Hi,
I was just unfortunate enough to pick up a magazine with a 2 page spread on Tricia and HER breast cancer.
I quote …
‘I’ve been through the first three lots of chemo, which left me nauseous, and I dealt with that and the cramps by doing sit-ups and dieting. The second bout of chemo has hit me round the head like a cricket bat. Every bit of me hurts, even my fingertips and behind my eyelids. But I’m still in the gym, power walking and working out. My fitness has made me deal with my illness’
Later quote, in answer to the question ‘How do you see this time in your life?’
’ This experience is like seeing life through a different prism. You can see it as scary or exciting.’
I feel quite let down by a public figure who could have done so much more than dye her hair blonde! (that was not a blonde attack in case that is misinterpreted) Anyone out there doing sit-ups to beat nausea or feeling excited by having cancer? I thought not.
Hugs to you all
Lily x x
Oooooh, don’t get me started on Tricia Goddard! Every time I pick up a newspaper or magazine and she’s there spouting about how she’s “fighting” it by carrying on completely as normal and hasn’t taken one day off work and has fitted everything around her filming schedules and still continues to exercise. Grrrrrrrrr!
I’m not going to say anything more because if I start I’ll be going forever!
On the other hand, there’s Rebekah thingy who used to be in Casualty and she’s written a short piece in the Daily Mirror every Thursday since she started treatment. She’s not trying to fool anyone that she’s wonder woman and it’s good to read about someone experiencing similar problems.
Definately not excited. And sit ups for nausea? Thats a first. I knew she had been diagnosed and saw a glimpse of her on tv with the short blond do a while ago.
If I have enough energy to do a sit up I will use it for something else like cleaning or walking to the shop to get a newspaper.
Surely the gym isn’t the best place to be with regard to fighting infection either? I must admit for a fleeting moment I considered getting an excerise bike as pre dx was a real gym bunny… but that idea was extremely short lived! I’ve been recommended yoga if I want to excerise as it is gentle and stress relieving. Yet to try this at home though and again don’t want to go to the gym for this as have vision of leaning forward and scarf falling off scaring fellow participants and ruining the calm of the room! .
reminds me of the advert on tv a teenage girl says to her mother, about a friends mother being sooo cool. Th emothers repy is the way I feel right now. GOOD FOR HER!
Saw your post and had to add my comments. How I hate these “superwomen” On my first day of chemo I arrived at the hospital, was settled in my room and I was asked how I felt. I burst into tears and continued to bawl my head off until it was suggested that I might like to meet another lady who was about 3 chemos down the line. So I was taken along to see her and her friend sat with her. My first line was “You look okay” To which her friend said “well shes not ill” That shut me up. In front of me was a superwoman who it seemed had not missed a day of work and who had comuted daily into London. And I believed every word she spoke. Needless to say it was not the same for me and I felt like the majority of ladies who post here which was pretty awful. I wasn’t a martyr, I walked to the shop most days and was able to cook a meal every evening. But I dare say that Tricia probably doesn’t have to worry about the cleaning, the washing or that the bills might not get paid. I’m being pretty harsh but I bet we all have people in our lives who believe everything that is written in the paper and think that we should be as “superhuman” as these celebrities.
Sorry to rant on but these articles do annoy me but it sells papers.
she was in a sunday mag the other week and I deliberately flicked over at her first (never been a fan) then decided to read it as we now have something in common, and it was just as I expected, yes all about being a super woman, chemo making her lose weight + great nails, how she cant do ill cos its not an option with her staff and again the story of her 1st husband being gay (bet her daughters by him love that story constantly being aired) she also added that she only did cancer articles as it got leaked to the press!!! my feelings are other well known woman have told the press due to commitments but then they go off and have their treatment quietly and in private, as I said never been a fan but did try to give her a chane, really hope this is not another book.
wonder what woman with cervical cancer are making of jade goody.
