World Cancer Day | Blog

World Cancer day is 4th February 2024 and is the theme for this year is Close the Care Gap.

World Cancer Day is the global uniting initiative led by the  Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).  By raising worldwide awareness, improving education and catalysing personal, collective and government action, all working together to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equitable for all - no matter who you are or where you live.

Many people are affected by cancer, whether you have had a diagnosis or know someone that has. Cancer affects family and friends not just the person with the diagnosis. People may also feel worried, angry, or afraid.

What is cancer?

Cancer is a condition where cells in a specific part of the body grow and reproduce uncontrollably. The cancerous cells can invade and destroy surrounding healthy tissue, including organs.1 in 2 people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. In the UK, the 4 most common types of cancer are:

breast cancer

lung cancer

prostate cancer

bowel cancer

There are more than 200 different types of cancer, and each is diagnosed and treated in a particular way.

Spotting the signs of cancer:

Changes to your body's normal processes or unusual, unexplained symptoms can sometimes be an early sign of cancer.

Symptoms that need to be checked by a doctor include:

a lump that suddenly appears on your body
unexplained bleeding
changes to your bowel habits

But in many cases your symptoms will not be related to cancer and will be caused by other, non-cancerous health conditions.

Read more about the signs and symptoms of cancer.

Laura's Story

Cancer has impacted many lives in all different ways. For me, I have had family diagnosed with cancer, been bereaved from cancer and been a patient. I have seen the many different faces of cancer, all with different impacts upon me psychologically and physically. The psychological impact can be one that often gets overlooked but for some, including me, the most difficult part.

At the age of 30 I was diagnosed with stage 2b squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. At this point in my life my daughter was 6, I was in a very new relationship and working full time. My 'stress bucket' was already pretty full, so adding a cancer diagnosis to the this was very overwhelming, and I was not sure how to even to begin to process what was happening. I still remember being the room when I was given the news, news I was not expecting to hear. When I say hear, I only took in the first few sentences, after that I fell back into the chair questioning Why me, why now. Am I going to live? . Receiving news that you have been diagnosed with a life limiting illness is not an easy task to tackle. There is also no rule book or guide to navigate it, everyone's experience is so individualised you have to find what you need and who you need.

Life had changed in the space of a 15-minute hospital appointment, I was grieving my old life and all that I knew. I would lose my fertility, enter early menopause, and possibly live with side effects from treatment for the rest of my life. Faced with uncertainty if the treatment would work, navigating motherhood as a cancer patient, going onto to long term sick, explaining to my new partner I had cancer and breaking the news to family and friends, all seemed impossible. How could I explain something that I didn't have the answers to or know what the outcome would be? Would people treat me differently, would I fully lose me? Having never really suffered with anxiety in the past, I was completely unaware of the effect this was also having upon me and how it was making me feel. This became mixed with scans, blood tests, biopsies and more appointments, it all seemed a bit of a whirlwind experience and one that felt uncontrollable at times.

I had noticed that I felt I could not be truly honest with those around me, I did not want them to worry, but also there was something about being told how brave I was that was making me more reluctant to speak up. I was not feeling brave, I was scared but had none to voice this to, no one who just wanted to listen and understand it from my point of view. At this point in my journey, I did reach out for support and found it within a local cancer charity. They didn't judge me for how I was feeling, they just listened and offered support when I needed it, not when I was told I needed it.

I met some wonderful people here and one of those people included another young lady, Carly, with a similar diagnosis to mine. We instantly just understood each other and from that day, became inseparable. There is something 'magical' about finding a person who seems to understand nearly everything the same as you do in the land of cancer, you don't necessarily have to say anything, 'they just know'. Even though the differing treatments all effect everyone differently, you soon understand what is meant by the 'good days' and the 'not so good days'. On my good days I would plan in a little treat that I knew I would enjoy and for the not so good days I would make sure I had my favourite snacks in and the tv remote to hand. This was my one way of taking back the control I felt was lost with the diagnosis, it also gave me the space to grieve for the life I had lost due to cancer and accept that my feelings were valid.

Treatment feels like a blur now, I know it happened and I know how I felt but I somehow am now able to put it to the back of my mind. I believe this is partly due to deciding that I was going to live my life differently, I was going to make sure I built in all those things I wish I had done and wanted to do. I was finally free from treatment schedules, scans and hospital appointments. I just had the agonising wait of 3 months to see if the treatment had worked. One word which I became to love, and hate was 'scanxiety'. This encapsulated all those feelings and worries associated with having a scan and waiting for those all-important results to see if the cancer was gone.

