"Shortly after going through treatment for Breast Cancer"

I hit a wall mentally early last year. I hadn't realised what I had been through with my cancer diagnosis and treatment. I got an infection in the breast that was operated on and it formed a cyst which my doctor had tried to treat with antibiotics to no avail. I ended up all evening and overnight in the waiting room of A&E. Had to go back to the Breast Care Clinic the next morning and have a drain on the cyst.

I was denying it to myself and trying to put on a brave face for my daughter and family and friends.  I hated seeing anyone else concerned. My Mum died of cancer in 2019 shortly after diagnosis so this alarmed me even though we had different cancers.

My Occupational Therapist in the North West Cancer Centre is Shauna and when she checked in with me she brought me into talk to me to see if she could help.  She has been nothing but brilliant and pointed me in the direction of Macmillan Health and Wellbeing Centre and Lesley, and to Cancer Focus NI who included me in a weekend away to Co Donegal.

I have attended well being weekends and had complimentary therapies when they were available and I'm so delighted to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I have other underlying health conditions but my mental health was at an all time low. Shauna, Lesley, Gillian, Rosalind, Avril (Action Cancer) Declan (Cancer Focus) have all been amazing. My BCN Gemma has always been brilliant too. Mr Diggins, Mr Hasson and Mr Mazdai have been very good too but if it were not for Shauna and Lesley I can't say I would be a much happier woman today.