I noticed you mention Jade Goody, I like alot of people were upset by the way she treated Shilpa Shetty, BUT my heart goes out to that poor girl. Everytime I have seen pics of her she has red eyes from crying and looks very distressed. I was shocked and saddened to hear people saying that it was a publicity stunt and not true. What a nasty thing to say, the women is very ill and she admits herself could die as its not been caught early. I really really feel for her. Jade has not had the best of childhoods, you just have to look at her mother to see that. Poor girl, she is not coming across super human, infact more like a vulnerable child. I really really wish her all the best.
Lets hope that this will make alot of young girls go for smear tests, that might not have bothered if it had not been for Jade.
Lily… leave her alone, it’s probably the FEC talking LOL
Dealing with Nausea with situps, can’t imagine that, as you know I’ve really not had that too bad at all but when I had that several year bout of nausea when I was younger the only sit up was quickly following my a get up and leg it to the bathroom, you know what I’m saying.
Maybe that’s what she really meant. I have to be hoenst if the press were asking me questions I’d feed them a load of bull if it were me but doing interviews is kinda different that’s voluntary.
I suppose we all deal with things differently. Before my diagnosis I wasn’t fortunate enough to have staff and personal trainers and I didn’t go to the gym so I’m not doing it now.
We had a discussion about Tricia before and to be honest it did get my back up but to be honest I say fair play to her for continuing to do the things she always has even if she is only running 4 instead of 6 miles a day.
I am 4 cycles into my chemo and have just spent the weekend in hospital from a temp of 38 and neutrophils of 0.03. I read almost every trashy magazine the hospital shop had and I suppose since we are approaching breast awareness month they feel they have to publicise all the stuff and because Tricia is going through her treatment now they are using her to raise awareness. I think it’s a bit like the pink thing beofre diagnosis we probably wouldn’t have thoought twice about buying a pink ribbon or a bag with the ribbon on it but now it irritates a lot of us.
I just feel that everyone deals with this awful disease, be it breast or another form, in their own way. I am by no means superwoman but I have not let this thing stop me living my life. I have 3 kids to sort out every day and although I am no longer working feel that had I been in a suitbale job I may well have continued. I have had 3 FEC and felt rough for about a week after each and no. 4 was a form of tax and it hit me hard after day 4, but I am still motoring on. I am not Tricia, I do not go to the gym but I do carry on with my life as best I can and in the way I want to deal with this bloody annoying illness.
Sorry if this offends some and I like a rant as well as the next person but I have now come to realise that we ARE all different and we deal with things differently. Celebs just irritate us in general but they are humans too.
I don’t tend to read those magazine because they do tend to irritate me, most of them are far too focused on vapid things and image so why wind myself up with them. I’ll be getting take a break next week 'cause it’s got Lolly in it. It’ll be interesting to see if that are still obsessed with this eyeshadow, that bikini and how to perform better in bed yada yada. I’m more a new scientist kind of girl (which does cheer me up as it’s got loads of things about mankind making progress and no celebs at all yea)
I did take up walking everyday for at least 2k (most days 5) straight after diagnosis, but this was more because I had be enslaved by my laptop and I needed to get fit before surgery… it worked, I would certainly recommend a little excersise to anyone going through chemo too, not weights etc just a time and place to escape and stretch your legs, that kind of thing.
I don’t think this Tricia women’s thinking about the pressure some other patients may feel, she’s coping how it suits her of course. And anyone who feels bad because they’re not doing what she is should probably just stop reading the articles… like me
I agree with you Lily she irritates me too! it gives others the wrong impression that it can be dealt with so easily and then when others can’t deal with it like that it can be construed we are wimps! maybe it would be a lot easier to have someone to do the shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing because I bet you superwoman doesn’t have to do all those things!! as suggested I wont be reading anything about her.
