tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32332587555393546402024-03-04T22:33:23.257-08:00Team EllieAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-6915405537910727842018-01-21T09:16:00.000-08:002018-01-21T09:16:19.507-08:00Coming to terms with infertility. | LifeAfterCancerMy life was all planned out. My future ventures and aspirations were drawn into my brain like a map, with everything leading to the right place: first stop university, then my ambition to be a successful business woman, next finding my dream partner and home, and all these places led to the final destination of a family. Ever since I was young, I had always dreamt about being a mum, it seemed like the most magnificent job in the world. Unfortunately, not everything goes in the right direction...<br />
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CRASH LANDING - BE AWARE THAT YOUR FUTURE PLANS MAY BE IN JEOPARDY!</div>
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My future life disposed right in front of me - in just a matter of seconds - like a map left out in the rain. The directions of my life became all muddled up, making my future destinations feel out of reach. Lost and disorientated, it felt like my life had been put on hold. I had no where to go. My life was frozen into the unknown. </div>
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Cancer,</div>
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the beast that lurks in the dark and shields itself into the unknown, </div>
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slowly torturing its unknowing victim, </div>
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until the lights are on and all is known. </div>
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At just 14 years old, I was told that the lump that was growing in my bottom, for the best part of 6 months, was cancer. It was the biggest shock of my life. All of the signs were there right in front of me, but I was still clueless none the less. Immediately, I began a harsh regime of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My hair was stripped from my pores, agonising burns invaded my mouth, fatigue took over my whole body, and the nausea was nearly unbearable. Thinking about the future made me feel numb, because I knew that the possibility of a future was slim. 18 months later, when I finally entered remission, I began to ask questions. My new lease of life made me feel ready to tackle anything, so it was time for me to ask the most important question of all - am I infertile?</div>
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I knew from the beginning that there was a slim chance of fertility. After all, my radiographers liked to explicitly tell me over and over again that the radiation would cause damage to my reproductive system, but it doesn't hurt to ask again - right? The conversation went like this:</div>
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"Out of a scale of 1 to 10, how fertile am I?" It felt like I couldn't get the words out of me quick enough. </div>
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Silence.</div>
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"Zero." My consultant blankly replies.</div>
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I wasn't upset, I think that time will come when I am older. For now, I am perfectly happy with the prospect of adopting, in a way it makes me feel better that I can give a child a home and love. Plus, my oncology ward was directly opposite a maternity unit, the frequent wails and screams of women in labour still haunt me to this day - it was enough to put anybody off for life! </div>
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Coming to terms with infertility is tough, because it feels like a burden that you will carry with you for the rest of your life, but you have just got to learn to live with it. We are lucky that we are living in an era of medical revolutions; new fertility treatments are making way each day, it's just your turn to be brave and go for it. Don't let infertility hold you down, it doesn't make you any less of a woman, it is just what you had to do to survive. Stay strong and fight through the obstacles.</div>
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Just remember that life doesn't have to stick to one road, changing direction can be scary, but who says that going on a detour is all that bad? </div>
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Love, </div>
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Ellie xxx</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-34828545330790937712017-06-04T06:06:00.000-07:002017-06-04T06:06:25.030-07:00Getting back to exercise | LifeAfterCancerI think for a lot of people the main goal after cancer treatment is to get back into exercise - it sure was for me! 3 months into remission: I'm swimming, cycling and gradually getting back to PE. I do have to admit, it has been exhausting for me, but Im glad to be back into it. Exercise definitely isn't easy, but it is a good way to build your strength up after chemo. Here are my top tips:<br />
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<b>1. Don't rush it!</b><br />
You just beat cancer. You enter remission feeling invincible. Rightly so, but you do have to remember that your body has endured a damn hard battle, and it won't get back to normal as quickly as you'd like. About a week into remission I was off swimming and walking my dogs. Nothing would stop me. THEN-the tiredness well and truly hit! My body was worn down and so achy, it really wasn't pleasant at all. Please take this advice from someone who has already experienced it, because trust me you don't want to experience it yourself.<br />
