Writing is so much more than a creative outlet, it’s cathartic too. The mere act of writing it all down can help us navigate the storm of turbulent emotions that often rages when we go through traumatic times.
I struggled to write about my experiences when I was being treated for breast cancer last year; it was too real and too raw somehow. But I have always found great comfort in words and I decided to write a collection of poems to help me focus on things I loved, instead. It was a welcome distraction and when my chemo-croakiness subsided, I recorded the poems. You can hear them on my Soundcloud page.
But now, with time on my hands during lockdown – and enough time passed from the whirlwind of surgery and life saving treatment that was my 2019, I find myself starting to process it all.
Like many other cancer patients, my hospital appointments have been affected by coronavirus, but I feel very lucky to have made it through my adjuvant treatment before all this started and only have my reconstruction surgery to face, once this is all over.
When I look in the mirror now I see me again, albeit a different version of who I was before. Crises often bring about huge change, but they can also force us to focus on what we really want and connect with who we really are – and for that, I am grateful.