Photographs were my 'secret code'

'My Well-trodden Path' 

My ‘well trodden path’ through treatment for breast cancer and the depression and fatigue that came with it was difficult to express at times. Everyone expects you to be up-beat and ‘fighting’.

I hated that whole war analogy and needed to find something else.

I did that through changing and updating my Facebook Profile cover photo with photographs from my walking holiday. Some close friends were in on my secret code that showed how I was feeling and interpreted the photos as they saw fit. I found it totally therapeutic and I set myself a recovery challenge to get fit for a walking holiday in Cuba. I nearly didn’t make it! But got the all clear to go at the last minute!

A few of my secret codes:

I am four years post treatment for breast cancer; a senior NHS manager in London and have a lovely family including a much-loved sausage dog.

My background is radiography and I admit I found radiotherapy very difficult. But I am now a healthcare planner tweeting about Great Places 2 Wait (based on personal experience) and trying to live and work with residual fatigue, tamoxifen side effects, and dreadful tinnitus. I love following the Breast Cancer Community on twitter. It’s like a virtual kitchen table!!