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In the beginning, do exercise 2-3 times a week, and avoid vigorous exercise. Your muscles are going to have to take a bit of getting used to all the activity, so a lot of aching is expected. Even if the exercise is just walking the dog or taking the stairs - it all helps to improve your stamina and strength.<br />
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<b>2. Swimming!</b><br />
I highly recommend swimming as your first proper exercise to get back into. Exercise such as running can be very strenuous on your joints, whereas swimming has limited impact. This is particularly good for your body after treatment, because you can build your muscles without wrecking your joints! Don't go swimming if you're neutropenic or prone to infection. Also, if you have a Hickman line or a PICC line definitely don't go swimming until its out!<br />
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<b>3. Eat healthily.</b><br />
I don't know about you, but when I came out of cancer treatment I was extremely eager to get back to a healthy diet. So I made sure I ate 4 or 5 different fruits & veg each day, and I only had one sugary treat a day. And then a lost weight... With the increased amount of exercise I was doing, what I was eating really wasn't enough to sustain my weight, so I have had to have a drastic diet change. I have talked to my doctor and they have said that I need to eat 2000 calories a day to gain weight-especially if I'm doing exercise! Its been a challenge so far, as I have struggled with eating since being diagnosed, but I really hope the hard work pays off. The moral of the story is to be realistic and eat everything and anything to help keep your weight up. The super healthy diets are over rated anyways! (;<br />
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Exercise can really help your recovery time decrease. It has so many benefits, such as:<br />
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<li style="text-align: left;">reduce fatigue</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">increase flexibility</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">strengthen your heart</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">help maintain a healthy weight</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">reduce anxiety and depression</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">strengthen muscles, bones and joints</li>
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Thank you for reading this blog, I really hope it helps you! If you have any questions then make sure to comment down below. </div>
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Ellie xxxxx</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-32779194562442469022017-04-17T08:12:00.000-07:002017-04-17T08:12:34.641-07:00What to expect from the first month of remission| LifeAfterCancer1 month seems a long time, but in actual fact it really isn't. It surprised me how quickly I regained my strength and energy after just one month. It goes to show how much of a battering the body takes whilst on chemo drugs. Of course my energy is nowhere near perfect - it can take months and sometimes years for energy to come back fully, but for now it feels a lot better than it did when I was on treatment. You aren't going to be climbing mountains or running marathons anytime soon, but you will feel a new found energy that you didn't have before.<br />
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It is important to embrace that energy by getting back to work/school, exercise and hobbies. Although this is important please remember <b>not to rush</b> anything. When I have talked to other cancer patients, they have said how they didn't feel ready to get back to school, but they almost felt guilty if they didn't. This is completely understandable to feel. Remember that just because you are off of treatment that doesn't mean you have to revert back to everything you used to do before. <b>Take your time</b> and get back into those things <b>when you are ready.</b><br />
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It can take a long time for your body to feel recovered after cancer treatment. After all it has been battered for the past however many months with toxic drugs. Keep this in mind, because you don't want to over do it. It is important that you let your body heal in remission, and it won't be able to heal properly if you are wearing it down. A big tip I suggest is to do a <b>part time schedule</b> at school/work until you feel strong enough to get back into it full time. <b>Listen to your body</b> and don't feel pressured by anyone else to do more than you can do.<br />
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Now for the medical side of things. You will still have hospital appointments to attend to, but no where near as many as in treatment. The doctors will want to check your blood once a month until your blood count has risen up. Now that you are off of treatment you can start reducing some of your medications, but make sure you check with your doctor first. Obviously the medical side of things is different for everyone, so don't take my word for it.<br />
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Congratulations on your first month in remission! Feel free to comment down below your experience so far or any questions you have. </div>
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Lots of love,</div>
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Ellie xxx</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-52398701872599885562017-03-19T10:01:00.000-07:002017-03-19T10:01:32.389-07:00Bye cancer, hey remission! | LifeAfterCancerWhen I got diagnosed with cancer my life was on the line and every day I feared that I was going to die. Since the day of my diagnosis, I have realised how precious life is, and that you have to live<br />
