My Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Those dread words you have “Breast Cancer”. Then after that comes all sorts of words and acronyms that puts you into a tailspin. Your mind blank, thoughts racing with all sorts of connotations related to the diagnosis of CANCER.

You hear certain words whilst your brain disengages for a moment in time, but my first thought was “am I going to lose my hair”, I couldn’t think about anything else in that moment except I do not want to lose my curls. Vanity at its best.

I’m thankful the doctor wrote everything down for me on a piece of paper, rang my GP to deliver the news to her and passed me over the to a Breast Care Nurse, who gave me a pack of information and reading to do.

My brain felt like it had just received a sucker punch to the head, it was unable to comprehend but it did hear those words “You have Breast Cancer”.

As I left with multiple bits of information, reading and the diagnosis everyone fears, I knew I had to make the phone call that would just break my heart and tell my husband I do indeed have Breast Cancer. After that call I jumped in the car and drove to his work for the biggest hug and kiss, and it was at that moment I was like I can do this, we can do this.

Time just stops for a moment, as your thoughts continue to race, as you continue to think about all the possible outcomes. CANCER has made its way to you. You then spend a dreaded amount of time trying to figure out what have you done to deserve this, why has my body betrayed me, and for me it was the thoughts of I have failed my body. However, the reality is you haven’t done anything wrong, those thoughts are simply our minds trying to justify the diagnosis somehow. But the one thing I have learnt through this journey is breast cancer does not discriminate.

Until your brain catches up with everything that has been said and explained you live in a world of anxiety, a world of worry and fear. This breast cancer diagnosis is a roller coaster of emotions. As you are eagerly awaiting your surgeon’s appointment you mind plays all sorts of tricks on you, it thinks about the worst possible scenarios, it tells you to consult Dr Google, and then you mind is one frazzled piece of matter.

Then when you tell close ones of your diagnosis their reaction or facial expressions are ones that truly break your heart because people associate CANCER with DEATH. It’s remarkable their reactions, all different but the sad look on their faces with not knowing the words to say will always leave an impression on you.

We all experience these emotions differently because our cancer journey is different, no journey is alike, but we do have similarities’ that unite as and bring us together to support and uplift those of us fighting this diagnosis.

For me I was in the final couple of months of undertaking my hypnotherapy diploma, so I was adamant to put a group of my trusted classmates together to help me through this. This included what is called RARM – Rapid Anxiety Reduction Technique, a technique that reduces the anxiety of whatever is going on for you. I used this many times especially for waiting and receiving my results, and it worked.

They did sessions with me, for healing prior to my surgery, sessions about the surgery and the post-surgery recovery right down to reducing the fluid in my drain so I could get it removed. These ladies are truly remarkable, giving their time to help and assist me on the cancer journey. They recorded sessions for me to play at bedtime to help me relax, heal, and even helped me with my endocrine side effects to put a session together to allow me to reduce these or not have them altogether.

My conclusion is, of course I was studying hypnotherapy at the time, and I am now a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist so biased you may think that I am. But I know that Hypnotherapy 100% helped me on my cancer journey, helping me and assisting me to take the anxiety, worry and fear away. It calmed me before surgery, it calmed me before receiving results, it allowed my mind to be opened to hearing and retaining the information I needed to hear from my medical team. I am a true believer in hypnotherapy and what it can do for us all.

Our minds and our subconscious make the impossible, possible, it gave me the hope and belief I needed.

Now let’s be real, CANCER is well S**T, and the rollercoaster of feelings and emotions that we go through of highs and lows, the grief cycle we all experience in our own way, but hypnotherapy can help quieten our minds, remove our worries, fears and anxieties and lets us be the warriors that we are to walk this path of cancer with positivity and grace.

I am a cancer patient, and one that wants to help and support you on your journey. I was very aggressive in my approach and having a left mastectomy and due to this no chemotherapy and radiation treatment was required. I did not have any reconstruction in fact as I write this, I am waiting for my second breast to be removed. Not because it has spread but because I want to limit my risk and be a “flattie in the wild”. This means I will have no reconstruction surgery and stay flat. This is my choice and one that I stand 100% behind. Your journey will be different, it won’t follow the same path as mine or someone else’s. We must be our biggest advocates in this journey, and I am here to help you navigate through your process. Cancer can feel very lonely at times, but remember you have support around you.

I have my Hypnotherapy colleagues who are waiting to help me again on my second mastectomy journey. I couldn’t imagine navigating cancer without hypnotherapy.

We are all unique in this diagnosis and I would love to help and guide you through how hypnotherapy can work for you.

Empathy, understanding is a strong connectivity for helping and supporting cancer victims and carers. It truly unites us and teaches us how to be advocates for our body and what is the right choice for us. We don’t need to be convinced by anyone of the road we take on how you deal with this. I am a strong believer it is your body and so the treatment you decide is yours.

I welcome you all to try hypnotherapy, and I will be my privilege in helping you on your journey.

*Please not hypnotherapy is not a medical treatment for cancer, it is an alternative and allied service that can assist alongside your treatment. Hypnotherapy will not cure your diagnosis, and I encourage you work with your medical team to choose the best treatment plan for you. Hypnotherapy can aid and support holistically.