#CancerCanDoOne. After Awareness, Then What?

Fear of losing their job, of being a burden to colleagues but needing to work for all kinds of reasons.
Those worries are with someone right now, somewhere. The stark reality is too many businesses have no cancer awareness policy. Zero.  And so when a staff member is diagnosed, no one has a clue how to respond.
How to support them, how to talk to them even and certainly not introducing a cancer awareness policy that all staff can benefit from in the long term.
Basically, we're still not having that conversation at work.  And that breeds uncertainty and ignorance.
Sharron Moffatt is a mental health trainer and a supercharged workplace cancer support ambassador.  And she's currently in treatment for triple-positive breast cancer.
It's that work-based cancer conversation that is seriously overdue in her opinion and needs to happen now...as she explains to Mike...
 

Dr Liz O'Riordan, consultant breast cancer surgeon. She was highly respected in what is still largely a male-dominated arena. Now retired, not out of choice. Back in 2015, she was appointed consultant in oncoplastic surgery in Suffolk. Two years later it's Liz who hears the words, you have breast cancer.  And that's happened three times.
Now continuing her valuable work but this time through her books, substantial social media presence and TV work.  She has a new book out in January next year. She is one very busy, in-demand woman.  When Liz speaks, people listen...and they don't always agree, as you'll hear.
A champion of evidence and truth, she's faced extraordinary levels of online bullying and death threats for challenging potentially damaging, misleading cancer opinions.
But it's been quite a journey to get back to being Liz again - the woman she recognised after such a long and gruelling time.
And that new identity was shaped by one promise and one colour - yellow.  This is Dr Liz O'Riordan...
 

Turn Louth Pink. It just grew and grew...and grew.
This was just a bit of an idea. And then the parish church goes pink. Businesses bathe in pink, shop windows go pink, and another and another and...
Venues become day-long pink festivals of pink fun, friends hurriedly put together pink fundraisers in their homes.
It was a last-minute 'let's see what happens' moment from the Louth Run For Life charity in the small market town of Louth in Lincolnshire in the UK, that became an unstoppable fundraising force. Almost 12,000 pounds raised last October.
And all for breast cancer awareness.
Unsurprisingly they're doing it again this October and so are other Cancer Research UK groups inspired by... Turn Louth Pink, as Mike discovers now...
 
 

Can a book of cancer stories ever be positive? Uplifting?   Now maybe you're sceptical.  And if you are then it's my very great pleasure to say that you are wrong, big time.
Because this is a spectacularly positive book in so many ways even though the subject is not an easy one.
Kevin Donaghy has cancer.  And over some time he's part written and curated this book essentially told by those who have been there or continue to be so.
Thirty-nine extraordinary glimpses into real life from cancer patients, young and old. No drama, no hype, just...life.
And royalties from the book, newly published, will go to Maggies - currently 24 centres across the country free to anyone with cancer and their families who walk through the door.
Kevin joined Mike for a quick look at just some of the stories in - Stories Of Cancer And Hope...
 
#cancerbook #cancerstories #cancerhope #cancercandoone #cancerawareness #cancerresearchuk #cancertreatment

Question! Did you know that a cancer diagnosis could mean your household bills increase by anything between £900 and £1,000 every month? That's in the UK and is likely far higher in many countries.
I said 'could' because clearly not everyone is affected in the same way.  But those numbers are real, not 'exaggerated-awe-headline-stuff' and have come as a genuine shock to many in the cancer sector.
Because here's the reality uncovered.
There are people right now - maybe in your street - turning off their water supply because they are frightened of the bill. Eating less because of new dietary food costs. Extra petrol, phones...the list goes on and on. And it's because they have cancer. For them, likely no other reason.
We're all living in a cost-of-living crisis and too many face stark financial reality.  But to have a critical illness on top?  This huge additional burden. And that's the reason why you're in this situation? I know you look at your spending and so do I...but this?! This is terrifying.
When you hear the costs involved you can understand how this mess has happened but I'll admit right now, it had never occurred to me. 
Chloe North and Kathie McPeake are on the cancer team at the NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board in the UK. What Chloe uncovered left them shocked. Genuinely. What was thought to be  - maybe an issue to consider - turned into what Kathie describes as 'horrendous'.
I need your help with this one. I'm not spamming, I just need you to download right now before you forget and share the living daylights out of this anywhere you can and let people know...
a)  the reality of this
b)  the help that's out there. That's the big one.
Because there is seriously positive news if you listen to the end. And people need to know that there is real momentum behind this.  And you need to ask other authorities in other areas - are you doing this?  Because if not you need to wake up.  
Getting positive information out there is tough in a busy world and it's just as hard for those who really can help.  That's why this episode exists.
Write a comment, let me know your thinking on this.  And while you're at it, follow the podcast.  I'm Mike and you can always drop me a DM on Instagram @acancercandoonepodcast.
Thank you.
 