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every second because you never know when it could end. Now I am in remission I have a whole new gratitude and thrive for life. For 18 months I learnt how to live a "cancer life" and I embraced each day of it; but I never truly understood how different it was until I came into remission. I have currently been in remission for a little over 2 weeks and already I feel free, I feel happy and I feel unstoppable. I can't truly put into words how amazing it feels.</div>
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I am enjoying getting back to the normal things in life. I don't feel restricted with the mental and physical ties of chemotherapy - I feel like I can do anything! Remission has definitely taught me to take every chance whilst you have got it, I have definitely got a new enthusiasm for life. I am ecstatic that my energy is increasing so I can attend school a lot more, I absolutely love school, and it makes me happy that I can attend even more now. If you knew me before then you knew that I was super sporty, since remission I have started to go swimming, it is so fun and I am starting to get my passionate drive for sports that I had before. </div>
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Although remission has been amazing, it has also been a roller coaster of emotions. For 18 months I felt safe with the security of chemotherapy, but now I almost feel like I am going into a battle with no armour. I try to remain positive and not think of relapse, but I find that it always crosses my mind one way or another. Little things like bloating or pain can trigger a whole flood of emotions for me, because I am scared to death of anything being a possibility of cancer. I try to be rational and think about it logically, but it is hard sometimes. In a few weeks time I have scans, at the moment I am not feeling too anxious, because in a way the hospital makes me feel safe and these scans will hopefully reassure me that everything is okay.</div>
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I know it has only been two weeks, but it has been absolutely fantastic! I am looking forward to seeing what the next few weeks brings. I think providing support and information to those in remission is as important as providing support to those in cancer treatment. This blog post is the first of a series called LifeAfterCancer. I want to do this series to voice my experience of remission, so I can give advice and support to those on the same journey as I.</div>
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My energy is getting better and better each day, I am truly loving life and I'm cherishing every moment of my normal life.</div>
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Love Ellie xxx</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-70125053900616702392017-02-12T08:58:00.000-08:002017-02-12T08:58:42.633-08:00How I am feeling about remission...If you asked me a couple of weeks ago my feelings towards remission, I would have given you a very straight forward "Im not ready.". The thought of remission seemed very foreign to me. The last 18 months has been chemo after chemo, and it has become my normal life, so to comprehend a life without chemo was very hard for me. In a way, I was scared to think of that new chapter of my life, I was scared that I would forget the past 18 months of my life. Also, chemo has given me a suit of armour, I don't have to worry about relapse. However, remission is like going into a battle with no armour, and that is what fears me the most.<br />
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I'm not sure what changed my mind from then to now, but I can confidently say that I am more than ready for remission! I am ready to not feel tired all of the time, I am ready to not feel achy all over and I am ready to get back to a bit of normality. What excites me more than anything about remission is getting my energy back. I cant wait to get back into sports, I hope to start off by doing swimming and then do running again when my body has recovered. I am especially excited to get back into full time school, I love school and it is extremely frustrating for me that I don't have the energy to go in as much as I would like. With my aspirations of becoming a doctor, I need to get the best grades possible, so I can't wait to work my butt off in remission!<br />
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Of course, I still have my anxieties about remission. My biggest anxiety is relapse, I don't want cancer to stop my life again. I want to be able to live my life without any disruptions. I wish I could be certain that I won't relapse, but unfortunately no one knows. I just need to remember to live each day to the full and to not worry about tomorrow. One of the things that made me nervous about remission is that I thought no one would care about my blogs or videos anymore, but I realise that I have such a HUGE network of support that are always cheering me on, and I know you guys will stay by my side throughout.<br />
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Remission is going to be an eye-opening new chapter of my life. It will be interesting to see how I, the perfectly programmed cancer kid, adjusts to life as a normal kid. I don't think I will realise how different it feels until I am there. I hope to experience great memories and achieve all my ambitions. I am mostly scared that I will forget all I have learnt from my cancer journey, but I have realised that I haven't learnt from my cancer journey, I've grown. My cancer journey will always follow me wherever I go, and I know that I will never forget it, I just need to know that it is okay to move on.<br />
