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Cancer
by milliesmum123
A lot of people hear the word cancer and it provokes lots of different emotions for them. When you are told you have cancer you feel suddenly very afraid and in turmoil wondering how you will get through the ordeal but there is another part of the cancer journey which is really tough and that is learning how to live again once you are a ... survivor. There is so much help out there when you are in the thick of treatment but afterwards the world seems to have changed a lot but you are suddenly on your own. I hope that this review will help give people some ways on how to survive surviving.
Background
I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. It came as a complete shock. I visited my GP to discuss feeling tired but I was expecting to be diagnosed with an iron deficiency at the worst, I didn't expect to be sent back and forth to various places for tests and eventually a diagnosis of a cancer. At the time my thoughts were all about how I would survive treatment as all you hear about it is how awful it is. I was shown around the hospital as though I was being shown around a new house, various parts were shown to me and I just felt overwhelmed by it all. I had chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The chemotherapy took three hours to be given and it meant I was in hospital for a good 6 hours in all. The treatment room was quite nice ,as nice as a treatment room can go with comfortable chairs, lots of pillows and set out a bit like a lounge so you can talk to other patients or you could draw the curtain around the bed if you'd rather have privacy. Chemotherapy did make me feel very ill but there were lots of tablets to take to help with various side effects but unfortunately very little could help with the tiredness which was disabling. I couldn't get out of bed some days and with a young child it was very difficult for me and my husband. Radiotherapy I found scary as it was a case of being all alone in the machine and even the radiotherapy department was underground so it all felt very surreal and scary.
One side effect I got a lot of was a poor blood count. The treatment killed lots of cells that fight infection and things so I felt like I was treading on egg shells, that if I caught so much as a cold it could be life threatening. I had several hospital stays and had to be isolated at one point due to infection. This was where I felt my worse both physically and emotionally and I think this is what had the biggest impact upon surviving. Ten months after beginning all of this I was given the all clear, I had reached remission. I have to go for regular check ups and there is a threat it could return.
Afterwards
When I was undergoing treatment my calendar was bursting with appointments, even though I didn't feel like going to any of them, it was full with treatment, check ups, GP visits, trips to support groups, visits by MacMillan nurses and so forth. Once I was discharged my calendar was very empty. At first I thought this was great, that I could do what I wanted and not be ruled by hospital life anymore but actually it felt very strange. I no longer had places I had to be and this meant I could just stay at home and do what I wanted. My little girl was at a nursery three days a week and on the other two days I would just stay in the house with her having cosy film viewings or doing jigsaws. I didn't talk to many friends as I felt so detached from them suddenly, we didn't have much in common anymore anyway as I had a child and they didn't and now I had gone through cancer it made it even more isolating. I had made some friends throughout the treatment process but found it difficult to talk to them knowing they were still undergoing treatment whilst I was 'better'. I began to feel really isolated and jealous. I wanted to do things but felt as though I couldn't, I was very afraid of over doing it, I was afraid of getting too tired or of getting an infection even though I was no longer having treatment but after ten months of living in fear it was hard to switch this off.
A day at a time
To recover you need to take it a day at a time. In fact at first I was taking it more like twenty minutes at a time and just concentrated on the most basic things such as making sure I ate and had good sleep. Anything else had to come secondary. With time I could take things in bigger chunks, hours at a time, half a day at a time and now i can look forward a bit better. I think when you first come out of treatment you imagine you'll slip back into your old life and everything will fall into place but it doesn't work like that.
Look forward
I think it is so important to look forward. I kept looking back at various things and there was no way doing this could ever have a positive result. I found there were two things I would like back on one was my life before cancer and another was my time during treatment. I would crave my old life where I Had been relatively care free, when I had enjoyed my job and was loving being a new mum and I would wish I could go back to then. This obviously didn't happen and all it did was make me miserable and sad and wish I had a different life. I became very mournful and had a 'why me' attitude which was hard to snap out of. I also would look back on my treatment days and be angry at what it had snatched off me, I would think about how much I missed out during these months and how I would never get them back. This made me really upset and angry and again had no positive effect on me. I have come to realise that looking forward is the only way you can get through it. At first it's hard to do but now I can look forward properly. I can look forward to the summer months and playing in the park with my little girl and I'm looking forward to getting a job again. Looking back did nothing but upset me and I know that it wasted so much of my emotional capacity.