I remember the day I was called by my CNS to say I was 'in remission', I was in a cancer charity shop! With that call I then decided I wanted to volunteer in the shop I was standing in. I guess I took it as a sign of wanting to give back and something I wanted to do. Of course, this was along with happy phone calls to my now husband and my parents. Everyone wanted to celebrate, I was just thankful to be alive and be given some more time to be me, a mum, a partner, a daughter and a friend. What I definitely did know was that I wanted to change career, I couldn't go back to my old job due to ongoing side effects from treatment. That one decision to volunteer in a charity shop ultimately shaped my future and where I am today.

2016 was my all clear year and in 2017 I got engaged and enrolled onto an Access course at East Coast College, with Carly of course, I said we were inseparable! I also took up a post as a support and information officer to support others effected by cancer.

In 2018 I got married to my partner Andy and also watched Carly get married too, we had a weird connection of things happening at the same time, even turning up to college in the same clothes. Carly and I also enrolled onto a degree in 2018, BA (Hons) in Person Centred Counselling at the University Of Suffolk. Even though it appears life was going great, behind the scenes scanxiety was still real, every 3 months, then 6 months, then yearly up to the 5 year all clear mark.

Cancer never goes away, it is always there somewhere reminding you it once took up home in your body. Although now it lives in my thoughts and mind. Through work, uni, family life and friendships life seemed to be going in an ok direction. I often dodged the when are you having other children question with ease now, although it still hurt a little inside. I was also battling with early menopause and the wonders that come with that.

In 2019 Carly had to leave the course due to her ongoing side effects from treatment, the journey we had started together had taken a turn that felt scary, I didn't want to do this alone. She reminded me daily that I was never alone with uni or my cancer worries, we shared them together. My husband and hers also shared in the 'carer' thoughts and feelings, something we didn't know how to support them with. Through the years of uni I continued to work and study, I also took time to spend with family and friends, enjoy holidays and little day trips out. I have over 13,000 photos on my phone, I want to remind myself that I'm living and what great memories I have been able to build. Again, with cancer always there somewhere, these would be memories for my family and friends if I was not to be here.

In 2021 I finally graduated uni with first class honours! I have no idea how I managed to achieve that while still battling life and work. I say it was achieved with the unmeasurable support of my husband, daughter, parents and Carly. They all individually helped me through.

After graduating I settled into a centre lead role and counselling lead role at the local charity I was still working for. Through their support to enable me to achieve my dreams and attend uni, I had become a qualified counsellor. Through the 6 years of working in cancer services, I knew I wanted to use all I had learnt but also my own experience to support others therapeutically. My specialisms then and still now, in my therapeutic work, are cancer and early menopause. My mindset is that I have learnt to live with cancer and everything that I went through, but also everything I have gained. Even if I can support one person through their journey, this is enough for me.

Life has altered again recently, both with work and also with Carly. In October 2022 I joined the Norfolk and Waveney Talking Therapies as a counsellor, it was a scary step to come out of cancer services in a work capacity as it was all that I have known for so long. I still continue my work as Chair for the cancer patient user group at the James Paget University Hospital and a patient rep for the East of England Cancer Alliance (had to make sure the patients voice is heard and support change across the NHS). Not long into my Wellbeing journey I was able to join the Long-Term Conditions pathway for cancer with Julia. My need to support and instil positive change for patients is a passion and one that I felt lucky to have supported in a work capacity. Life felt complete at this moment in time, I was still living cancer free, I had a wonderful family and friends, and was in a job that supported me and my passions.

Sadly, at the end of 2022 Carly received the news her cancer had returned and would have to endure the same treatment as I had previously. Life was to change again, but it felt ok, we had gotten through it before so this time shouldn't be any different right? Wrong, unfortunately the treatment was not successful and on 4^th  May 2023 I lost my best friend, that one person who knew what it was like to be me and me her. Que my 13,000 photos making an entrance to recall all those wonderful memories we had made since meeting. I have had bereavements in the past, but this one was different. I can't really put it into words, but the feeling is like having part of me missing. As a counsellor I think some expect me to be ok and be able to voice my feelings and know how to deal with them, again wrong. We all find times hard, no matter what our background or profession is.

Since May 2023, I have been lucky enough to change role within the Norfolk and Waveney Talking Therapies and I am currently a Team Leader and working on the cancer pathway with Julia. Since the loss of Carly, I have continued to strive to make each day count and continue to the fight for adequate and timely support for those effected by cancer. Within my role, Julia and I have been given the room to move this forward and has led to the production of a soon to be released workshop, My Cancer Diagnosis and Me. It is vitally important patients feel heard and also validated with how they may be feeling, it's not easy to say how you truly feel to the ones closest to you. From my own personal experience, I would urge those experiencing a diagnosis to reach out for support when they feel able to or want to. We are quite fortunate in Norfolk and Waveney to have access to a wide range of holistic support options, including the Norfolk and Waveney Talking Therapies.