Working as a consultant breast surgeon, it was my responsibility to tell around 10 women a week that they had cancer. It was an emotionally intense job and could feel like youâre being paid to break women. As a clinician, you have to develop a sense of detachment, otherwise youâll crumble, but this wasnât always easy. Sometimes, particularly after seeing young women, Iâd cry in the toilets. Thereâs no counselling and very little training for breaking bad news. Itâs just part of the job â until it happens to you.
In 2015, aged 40, I found a lump. Despite my job, I never regularly checked my breasts, a fact that seems crazy now, but I simply assumed that it wasnât going to happen to me. In the past, Iâd had two cysts that were benign and a normal mammogram nine months earlier. Still, I decided to get checked just to be safe. I didnât want my team at work to see me, so I went to a different hospital. When I saw the results of my ultrasound on the screen, I knew before I was told that it was cancer.
When I was told the news, I realised how unhelpful the phrases that clinicians use were, such as âitâs just a small cancerâ or âitâs a good one to have, as there are so many optionsâ. No cancer is good. No one is lucky to have it.
A week later, I was having chemotherapy for a stage three breast cancer. I had gone from clinician to patient â and I was terrified. In this case, knowledge was not power: I knew too much. My brain was full of information that I wished I could forget.
I was a terrible patient during chemo. I sat at home and suffered, crying in pain instead of asking for help. As a doctor, I felt I should know how to treat my own side effects, which included flulike aching, constipation, dry, cracked skin and indigestion. My mum and my husband, Dermot, also a surgeon, were wonderfully supportive, but allowing other people to help me was difficult.
ãã®èšäºã¯ Woman & Home UK ã® October 2024 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ Woman & Home UK ã® October 2024 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
How healthy IS YOUR GUT?
This month, our fitness expert Annie Deadman on discovering what's really going on inside your body and how to keep it in the peak of condition
'DON'T CALL ME A HERO'
Seeing the plight of innocent children in Gaza, Dr Ana Jeelani knew her medical skills could save lives â hereâs what she experienced
CANCER WAS JUST A JOB until it happened to me
Author, speaker and health content creator Dr Liz O'Riordan shares her journey from consultant breast surgeon to cancer patient
Freewheeling in TUSCANY
A cycling holiday through medieval cities and lush scenery is a great way to absorb culture and get off the beaten track
Nostalgic BAKES
Unlock childhood memories with these fun sweet treats
A NEW NORMAL
The Princess of Wales is looking to the future, putting family first and ditching her to-do list
I look forward to being a very elderly, ECCENTRIC WOMAN'
Comedian and podcaster Katherine Ryan, 41, lives in London with her three children and partner Bobby Kootstra
Lighter DINNERS
Big on flavour and easy on the calories
Behind CLOSED DOORS
What really goes on at your local surgery, and how are decisions made? GP and practice partner Dr Helen Wall reveals all
15 ways to IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY
Make yours fault-proof with these easy lifestyle tricks