Sarah’s story
Sarah was 47 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, her children were 12 and 15, and with no family living nearby, her husband and other local parents were her primary support. This changed when she was introduced to Big C by her oncologist and breast care nurse.
Sarah is a pseudonym used to protect the service user’s identity.
On her first visit to the Support Centre at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, Sarah told us, “I came through the door and found peace, a calm place to wait for my chemo rather than the crowded waiting room”.
She met a lovely Big C member of staff and other service users who helped her work out how Big C could best support her. “When you are going through something that is life changing you do need help, and your family can’t always understand exactly what you are going through, and they are emotionally affected themselves”.
Big C discussed which services she and her family might find useful. Her husband visited the centre and spoke with one of the nurses, her son had a session with a Big C Educational Psychologist and now knows that there are people he can talk to, and Sarah had counselling that helped her find ways to talk to her family and gave her someone else to confide in.
She also participated in online relaxation, pilates and yoga classes. “They helped me to keep stretching and moving. They also taught me breathing and visualisation techniques which I used to calm myself before my next round of treatment, or at night when I had a panic attack or insomnia”.
Sarah spoke highly of the complementary therapies which she described as “amazing” and used them towards the end of her chemo cycles as a lovely moment of self care to look forward to.
After chemo and between surgeries and radiotherapy, Sarah attended a Big C rehab group as a bridge to feeling physically confident again, she explained “I was initially anxious as I was never particularly into circuit training or anything like that, but they have disco music playing and we stretch and then in pairs, we do circuit training. You go with different people each week, and it’s just very happy. Every week I came out of there and my joint pain had gone and I felt uplifted that I’d achieved something”.
Perhaps the most impactful thing for Sarah was the friendship she made at the Look Good, Feel Better course, with someone who had just finished the treatment programme she was starting. She told us, “We became really good friends and it’s like having a big sister who has done it all before”. They even found humour in trying to draw on eyebrows for the first time together. “None of this would have happened without Big C having all the services, and I’m just really glad that I went into their centre early on in my treatment. I have a couple of friends who I used to work with, who were also diagnosed and I recommended Big C, one is a builder who now has Reiki and loves it”.
After her treatment ended, Sarah started volunteering at the Big C charity shop on Timberhill in Norwich to give something back, and to help rebuild her confidence and stamina.
After a few months she felt ready to apply for a job at a local school, where she now works.
She summarised the impact Big C has had on her life, the people she met and the friends she made… “You don’t have to explain yourself because people just understand, they’re in the same boat. They understand what you’ve been through because they’ve been through it. The charity and the centres are a special place, all staff and volunteers I’ve encountered have been really dedicated to helping people through what is definitely the hardest time of their lives”.
Browse
We can help you work through the maze of cancer information.
Get involved
Become a volunteer, fundraise or donate. Your support is needed more than ever before.
Find support
At our centres across the region, we offer support to anyone affected by cancer.
Let’s keep in touch
Subscribe to our mailing list to receive news and updates from Big C.