When Laura posted her first Stage 4 secondary cancer update on Facebook she couldn't have known what would happen next. It was originally intended to be a way to update her family and friends on her treatment.  But very quickly she noticed something unplanned and unexpected.
People from outside her circle were finding her on social media. She took her story across to Instagram and without any planning or marketing she quickly amassed a 30,000-plus following at the time of writing. Cancer patients, survivors, carers - and people totally unconnected with no experience of cancer whatsoever quickly loved her natural, engaging personality.
As a result, Laura has not only made very many friends but created a community of cancer positivity that challenges the way many think of the disease. This episode reveals the profound impact of turning private struggles into public strength.
So at home in Norfolk, she's Laura Middleton-Hughes. And on Instagram, she's Bald Boobless And Beautiful.
 
Take a look at Laura's content and please follow...
Instagram - Bald Boobless and Beautiful:
baldbooblessandbeautiful
Instagram - Secondary Sisters
Secondary Sisters
 
Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK  
 
#cancercandoone #cancerresearchuk #louthrunforlife #cancerawareness #stage4cancersurvival #stage4cancertreatment #cancerpodcasts
 
 
 
 
 
 

You'd think all ambition would be finished right there. Dreams gone. Surely that's logical?
If you get cancer in your teens and recover, you're still not going to achieve what you thought you could.
Maybe that's what many think. And maybe that's true for some. But that's not the case for Ellie Philpotts. 
She gets exclusives, such as breaking a national covid vaccination story in December 2020.
She’s written for Times Higher Education; The Telegraph; Reader's Digest; Metro; and HuffPost.  Credits include Senior Reporter at GPOnline, Haymarket Media Group, and regular freelance reporter at Doctors.net.uk. It's a long list.
She’s won a stack of awards including Best Scoop, Best Editorial Assistant and a High Commendation at the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Awards; a finalist nod for Newcomer of the Year at the Medical Journalism Awards.
And this is only a snapshot. The point is that life hasn’t held her back. It hasn’t prevented her from grabbing the journalism and writing career she set her sights on at school.
And on top of everything, Ellie is also a tireless campaigner for teenage cancer awareness. The teenage numbers are climbing and at 15 Ellie developed Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Now London-based and in her 20s, this is Ellie, a teenage cancer survivor…
 
#teenagecancer #teenagecancersurvivor #cancerawareness #cancercandoone #cancerresearchuk #louthrunforlife #cancerjournalist
 
Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK  

Feeling bullied. And her anxiety attacks were often not recognised at school. She felt punished for feeling the way she did. Not all teachers reacted this way; she did get some support.
But looking back now, she feels it’s the education training system that doesn't give teachers the skills they need to recognise these situations.
Fast forward and it’s now social media that can be a best friend one day, and then…
This is part two of Imogen’s story. She was eight years old when she was told her mum had leukaemia. It’s a situation that not only affects the patient but the whole family network.
Now 17, Imogen feels the experience will shape how she views the future, her career and lifestyle choices. She’s already campaigning for cancer awareness, but this is only the start…
 
 
#cancercandoone #louthrunforlife #cancerawareness #cancerhelpforchildren #childcancer #parentcancer #cancerresearchuk #cancerwarrior #cancersurvivor #leaukaemiasurvivor 
 
Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK  

How do you tell a child their parent has cancer? What words do you use...when?
There's plenty of help on the internet. But what about the real world? What is it like to be a child and hear those words? Is there any advice for all of us who may have to sit a child down and tell them at some point?
Imogen was just eight years old when that happened to her.  Now 17 she has plenty to say about how the experience shaped her view of the future, how the lack of empathy in schools let her down and the tricky world of social media.
But in this, the first of two parts, what do you say to a child on that day and how do you build a new life around them? Imogen has been there and tells us now...
#cancercandoone #louthrunforlife #cancerawareness #cancerhelpforchildren #childcancer #parentcancer #cancerresearchuk #cancerwarrior #cancersurvivor #leaukaemiasurvivor 
 
Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK  

'Patients in my position finish the main hospital treatments then you are left with very little support and many patients feel uncomfortable and not certain how to pick their lives up...' 
It's a feeling many cancer patients experience. They know the NHS is extraordinary. The skill, compassion, and relentless work have transformed their lives and restored hope. But...it's when that life-saving treatment has ended that they can feel lost. Now what do I do, who do I talk to, what is my life now...who can help me?
A charity in Lincolnshire, Every-One, has a huge portfolio of help across all kinds of health issues, and for cancer, it runs a Cancer Co-production Group. The quote you read at the start is from one group member. Those who had cancer in the recent past share their highly personal experiences with health professionals.  They tell the story from the receiving end and give their perspective. 
And it works. They're shaping future cancer care policy. The Chief Executive of Every-One is Vicky Thomson...
CLICK to find out more about the work of Every-One
 
#cancercandoone #CancerResearchUK #cancerfundraiser #cancerrun #cancerawareness #louthrunforlife
Music: #Uppbeat : License code: OV4JXO0USXKVGKIK