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Thank you for reading!</div>
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Love Ellie xxx</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-87952950621508193062017-01-25T08:57:00.000-08:002017-01-25T08:57:21.248-08:00What is a Bone Marrow transplant? | In loving memory of Jay.A bone marrow or stem cell transplant replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones. This transplant can be the last chance of survival for people suffering with Leukaemia and lymphoma, like my good friend Jay. Jay had lymphoblastic lymphoma, and had a bone marrow transplant in July after undergoing an unsuccessful course of chemotherapy. The transplant was a success, buy Jay's health took a turn for the worst after contracting Influenza and microangiopathy, which was a complication caused by his bone marrow transplant. Jay sadly passed away on January 9th. The reason I am doing this blogpost is because I was good friends with Jay, and he always said that he wanted to create a blog to promote awareness of bone marrow transplants. Since Jay never got to fulfil that wish, I am going to try my best to do it for him.<br />
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<b><u>Why are bone marrow transplants carried out?</u></b><br />
Bone marrow transplants are used to treat conditions in which the bone marrow is damaged and unable to produce healthy cells.<br />
Conditions that transplants can be used to treat:<br />
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<li>Leukaemia and lymphoma - these are blood cancers.</li>
<li>Myeloma - cancer affecting blood cells called plasma</li>
<li>Severe aplastic anaemia (bone marrow failure)</li>
<li>Certain blood and immune disorders.</li>
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<b><u>What does a bone marrow transplant involve?</u></b></div>
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A bone marrow transplant can involve taking healthy stem cells or bone marrow from another person, ideally a family member, but only 30% of cases have a well-matched family member. The cells have to be closely matched to the person receiving them to increase the chances of a successful transplant. This is called an allogenic transplant.</div>
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It's also possible to remove your own stem cells and transplant them later. This is called an autologous transplant.</div>
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A bone marrow transplant has five main stages:</div>
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<li>Tests and examinations to assess your general health.</li>
<li>Harvesting - the process of obtaining the stem cells to be used in the transplant.</li>
<li>Conditioning - preparing your body for the transplant by using chemotherapy and sometimes radiotherapy, this is so the damaged stem cells are being killed off before the transplant.</li>
<li>Transplanting the stem cells.</li>
<li>Recovery.</li>
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<b><u>Risks of a stem cell transplant</u></b></div>
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A bone marrow transplant is a very intensive procedure which requires one to two months in hospital, and the patient is open to many risks. These include:</div>
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<li>Graft versus host disease - this occurs in allogenic transplants when the transplanted cells start to attack other cells in your body.</li>
<li>Reduced number of blood cells - this could lead to anaemia, excessive bleeding or bruising, and an increased risk of infection. </li>
<li>Chemotherapy side effects - sickness, tiredness and infertility.</li>
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<b>BONE MARROW DONORS NEEDED!</b></div>
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As you can figure from this blog, a bone marrow transplant is an extremely hard procedure, which no one should have to go through. What makes a bone marrow transplant even harder is the wait for a well-matched donor, it's not as easy as it seems. More people need to join the stem cell donor list so more people have the chance of a successful transplant. Register today, and save someone's life. With only 30% of cases able to get stem cells donated from a relative, they need your help.<br />
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DON'T WAIT TO DONATE.</div>
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A PATIENT OUT THERE IS WAITING FOR THEIR PERFECT DONOR, THAT PERFECT DONOR COULD BE YOU!</div>
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REGISTER TODAY!</div>
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To find out more: <a href="https://www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-stem-cells" target="_blank">https://www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-stem-cells</a></div>
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Register at <a href="https://www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-stem-cells/apply-join-our-register" target="_blank">Anthony Nolan</a> or <a href="http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/bonemarrow/" target="_blank">British Bone Marrow Registry</a>.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-60869609595857074862017-01-01T07:00:00.000-08:002017-01-01T07:00:30.344-08:00Goodbye 2016, hello 2017! | Collab with Evie<div style="text-align: center;">
I am in disbelief that 2016 has come to an end; it only seems like yesterday that I was declared No Evidence of Disease at the start of the year. 2016 has been a fantastic year, despite still being in cancer treatment, I am able to do the most amazing things. Cancer is the worst thing that has happened to me, but I am glad that 2016 has reflected how I made my cancer a positive not a negative.</div>
