Posted on behalf of new user Lisa
Kind regards
Lucy
Hello all, I’m Lisa, I’m 29, live in London and in June of last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 28. I had an immediate mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy, and I’m now nearing the end of radiotherapy. I’ve been documenting my experience on my blog (Alright Tit – alrighttit.blogspot.com) in the most honest, no-holds-barred way I possibly can, and I have been spurred on by some lovely feedback, a plug from Stephen Fry, great reader numbers and coverage in UK Glamour magazine, South African Cosmo magazine and BBC radio.
I’ve recently been in touch with a well-known publisher about using my blog as the basis for a book. I’m keen that the book shouldn’t just come from my perspective, but feature stories from other cancer-affected people, and communicate to the world just how different the experience of cancer is for each person living with it.
And so, I’m busily collecting people’s quotes, experiences and stories for my book, from all perspectives – those living with cancer, those getting used to living without it, those who’ve witnessed it, those who’d rather forget it – that are as honest and open as I hope my blog has been.
When I was diagnosed, someone sent me a book of quotes from breast cancer survivors – it was so cutesy and saccharine and obviously masking the truth that, even before I’d experienced any of the things the contributors were talking about, I knew that wasn’t how it was going to be. It was full of awful quotes like, ‘Having a wig gave me extra time in bed in the morning where I’d normally have been blow-drying my hair’ and ‘I bought different wigs so I could try out different personalities in the bedroom’. Both of which are rubbish, of course, because 1) I’d give up all the lie-ins in the world to get my hair back and 2) not only do chemo drugs starve you of a sex drive, but I’m sure most people living with cancer would agree that never in your life will you feel less attractive than you do during this time – in this game, as we know, you leave your vanity at the door.
The truth is that the more light-hearted parts of this experience – and I do believe there are some… few, but some – aren’t the cliched, hidden-benefits-of-wig-wearing stories, but rather the fantastically brave, stoic, dignified, spirit-of-the-blitz way in which those affected fight their way through. And that, in a nutshell, is the message I’d love my book to get across, with your help.
I’d love to hear your quotes, ideas, stories or experiences of cancer – whether you’ve had it yourself or witnessed someone you love go through it. More details of the kind of thing I’m after can be found at alrighttit.blogspot.com/2009/01/rehab.html and I can be contacted via email (author@alrighttit.com) or via the comments facility on my blog.
Many thanks for the time you’ve taken to read this, and all the best.
Lisa