-
Drika Louw – Breast Cancer Survivor
I named my cancer journey the roller coaster as I felt like I was on a roller coaster from the moment it all started. With a roller coaster you have the 4 parts: Being strapped in and waiting (15/05/2017) The climb (26/05/2017) – The longest part of the roller coaster The free fall (26/06/2018) The stopping moment Being strapped in and waiting: The first part of my roller coaster started in the first week of May 2017. Just before my Dad’s 50th birthday. I noticed some small changes and felt a lump in my breast while doing a self-examination. I knew I had a strong family history with…
-
Steve Kelly – Breast Cancer Survivor “Everyday is a gift. Live life to the fullest.”
Detection In December 2018 my partner Sandy noticed something unusual in my right breast. There was a lump behind the nipple. The lump was not visible from the outside; however, if you looked carefully, you could see that the nipple was slightly inverted. This was painless, and I did not feel ill. Diagnosis I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Grade 3 Breast Cancer. The lump was a ductal carcinoma, approximately 17mm in diameter, or roughly the size of a marble. This is a common type of breast cancer; the standard international treatment protocols apply. Surgery I had surgery the following week, as the primary treatment. The procedure is known as…
-
Consistency and the Two Big C’s
We all know that consistency is key and that most our results in fitness and nutrition come from this consistency but how do we stay consistent when life keeps throwing us curve balls? I have struggled with consistency in fitness and have been guilty of program hopping (you should see all the PDF’s in my iBooks folder) even though I would tell myself ‘Just stick to something Jo! ‘ After the birth of my daughter, I had a period (2016) of consistency with the BBG program and lost my baby weight. I was also running and committed enough to run a half marathon. Even in 2017 after I settled back…
-
Martha’s story – La historia de Martha
My name is Martha, I am 48 years old and I live in Florida. I was diagnosed with colon cancer on December 20, 2017 at age 45; this is my story. I am the mother of two beautiful young children and the wife of a wonderful man. The fourth of five sisters created by good parents, especially my mother. My life changed in December 2017 when what I thought was a simple problem of exhaustion turned into a nightmare. It was during a very important time, my daughter was turning 15 which is a tradition for young Latino women, the celebration of her 15 years. We were preparing a…
-
Tommy’s story
My name is Tommy. I am 32 years old and live in Orlando, Florida. I was diagnosed with stage lV Colon Cancer in May of 2018 at the age of 30, which was the age my late grandfather was when he was first diagnosed with colon cancer. My journey begins in early 2018 when I began to notice that I was rapidly losing weight. I was not working out on a daily basis and was not dieting. I was also having night sweats pretty much nightly. I went to see my primary care physician and explained my symptoms. They had me do a blood panel, which yielded negative results. They…
-
Jeremy’s story
My name is Jeremy Echols. I live in Houston, Texas and am 35 years old. I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at 33. Before my diagnosis I practically lived in the gym. I worked out eight times a week, followed a strict meal plan, never smoked and was not a heavy drinker. There is no genetic history of colon cancer in my family. My story begins in May of 2018 when I started noticing abdominal pain. Nothing too severe, but it was consistent. A month later I started noticing blood in my stool so I booked an appointment with a colorectal surgeon. He told me “I doubt…
-
Exercise during chemo?
Before I was diagnosed with colon cancer in August 2019, I regularly worked out. I would usually wake up around 5am and do strength training before my daughter woke up, although on occasions, she would wake up and watch me! During the last couple of months prior to being diagnosed, my energy dipped dramatically, I had extreme exhaustion which meant no more exercise. I also had severe abdominal pains and was on the toilet more often than I was off it. After my major surgery to remove my tumour, I had to take six weeks to recover as I had a pretty big scar and bruising to contend with! I…
-
Angelica’s story
My name is Angelica Alen and I am 40 years old. I am originally from Brazil but I have spent the last 19 years living and working around the world. My last stop was New Zealand where my husband and I stayed for six years. I had my two kids there. It was a stressful time arriving in New Zealand, settling ourselves, having my first baby and second baby within two years a part with no family support. My youngest started developing symptoms of asthma in New Zealand and I found myself spending a lot of time in hospital by myself with a 1.5 years old baby. I was really…
-
Life takes another turn
Monday 4th May, CT results day ! I woke up at 2:30am and thought oh no, I need to sleep properly! I relaxed myself and managed to fall back to sleep. I woke up to Damian at 6:15am turning the kettle on and he came and asked me if I wanted coffee, he hardly ever makes me coffee so he was feeling nervous too! I felt really tired and decided to get back in bed, Damian, myself and Arabella just snuggled and watched TV for a while. Around 9:30am my mobile rang and it was the clinic, Adam was off work sick but I asked if I could see Owen…
-
Molly’s story
My name is Molly. I am now 40 years old. When I was 29 years old and pregnant with my third child I was diagnosed with stage 3C colon cancer. Here is my story. In August of 2008, I ate a bigger dinner and had extreme stomach pain. My dad is a doctor and after this happened several times, I went to the ER because the pain was so bad. They performed an ultrasound and told me that I probably had a ruptured cyst. I went home and the pain continued but only if I ate a big meal. I found out I was pregnant that fall. During the beginning…