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2016 had a tough beginning. Fighting both cancer and anxiety was the toughest part of my battle. I don't want to think of the panic attacks, and the fear, and the side effects from both chemotherapy & radiotherapy. I want to think of 2016 as a year of massive progress and accomplishment for me. Beating the anxiety was a massive step for me. Like cancer, I was determined to beat the anxiety, and that's exactly what I did. In March, I finished the gruelling 7 months of intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it was the hardest thing I have ever had to endure. It was physically and mentally draining, but I stayed strong and I showed cancer who's boss.</div>
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2016 has made me realise the important things in life. I really feel like I have learnt a lot about myself. I have learnt to embrace my cancer and love me for me! I don't hide. I show off my imperfections caused by my cancer with pride and strength. I have been able to embrace my cancer by uploading my first ever youtube video, which has now received over 100,000 views! For me this video was to help spread awareness and show everyone that I don't have to hide my cancer, instead I will show it off. My youtube channel has helped me receive a lot of publicity which is extremely important for me to spread childhood cancer awareness. I have worked with Sarcoma Uk, appeared on ITV news and on various news sites.</div>
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2016 has seen me progress as a person, because I am able to make my voice be heard. I have grown so much confidence and an attitude in which I don't take "No" for an answer. I have grown an extreme passion to help other children with cancer like me. 2016 has really shown me what I am truly capable of. I am capable of asking the public about childhood cancer, I am capable of spreading awareness via social media, and I've shown myself that I am capable of whatever I desire to do.</div>
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I want to thank all of you for your endless support and encouragements. I couldn't have made 2016 such an amazing year without all of you guys. I'm excited to see what 2017 has in store for me.</div>
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Lets cheers to a happy and healthy 2017!</div>
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Love Ellie and Evie!xxx<br />
Go checkout Evie's blog post <a href="http://loveeviescancerjourney.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1" target="_blank">here</a>, Evie has just gone into remission from Hodgkins Lymphoma, she's had a tough year but she has been tougher!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-2752049141485305732016-12-08T09:13:00.000-08:002016-12-08T09:13:07.722-08:00My experience at 10 Downing Street. | TeamEllieThere is a lot of things I thought I would experience in my life such as Sky diving, meeting a celebrity and going to America. But I would have never thought I would get the honour to visit 10 Downing Street and meet the Prime Minister! I remember receiving the invitation and thinking "Is this real?". It was a great evening with amazing people and an amazing charity.<br />
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Approaching the 10 Downing Street door was an iconic moment for me because it seemed so unreal. It has always been something I have seen on TV, never would I have dreamed of being so close to the real thing. Entering 10 Downing Street immersed me into a hallway of grand chandeliers, beautifully painted ceilings, and walls filled with magnificent portraits of previous Prime ministers. Me and mum had to put our phones into a cabinet (No photography allowed in 10 Downing street) and we got our coats taken away. The service was great!</div>
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We entered a marvellous room filled with people mingling. It was quite overwhelming at first because I didn't know where to go or who to talk to. Through the crowd I spotted a young girl, I was happy there was another child too, so me and mum went over to them. This young girl, Kayla, was in fact the girl who appeared in the same Sarcoma Uk magazine as me and we had the same cancer too. We got on so well and hung out together for the rest of the evening. The atmosphere was great. We were looked after well with constant refills of drinks, and served with loads of different canapés - all of which me and mum couldn't eat because they contained meat! </div>
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Halfway through the evening The Prime Minister, Theresa May, made her appearance! Me and Kayla were only a foot away from her! Firstly, an executive from Sarcoma Uk made a fantastic speech explaining the work 10 Downing Street have done for them. Secondly, Theresa May delivered her speech, she was a lot different to what I thought. She was very well-spoken and even added a bit of humour into her speech - I thought all politicians were supposed to be boring! It was a very so real moment. After Theresa finished her speech me, mum, Kayla and Kayla's dad got to have a picture with her. We told her that we were both suffering from childhood sarcomas. I really wanted to say my request to Theresa May to increase childhood cancer funding, but unfortunately I couldn't because soon enough she was whisked away by other people.<br />