Leeloo I agree too - I’m getting on with my life too, but I know that when I’ve had my next chemo I’ll take the week off work and rest, take it easy and help myself by building back up slowly. I must admit to having stopped reading articles with Tricia in purely because it makes me feel so angry. I think she makes me angry because she goes on about carrying on working with no breaks and still going to the gym etc, but then as others have said, she probably doesn’t have to worry about keeping the house clean, getting the kids sorted or making sure dinner is on the table. My life carries on and I am still working except for the week after chemo. I guess I just have different priorities in life to Tricia and understand that if my body is telling me to sleep then I will and I continue to exercise as much as I have done in the past (not a huge amount, just enough), but by doing this it doesn’t mean that I’m not “fighting” it, I’m just not being a martyr!
Tricia really gives me the pip, simply because since I started my treatment I have found every day tasks that normally I could have done so easily, extremely difficult. I am exhausted after hanging out the washing, I had to cook sunday dinner yesterday but did everything sitting down as my legs are so weak that they barely carry my ever increasing weight. Sit ups, I’ve forgotten what tummy muscles are and get stuck when trying to get up off the bed or settee.
Perhaps I am just a weakling, but I don’t understand from my own experience of chemo how she can carry on so normally.
I saw the article about Tricia in the Mirror the other day. My thoughts were why is she trying so hard to convince everyone that she is so tough? Is this really her or is it her PR machine churning out crap about how wonderful she is and coping blah blah blah? Personally, I think it is all a lot of hot aired hype. But I do worry about the poor women out there who are trying to cope with breast cancer and all the befalls it and trying in some way to measure up to “Tricia”. Or worse still, those whose other halves or employers say “well Tricia can run 10 million miles and she is having chemo, so why cant you do this, that or the other?” When a celeb (ableit a Z lister) pipes up, there are always comparisons to be drawn. We need to realise that we are all so different. Some will need far more support than others. Some will want to go back to work, whereas others need more time to recover. There is no bluepirnt for how we cope so I hope that no-one thinks that Tricia has all the answers.
Hi Cathy
I came on the thread to write exactly the same feelings about the Tricia PR machine. Not for one moment do I believe we are being told the truth …just a good story!!
Margaret
Hi,
it is really interesting to read how her comments invoke different feelings in people, proving the point that we are all different. I worry how my boss will now react to me taking so long off work, because I can’t work through this. Actually being realistic, he would not even know about articles like this. I have noticed more flippant comments from people who think you ‘do chemo’ and that is it, (sadly not for many people) are on the increase, such as my friend’s Mum has got that and she’s fine - I bet she’s not. Mostly comments are well-meaning.
The comment in the article that offended me most was that people should/could find breast cancer exciting and worryingly the suggestion that dieting would help nausea and cramps!!
We all know the benefits of exercise and I admire those of you able to, particularly as this mostly involves our younger friends on here ( no offence meant to super human middles and oldies who are better than me!). However some of us, like me, are more like the African land snail and just don’t get quite that far!! We know we should but we don’t need to feel worse.We think we will start tomorrow or next week or when we feel better or …!
Take care whichever type you are and I hope things are going well for you.
Lily x
Situps?Running?Power walking?She has never crawled across a landing,too weak to stand,wondering whether to vomit or sir on the loo.Good for her if its true but its not helpful to make those who just endure feel they are failing.Vx
Trisha makes me want to scream. I finished chemo begining of June 6 FEC then went straight into rads 4 weeks (to avoid summer holidays) and about 2 weeks ago I started to feel a bit like my old self. I am today going swimming (floating LOL) for the first time in nearly a year with my special mastectomy swim suit and false boob and feeling quite nervous about it. So Tisha saying that during chemo she has the energy to go to the gym never mind do anything when she gets there is beyond me. I think as mentioned earlier it is PR but it does make people think that you are a fraud for not being able to do these things. AARRHHHHH
the majority of us all feel hacked off with the way she is indicating that cancer is so easy to handle if you are positive (hate that word now) how much more dignified was Kylie disappearing from the public eye and retreating to her family and friends and admitting she suffered from depression that is the celeb I will be reading about!
whenever I read about any celebs treatment i ask myself two questions. Do they have to deal with NHS wigs and do they clean there own toilet after they have vomited? Then i stop reading the article, i cant be bothered to get myself upset over such trash
