For a long time, my life was measured in cycles: rounds of chemo, appointments, scans, and side effects. The day I was told I was in remission is the day a new war began — the struggle with the fear of cancer recurrence after treatment. I lived wholly in the ‘during’ of breast cancer. I took a certain pride in it — a quiet, steely resolve to endure whatever was thrown at me. And I did. Actually, that's a lie. I was mostly hysterical and a difficult patient because I was terri

When I was diagnosed with a rare breast cancer, becoming a beauty addict was the last thing on my mind. Surviving long enough to see my granddaughter grow up, getting my finances in order and making it through gruelling treatments just to give myself half a chance were what kept me awake at night. That's what I was focussed on - surviving. My mum was diagnosed with a different, 'lesser' breast cancer when I was 14 - and she didn't make it. My dad died from a complication of l