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Theresa May wasn't there for long, but it was an unforgettable experience. Me and Kayla explored into other rooms and even sat on the same sofa that Obama once sat, and we did a handshake where the handshakes between political leaders happen. There was a room which had big portraits of Queen Elizabeth. There was also a room with a central table surrounded by cabinets of old books, and on the table was a phone, me and Kayla were tempted to give our friends a surprise when they got a call from 10 Downing Street, but we decided against it because we probably would get a big telling off!<br />
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The party came to an end and we went and got our things ready to go home. On the way out we saw 10 Downing Street's house cat called Larry, he was so cute and me and Kayla got to stroke him! When we got out, we took some photos outside the iconic 10 Downing Street door. It was a fabulous night and was definitely an experience of a lifetime!</div>
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To finish off this blog post I want to say a massive thank you to the charity Sarcoma Uk for inviting me, it was such an honour. Sarcoma Uk deserves all of this so much because they are an amazing charity which aims to change the prospect of survival for sarcoma patients. Sarcoma Uk helped me tremendously to deal with my Sarcoma.</div>
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This night was definitely a tick off the bucket list!</div>
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Thank you for reading.</div>
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Love Ellie xxx</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-28830719443506263762016-11-27T09:16:00.000-08:002016-11-27T09:16:44.186-08:00What is maintenance chemotherapy?On my social media I get a lot of queries and questions about my maintenance chemotherapy, as best as I try and explain it, it is still rather confusing, so I thought I would make a blog post all about it!<br />
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After completing 9 rounds of intensive chemotherapy and 28 sessions of radiotherapy, I started a year long maintenance chemotherapy regime. This consists of 12 cycles of chemotherapy: there are 4 weeks in each cycle, and I get chemotherapy via my port for 3 weeks of that cycle then a week off. This chemotherapy is called Vinorelbine. Also each morning I have to take an oral chemotherapy called Cyclophosphamide, unfortunately for me because my dosage doesn't come in tablets I have to have it in liquid - it tastes vile!!!!<br />
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My maintenance chemotherapy is going extremely well, I am feeling a lot better now and my hair is growing back. The start of maintenance chemotherapy had a lot of bumps in the road. Firstly, the radiotherapy was partly targeted at the bottom of my spine which is the part of the spine that replenishes blood, due to the radiotherapy that got damaged meaning my bloods aren't able to recover very well without support. One of the things that excited me about maintenance chemo was that I would no longer need GCSF injections (Injections that increase neutrophil count) - so I thought. After my first dose of maintenance chemotherapy I became neutropenic and my platelets dropped. This mean't I had to stop oral chemotherapy, I was off of it for 3 weeks because the doctors were waiting for my counts to rise but nothing happened. So I was forced back onto GCSF injections, I have them on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday routine.<br />
Secondly, I am supposed to be on 100% dose of Vinorelbine but due to my platelet count dropping I am currently receiving 66% Vinorelbine. We have talked about increasing the dose to 80% but my consultant does not think it is a good idea. Of course this isn't the ideal situation as I would rather be receiving my maximum dose, but I want my body to stay well so it is for the best.<br />
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Not all Rhabdomyosarcoma patients receive maintenance chemotherapy. In England, you receive maintenance chemotherapy if you have stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma. This is because stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma has a high relapse-rate. The maintenance chemotherapy is less harsh doses of chemotherapy that makes sure all the cancer cells that scans can't show are gone. Even though it is annoying that the maintenance chemotherapy adds nearly an extra year to your protocol, it is very important for stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma patients because it helps keep the cancer away.<br />
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I am currently on my 9th out of 12 cycles of maintenance chemotherapy, I can definitely say that all of this treatment has taken a battering to my body. Most days I feel achy and tired, it is gradually getting worse as the cycles go on. Back in September I was able to do 2 full days at school pretty easily and not feel too bad. However, now I feel exhausted after 2 full days at school, all I can do is lay in bed. School is becoming more demanding so it will be hard to keep up with school and my fatigue, but I am determined to do as much as I can and fight through the aches and pains.<br />
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I hope this blog post has made you understand what maintenance chemotherapy is. If you are going through it or will be soon then stay strong and stay determined!</div>
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Thank you for reading!</div>
