My ‘well trodden path’ through treatment for breast cancer and the depression and fatigue that came with it was difficult to express at times. Everyone expects you to be up-beat and ‘fighting’.
I hated that whole war analogy and needed to find something else.
I did that through changing and updating my Facebook Profile cover photo with photographs from my walking holiday. Some close friends were in on my secret code that showed how I was feeling and interpreted the photos as they saw fit. I found it totally therapeutic and I set myself a recovery challenge to get fit for a walking holiday in Cuba. I nearly didn’t make it! But got the all clear to go at the last minute!
A few of my secret codes:
This depicts difficult times, a rocky path strewn with hazards.
Taken at altitude and I had pneumonitis after radiotherapy. Tough to breathe!
A tricky moment when I got a biopsy recall : years after surgery. Was trying to visualise all options.When things started to go well. I recognised all the friends that got me through.
I am four years post treatment for breast cancer; a senior NHS manager in London and have a lovely family including a much-loved sausage dog.
My background is radiography and I admit I found radiotherapy very difficult. But I am now a healthcare planner tweeting about Great Places 2 Wait (based on personal experience) and trying to live and work with residual fatigue, tamoxifen side effects, and dreadful tinnitus. I love following the Breast Cancer Community on twitter. It’s like a virtual kitchen table!!
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