NAKED IN THE WIND – Chemo, Hair Loss and Deceit

​When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 45, I was caught completely off-guard. I was slim, ate a healthy diet, swam at least 5km a week, didn’t smoke and hardly drank plus I ran a busy B&B. There was no breast cancer in the family.

My medical team informed me that if I followed their treatment plan, they believed I would make a good recovery. That’s what I needed to hear. My life was in their hands, after all you have to trust your medical team, don’t you? I had my surgery, which was a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, removing about seven nodes with one being infected, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

It was while I was receiving radiotherapy, I noticed I was the only woman in the waiting room that was still wearing a headscarf. I assumed they were further on with their treatment than me. It soon became obvious there was a problem with my hair follicles and the chemotherapy drug I had received, Taxotere, had caused me to suffer from permanent hair loss. This is bad enough for a man but for a woman it’s unimaginable. 

My mental health spiralled down in freefall and I felt there was no one to help me, no where to turn to for advice.  The following year I co-founded a global support group. It was a lifesaver for many women across the world. I knew my story was no unique and I needed to share my experiences in order to help others.  NAKED IN THE WIND – Chemo, Hair Loss and Deceit was difficult to write, and I've been told essential to read for those diagonsed with Brest Cancer.

Moving forward, I felt the best way to share information and  deal with the many queries I received was to create a blog.

I write about random topics plus I have an ongoing ‘cancer’ blog about my story and raising awareness. This blog became so popular I realised there was a need for more cancer related topics, so I started the Cancer Hub The Cancer Hub | saledlie. And although it is still in its infancy it’s going from strength to strength. It comprises of three sections. The first is interviews with businesses and charities from the world of cancer. Then we have guest authors showcasing their inspirational cancer memoirs. Finally, are the powerful survivor stories. So far, we have covered liver, prostate and breast cancer topics. Coming up next we have a dynamic survivor of prostate cancer who went from competing in IRONMAN competitions to being diagnosed with prostate cancer to surviving and becoming an IRONMAN again! A true warrior!

There can never be enough support for cancer patients, for those trying to get on with their ‘life after cancer’. 
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 NAKED IN THE WIND - available from:  smarturl.it/NITW
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