea they were about to create a lasting legacy with a series of bright, engaging cards which both parents and health professionals have raved about. The two friends had something else in common. 
They were both married, had small children themselves and they had breast cancer. 
Nic's husband Mat Owen picks up the story of that legacy that became - 'The Little C Club'.
 

Dale was at the top of his game. Literally.
A six foot 3, rugby playing, in-demand career-smashing, fiercely intelligent man with unlimited prospects.  The hours were madness and the workload immense but it was all about the future. 
And that was on top of having an incredible, wonderful partner and two small children under five. 
A family of love in those fabulous years when families slowly build, grow and enjoy new discoveries together every single day.
It would be difficult to better this in many ways.
And then life took hold. Out of nowhere, unwelcome, unannounced, it came with sheer vindictiveness.  In Dale's case it had been strongly hinting for some time that it had earmarked him for challenges that would break most people in days. Creeping up, its intentions unidentified.
And then it happened. And it happened with a speed and force the rest of us could never comprehend. Dale’s partner, diagnosed with cancer. Dale is diagnosed. His mum dies. And this happens in a matter of weeks.
The race was on to consume as much information, research, knowledge and science as possible, as quickly as possible. Hundreds upon hundreds of documents, trials and errors.
This is Dale Atkinson’s story…
 
 
 
#cancercandoone #cancerawareness #cancerbattle #cancerfight #louthrunforlife #cancerresearchuk #cancerconversation #familylife #youngfamily #familystrength 

We all know sleep is important. But if you have a chronic illness—or cancer—it's not just about feeling rested.
Sleep plays a direct role in treatment effectiveness, recovery, and overall health. Lack of sleep affects so many of us in the modern world and the working life culture of the West doesn't exactly help. Fancy an afternoon nap at work? Ridiculous waste of time. Except it isn't. The opposite, in fact as you're about to hear over the next 20 minutes.
The problem?  Culturally too many see sleep as a waste of time in certain situations. Plus, sleep science is still in its infancy, and resources in the UK are shockingly limited.
In this episode, I sit down with Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Jill McGarry to break down the facts: why sleep matters more than you think, how poor sleep can impact some cancer treatments, and what practical steps patients can take today.
 
#cancercandoone #cancertreatments #poorsleep #lackofsleep #sleepscience #louthrunforlife #cancerawareness #chronicillness
 

What happens when cancer gets a sense of humour? And when a late autism diagnosis changes how some healthcare professionals see cancer care?
In this episode, we meet two men rewriting the script—literally. One through a fabulously funny, no-holds-barred blog about his incurable cancer experience, the other through a powerful new book unpacking autism, prostate cancer, and the gaps in some healthcare professionals' understanding.
Meet Martin Howell and Mac. Two men, two very different experiences—talking to Robins or taking a TV to bits to make a radio. Why? Well, you'll hear over the next 20 minutes.
Both reshaping how we think about illness, identity, and how we tell our stories. 
 

'I wish I had understood the risks more clearly.  My family made decisions they didn't fully understand...'
This isn't a blame game, absolutely not - this is just life.  Everyone is doing the very best they can in a horribly difficult moment.
There is a limited time to get a message across, options need to be outlined, recommendations made. And jargon and specific terms can be used, that in clever hindsight, we just didn't understand.
It's a pressure cooker moment when suddenly you face the oncologist for the first time.  You listen as carefully as you can but emotions are swirling, concentration is fading. Should you ask a question? But...if you could, what should it be?
Phil Richards MBE has been in that chair.  He knows first-hand when he was told about his incurable kidney cancer.  He was a young man, married had a very successful senior HR retail career and had a fulfilling life.
He asked questions at that first meeting but now years down the line, he realises they were the wrong ones...
So  - based on his considered experience - what should you do, what should you say and what are the consequences of saying...I'll just wait and see what happens next...
 
#cancercandoone #cancerresearchuk #louthrunforlife #kidneycancer #cancerquestions #cancermeeting
 
 
 
 
 

What we eat can shape our cancer risk and treatment—and for those undergoing treatment, food can be a lifeline.
In this episode, we explore how diet impacts prevention, why some cancer patients lose weight, and how food traditions in some cultures are evolving.
So, from cultural habits to healthier alternatives, we uncover practical steps to take control of your health.
Gina Geibner is an Advanced Specialist Oncology Dietitian with a clinic in Haddington East Lothian and an NHS job in Glasgow, Scotland, and Nevine  Baligh is a Non-Diet Health Coach with an MSc in Psychology in Cairo, Egypt.
Listen now to rethink your plate and empower your choices.
 

'You're looking well. You know where I am if you need anything...' 
All statements with the best of intentions from a good place.  But they are statements. They're not questions. We accidentally close the conversation down by never having a conversation in the first place. Didn't mean to, didn't want to upset you any more, is perhaps the thinking.
Sharron Moffat will tell you there isn't necessarily a right or a wrong way to have that conversation. But it would be great if that patient - and we must never forget the caregiver - had a safe space to hear 'I bet this is really challenging for you. How are you feeling..?'
So...what do I say to a cancer patient and the caregiver..?
 
 

Stay with me; it’ll make sense in the end. Trust me.  Now, I’ve got to be honest. I couldn't have second-guessed some of the topics we've talked about on the #CancerCanDoOne podcast, which only began earlier this year…
I imagined a cancer awareness agenda because you've got to start somewhere, and quite rightly, with audio projects like this, it’s the audience that decides on that agenda.  And it transpires the audience that was looking for a voice and support. So we'll refresh our memory with just a few of the conversations over our part of 2024.
Three topics came up again and again in social media chats - breast cancer, prostate and menopause. And I suspect the same will apply in 2025.
 
Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JX0OUSXKVGKIK. Additional music by kind permission of Alphonso Archer
#cancercandoone #cancerconversation #HER2 #HER2breastcancer #cancerstories #breastcancer #cancerawareness #cancerresearchuk #louthrunforlfe #cancerpodcast #cancermaverick #oncologist