Today we speak to Helen @thetittygritty on instagram, to speak about her experience with having breast cancer. Helen is now an amazing advocate, and founder of the Change & Check campaign, and also The C-List.
https://www.instagram.com/thetittygritty/?hl=en
https://www.the-c-list.com/
https://thetittygritty.com/2019/04/30/change-and-check/
Eve: Thank you for joining us today on the podcast. So today we're chatting about your journey on having cancer and where you are now. So, do you want to start by introducing yourself and who you are? (0:30)
Helen: Hi I am Helen Addis and I am a features editor for the ITV Lorraine show and three years ago I was getting ready for work one morning I found a lump under my right boob. I wasn't worried because I don't have any family history of cancer, I’m relatively fit and well I don't drink that much. I did make an appointment to see the GP just to be sure and she agreed yes, it’s unlikely to be anything and is probably hormonal but let's get a consultant just to check it out. Two weeks later, I was in front of a consultant and another four lumps had grown, so I thought wow got to be hormonal because cancer doesn't do that does it. The consultant gave me a mammogram biopsy and an ultrasound and three days later I was back, and she said the words I never thought would come my way and that was that I had grade 3 breast cancer and I nearly fell off my chair. I asked what does grade 3 mean and basically there is no grade four, grade 3 means that it's the most aggressive it's the type that is hungry and wants to travel.
Eve: So, tell me what happened after that in the last three years? (02:35)
Helen: So when I was given that diagnosis it was a week before my 40th birthday and at that point in my life like I said earlier at my 3 little kids I was caring for a mum with dementia and and the thing that I was looking forward to most was my 40th birthday party. I had to cancel my party and instead it was five days later having a mastectomy. Then I started 16 rounds of chemo followed by 15 rounds of radiotherapy followed by 18 rounds of targeted hormone therapy. It was probably the hardest thing I think I’ll ever have to go through. The surgery was really lifesaving because it was travelling fast. Once they have done that to me they then send that off to be tested and they came back saying that it gone to my lymph nodes as well as had to then a week later go back in for further surgery to have all the lymph nodes removed on one side. Then it was a series of pet scans, CT scans, ultrasounds, blood tests, brain MRI just to see where else it in your body is. I'd really braced myself that it was going to be somewhere else but thankfully I came back with a full everything is clear everywhere else in my body, so I was extremely fortunate and had I not gone to the GP as soon as I did my story, we extremely different right now.
Eve: Yeah of course, I think that just sort of highlights how important it is to check yourself. How are you doing today? (05:24)
Helen: I am doing great now. I am checked every three months at the moment. I’m on a type of medication called tamoxifen which I have to have for the next 10 years it's a tablet I take every day, but the side effects are horrible. It’s a really incredible drug and it helps keep any cancer cells at bay.
Eve: How did the change and check campaign come about? (06:28)
Helen: I started the change and check campaign when I was having chemotherapy I would always call up a friend or family member. I would say to them you do check yourself don’t you, and 9 times out of 10 they no, they don’t know what they’re looking for, or their boobs are too big. Other people said they were too scared; they wouldn’t want to find anything. If I hadn’t had checked the outcome would have been very different. If a cancer diagnose can come to me, it could happen to anyone.So, I came up with an idea of a sticker, to be placed on retail changing room mirrors and also in gym changing rooms and it says in the time it takes for you to try that top on, you could check yourself for signs of breast cancer. I thought it was the perfect place for the sticker to be as you are probably in a cubicle on your own and you are most likely going to take your top off. I launched that 18 months ago now. It was launched in shops like John Lewis and Oasis and in some police forces and has also been talked about in Parliament. Since I launched it, I have had 48 women contact me now to say they have found their cancer early as a result of seeing one of the stickers. That’s only 48 I have heard from, there are probably more. But it just goes to show that you can never be too careful. I’m not trying to scare people, what we are trying to get people to do is to know what your normal is, because then if something does appear, you know it’s not normal and can get it checked out. The screening age for breast cancer is 50. I was 39. I think it’s really empowering to know your own body and to go with your gut instinct.
Eve: the work you do is amazing, and you’ve recently started something called the C List, do you want to tell us about this? (10:05)
Helen: So, when I was on treatment and I was told I was probably going to lose my hair and my skin was going to become very sensitive. They told me to really think about the beauty products I was going to use. I’m quite a practical person so I thought if I get my new shampoo, conditioner and body creams I’m going to feel a bit more prepared for chemo. When I was in the chemist, I picked up a shampoo and thought I’m not sure if I can use this, so I asked the shop assistant who asked her manager. She shouted, this woman’s got cancer, can she use this. I felt like such an alien. 1 in 2 people get cancer and I felt like nobody wanted to open their arms to me at a time I needed my war paint if you like, those pick me up things. I felt like doors were being closed in my face the whole time. So, this got me thinking, that there are products out there, but just nobody knows which ones to go for. So, what I’ve done is curated a website of beauty products which are cancer kinder. I have about 400 products on there. The idea of the website that it is more than just products, its tips and tricks, and things on how I told my kids, how to wear a headscarf and all that kind of stuff. With any profits I then make off the website, I give back and I gift someone some items.
Eve: I think when we think about cancer, you forget it affects your whole body as well. How did it affect you? (14:20)
Helen: With my treatment, I had terrific mouth ulcers to the point where I found it very difficult to speak some weeks. I was having to have my food and drink through a straw, and it was excruciating. Where I have no lymph nodes in my right arm, I have a very weak right arm. I don’t want to be a Debby downer on things, as I have had so much come out of my diagnosis as well. I’m here talking to you and spreading the word. It makes me appreciate life more and not to sweat the things that don’t matter as much.
Eve: What advice can you give to someone going through their cancer journey at the moment? (16:35)
Helen: I wish someone had said to me if someone is offering you help, take help and don’t feel bad for it. if you accept that help, you don’t need to figure out a way of repaying that person. The other thing I would say is, there is such a supportive cancer community on social and on Facebook. I didn’t want to be talking to my husband and kids daily about how scared I was, I needed to protect them. It’s alright to not feel alright.
Eve: What is your main mantra you live your life by and why? (20:00)
Helen: It would be just live life to the full. Live today like there is not a tomorrow because I was so nearly told there might not be a tomorrow which is a very scary position to be in. also, don’t spread yourself thin, hang out with those that love you dearly.
Eve: Do you think that the journey you have been on has changed your outlook on life today? (20:37)
Helen: you wouldn’t believe it. anything that was before my cancer diagnoses and I always think who are you? You have no idea what is winging its way to you and how much you are going to change. I look back at that person and I wouldn’t want to be them. I didn’t live life how I live it now.
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