Plan
My diary was empty when I left the hospital treatments behind me and I liked this but it was dangerous as it meant I could isolate myself. I think it is important to make plans. At first you may not feel like planning much but even if it's just to arrange for a friend to drop by for an hour or to sit in a cinema one quiet afternoon with a friend... My plans at first were shaky, I would plan something very easy to achieve just like a phone call which wouldn't mean physical contact but this in itself was difficult as I was afraid my friends would be different with me but having things pencilled in my diary was really important. Eventually plans will become more challenging to whole days out. My latest plan is to go on holiday this summer and this is occupying my thoughts with practical approaches such as how to save up money in time, where we could go, what we will do when we are there. I am focussing on the practical side and not the emotional side as I know I will fret about being away from my local hospital. Planning like this has helped me to look forward and move my life forward to. It's made my days seem more achievable and have purpose again.
Talk
People kept telling me I should talk but when you feel completely on your own as though nobody in the world could possibly understand you then it is so patronising to be told by someone to talk to them. I couldn't see how talking could help, it wasn't going to give me my old life back and I was afraid that the more I talked, the more I would see people were different to me. I did eventually talk when I realised that I couldn't go on in the miserable state I was. I spoke to my GP and told her I needed some help because I wasn't coping with being a survivor. She arranged for some counselling for me and I also began to talk to my husband about how I was feeling. I think it was hard for him to know I was still so isolated despite being 'better'. I found that talking helped. Because people knew how difficult it was they helped me, they wouldn't push me to do things but would help me to plan things and give me the support and encouragement that I needed. Talking really did help, sometimes just saying things outloud would make me realise how irrational they were and how I had to stop the thoughts I was having, other times it would make me realise how normal a thought I was having and we would sometimes find things to laugh about. It definitely helped me to overcome many of the issues.
Be sensible
When you first stop treatment you are not better. You still feel very tired, there are still physical side effects and this is something you don't really anticipate so it's important to be sensible. You won't suddenly slot back into your old life and you won' be able to do everything you could. There may be permanent changes to your body which you have to live with. I think rushing into an old life will do more harm, you need to adjust slowly and get used to the new life you have and don't panic. I used to panic constantly that if I didn't sleep enough I would get tired again and would this make the cancer come back? If I got a cold would it make me just as ill again? Now I have learnt to be rational and control these thoughts which before would have sent me into a huge panic. It has taken a lot of time but I am nowhere near as panicked as I was.
Take help
There is loads of help out there when you're having cancer treatment and it doesn't have to stop once you're out of the treatment stage. You can still have ongoing support from various charities and many support groups love to welcome back survivors so they can help others and also so you can share your feelings. There were several survivors at the support group I attended but I just didn't realise it at the time. Having regular appointments with a counsellor helped me. Don't be afraid to seek help it is really important to still have support.
Living with cancer is very difficult. Even when you no longer are physically having treatment it still takes a big impact on your life and you can live in fear that it is going to come back. I have realised that by looking back and living in fear I wasn't actually living a life. I am now looking forward and making plans and feel as though my life is back on track now. I will never be who I used to be but I can accept that now and just appreciate the life that I do have now. Please do seek help if you feel you aren't coping.
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My Top 10 Beauty Products
by katyj10
My Top 10 Beauty Products
This is a review I have been thinking about for a long long time. With my 1000th review approaching, I wanted to mark it with something close to my heart and as my reviews will show, I am a complete beauty junkie and love trying out new products all the time, through impulse buys and beauty box ... subscriptions I have tried so many brands that I love and hate and yet a few things I find I will always return to loyally so here it is, the top of the beauty must haves in my humble opinion.
In no particular order (because that would be too difficult) they are as follows:
1. BB cream - a modern take on tinted moisturiser, I never liked tinted moisturisers but have found myself loving a number of Beauty Balm creams on the market. They do a great everyday task, from brightening skin to evening flaws and giving light coverage and concealing shadows and minor flaws. In a few seconds I can make myself look a bit warmed up and can use it on its own or with other make up. Top brand: Dr Jart, it's expensive but worth it. I also love Bare Escentuals mineral make up and have tried and enjoyed a lot of their products with the foundation coming up high in my list of must -haves. It has a built in SPF that I don't even think about when I'm using it but it gives protection that is vital for young looking skin in the long run.
2. Mascara - the one thing that instantly makes my eyes look awake and open. At the moment I'm loving No7 Lash Adapt in black. It's buildable and doesn't clog up with each layer. You can create a daytime or evening look with this.
3. Lip balm - whilst I like gloss, I am never without a lip balm. I used to swear by Vaseline in a tin but have gravitated towards other balms in a tube as I don't struggle with opening them each time. Nivea's water therapy lip balm is one of my favourites. I also like figs & rouge cocoa vanilla for a balm that literally melts on to the lips but the packaging can put me off!
