Audrey’s Blog on living well with disability and breast cancer

Five years ago today we were with my step-daughter as her Mum lost her hard fought battle with breast cancer. It was such a terribly sad time not only for her family but for Julia too. She had so much more living to do and a much loved family she wanted to do it with. She had missed a mammogram as she had had another problem with her health and decided to put that one off till a better time. A scenario many of us would recognise. It was when she noticed a change in her nipple and mentioned it to her daughter that she finally realised she needed to have it checked. She didn’t know till then it could be a sign of breast cancer. Like many women ( as our research at Breakthrough Breast Cancer confirms)she wasn’t familiar with the signs of breast cancer beyond a lump. Having also missed a breast screening appointment meant that when she did finally seek medical help, the cancer had already spread. Her treatment consequently involved surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Throughout her

So that’s me back from holiday and sunny Edinburgh is crazily festival manic .I started the week visiting my GP since I had had to buy antibiotics while away. I also found I couldn’t stop coughing on the flight and my inhalers were just not helping. So there I was conceding that wonder woman has well and truly left the building. The GP not only prescribed steroids for the asthma but also rest and time off work. After two days of resistance I have finally given in and I write this from my bed, propped up with pillows and sustained with warm drinks. So much for the post holiday benefits! I have been searching for mindfulness classes to support my self care and trying not to give in to the “I don’t have time to commit to that” mantra. You see there is insight but still long engrained behaviours to address. Wish me luck on that one…. Whilst buying my over the counter antibiotics it started me wondering about our very different approach at home. I did know what to ask for, understood the pr

In a week that has told of riots I feel a long way from such things. I know there has been a special debate in parliament and I have no real appetite to see the detail given some of what I have read. Perhaps its because the greatest excitement we experience here is the visit from the neighbourhood cat and the goats. But maybe its also because of the predictability of the response. Undoubtedly there has been depressing engagement in criminal behaviour by those who should know better but is that all it is? It has reached the headlines here in Bulgaria and as our friends here say there is always a reason for rioting. It hasn’t happened for many years in the UK and we need to learn from it. Can it be a coincidence that they have sat alongside the panic in the markets we saw last week. When it appears that the “experts” may not know everything and more livelihoods and homes seem at risk, how do people with the least hold onto hope? I know many lives have been damaged by these riots but le

I have started the week well and walked into work! I do arrive much more energised and I got in early too….it must be the lure of a holiday at the end of the week and much to do in the interim. It’s also started well with the good news that the Government in Scotland has announced the launch of the detect cancer early programme aimed at improving early detection in breast, bowel and lung cancer. In Breakthrough Breast Cancer we really welcome this as early detection is an important predictor of a good outcome which is why it’s a key focus of our TLC campaign and public health work in general. The link for more information about it is here. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/08/01094342   My own experience is of course the reminder of the difference early detection can make, I am here almost 17 years later and although I have now been diagnosed for a second time, that too was an early diagnosis too thanks to my own knowledge of TLC. But this week I have be