4. Hair dye - I use a home dye (I get my mum to do it!) to save money and also for convenience as it can be done literally within the hour and you're not making appointments etc. I tend to use Nutrisse as the colourant but have tried others. It makes me feel better when I am root-less but squeezing another product in to this section is the amazing touch of silver shampoo that costs a couple of pounds and looks a really scary purple colour when you take it out of the bottle. It's the modern blue rinse! Only joking, it helps combat any brassiness on the hair and I love it, such a bargain.
5. Threading - I have had my eyebrows threaded a few times and it hurts a bit but the results are amazing. I think it's a good way of spending £10 to get a big beauty result that lasts weeks. I just do a little upkeep in between with my hd brows precision tweezers (amazing). Neat brows are a good way of getting 'wake up and go' beauty.
6. Nails. Regular raters of my reviews will know I love to have my nails looking nice with all sorts of products but usually ending up in a Nails Inc manicure. I use their caviar base coat and top coat with a bold colour sandwiched in between. Favourites for nails are St James Street (red) but I'm also enjoying their 3D effect nails too for a glitter finish that's out of this world. Nail oil is (Solar Oil or Nailtiques) also a treatment I apply under and over nail varnish on a regular basis to keep my nails in good condition. I always carry hand cream in my bag and apply when I get chance to do so (usually Soap & Glory).
7. Taking the day off is also important in any beauty addict's life. For the quick and dirty day I just go with a face wipe (usually No7) but most days I go for the blue two layered eye make up remover then the cream cleanser from No7's beautiful skin range. I always stock up when they are doing their £5 off skincare voucher promotion and never tire of their products.
8. Teeth have to be clean and fresh and for this I do clean my teeth morning and night as do most people (!) but I've found Colgate's pro relief range to be the most brilliant toothpaste of all and then I always have a go with some mouthwash. I'm still searching for the best one and tend to use a shop's own brand (usually Boots) but I do like the purple one that Colgate make for sensitive teeth and healthy gums. I find a mouthwash finishes off the job that brushing begins and it does dislodge a few bits so is worth doing I think. I also use dental floss as I have a few natural gaps between teeth that I like to keep on top of. I just use whatever is on offer and a box or pack of dental floss seems to last me ages. I like the tooth picks you can buy from pound shops for this as well (can't remember what they are called but they do have a name!).
9. Skincare is something I never tire of and my favourite brand is probably Soap and Glory closely followed by No7 and then Johnson's. I like to keep a few body lotions and shower gels on the go and use whatever takes my fancy or whatever I've got time to do in a busy day. A good day ends with a treatment on my feet then socks to sleep in so that it sinks in!
10. A good moisturiser is my final addition to this top ten. I like to keep a few on the go so I can choose whatever my skin feels like but I am loving the Soap and Glory Bright Here Bright Now one I'm using at the moment. I love No7's protect and perfect range and have loads of them from gift sets so use the day and night cream and serums from their ranges. I can never have enough moisturisers and if time is tight I will just apply face moisturiser alone.
Well, I have been thinking about what I wanted to include in this review for a while but I have to say that this was a really easy review to write! I am surprised that I didn't put more make up in here but I wrote naturally what I use and it ended up with a bit of everything.
I enjoy reading everyone's beauty reviews and have discovered some brilliant products by reading the reviews (including the purple shampoo). I hope this review has been interesting if not useful and I look forward to trying lots of new beauty products in the future. It will be interesting to read this back in 10 years' time and see what products I'm still using!
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Vitamin C
by thriftygiftyisme
Vitamin C
Where's the Orange??? How many times as a child were we told oranges are full of vitamin C.
Whilst I take a daily multivitamin (when I remember) over the winter months I add a Vitamin C tablet to the list, to help build my immune system.
=Vitamin C=
Vitamin C helps boost your immune system, and can ... also help the absorption of some other vitamins. Myself as I am asthmatic, the winter doesn't help my asthma so any help that I can give my body it needs.
Vitamin C can also help the body absorb iron from food, which is a lot better than iron tablets, or eating liver.
Vitamin C is also beneficial for skin, and can give a healthier appearance, as it produces collagen which itself helps hold the cells in your muscles, skin and bones.
=Recommended Dose=
I can only go by the information on the tablets that I use, but they recommend a 60mg for non smokers, and smokers to increase their consumption to 100mg.
=Purchasing Vitamin C=
You buy this from any chemist, drug store, £1 shops, online. I usually go through 3 months worth for the winter, and I get mine from £1 shops.
=Would I recommend=
I would say always check with your GP or have a chat with your pharmacist before taking any additional vitamins, as they may interfere with your current medication, but for me I do find a difference I feel a bit perkier by taking these.
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