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Love Ellie xxx</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-39422180721333289192016-11-12T23:57:00.001-08:002016-11-13T09:00:12.836-08:00How to cope with your cancer diagnosisCANCER. I couldn't believe it. The shock was unreal. Why me? How could this happen to me? Why did this happen to me? Am I going to die? What will I look like bald? How are my family going to deal with this? Getting you cancer diagnosis is the scariest thing, because you really don't know what the future will hold, I sure didn't. When I got diagnosed with cancer I had many ways in which I coped with it, I want to give you my advice and tips.<br />
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All these possible outcomes and endless amount of questions fill your mind uncontrollably, it is hard to get away from them and it can make you feel very stressed. Right from the beginning I realised that there was no benefit in trying to think of what the future would hold for me, it only made me even more paranoid that I may not survive this fight. I stand by the words of my mum, she always told me "Live for today, don't worry about tomorrow.". This helped me a lot because it made me focus on the present and live everyday to the full.<br />
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Let people be there for you. Don't feel like you cancer diagnosis should be kept as a secret, it will only make it a bigger burden for you. Tell your loved ones and close friends, I am sure they will help you through this crazy journey and give you the support you need. One of the things I used to enjoy most during my intensive treatment was getting visitors, sitting around the house all day unable to go outside was extremely boring, so getting visitors was fun and would make me feel less lonely. During your cancer treatment you will more than likely not be able to go to school/work, so things get can really lonely sometimes, but having good company will cheer you up.<br />
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Positivity is the key! Positivity is hard to find when you possibly just got the worst news of your life, but feeling depressed will do you more harm than good. Having a positive mind helped me a lot, because it made me believe in myself and I was ready to fight my cancer no matter what. To feel more positive it is beneficial to focus on your family and friends, my family and friends helped me keep positive when I was feeling low and they were always there for me. Keep positive about your treatment, it may suck and make you feel bad, but just think of each chemotherapy/radiotherapy as another blow at the crappy cancer inside of you, I used to say to myself during chemo "Take that cancer!!!".<br />
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One of the best things that helped me cope with my cancer diagnosis was believing in myself. After I got my first chemo, which was a horrendous experience with a lot of complications, I should have felt depressed, but I just got on with it and I kind of realised that this was my life for now and I had to stay strong no matter what. When I got my head shaved and I looked in the mirror for the first time I didn't cry, I loved it, and I thought to myself "I look beautiful and I am ready to fight this!". Believing in yourself is one of the strongest mindsets to have, cancer is tough and it will be hard to stay strong all of the time, but as long as you remember that you are strong and brave you will be a strong cancer warrior and you will fight this cancer no matter what!<br />
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Cancer does not mean that this is the end. Think of cancer as the start of something new, you may not want it to happen, but fighting for your life will be a new chapter in your life. Before I got cancer I was your typical sporty teenager who loved school, but I had to stop all of that to fight for my life, and I actually call my fight 'My gap year', so I can put a positive spin on missing most of the school year. Getting cancer was a new start for me because it was a start of a new Ellie, I am still the old Ellie, but I have witnessed so many horrible things meaning that I can't be the same Ellie as I was before. I have realised the importance of life, what it takes to stay strong even when you feel like giving up, and I have been immersed into a new world which no person should ever have to go through. You are never the same after all of that.<br />
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I hope this blogpost has helped you cope with your cancer diagnosis. For those of you who have newly been diagnosed or are currently fighting, I wish you all the best and remember to stay strong.</div>
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Love Ellie xxx</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-55368988539342958732016-10-21T09:05:00.000-07:002016-10-21T09:05:53.509-07:00Surely us kids deserve more than 1% Cancer Research Uk?<div style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You see the cute cancer kids on the Cancer Research Uk adverts all over TV, but how much do we really benefit from it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Out of a £404million budget, childhood cancer only received £5.5million research funding in 2015/16 from Cancer Research Uk. This equates to a measly 1.33% funding, it is so unfair and we deserve so much more!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Due to the lack of funding, we can’t afford to raise funds for life-saving research and new treatments that children with cancer desperately need. Therefore, children with cancer have to receive adult treatments which are so harsh on our small bodies that they cause long-term side effects, such as hearing loss and heart problems. And in some cases even death. This is NOT acceptable! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cancer research Uk are responsible for 60% of all kids cancer research taking place in the Uk. If they donated £5.5million in 2015/16 to childhood cancer research, our calculator tells us that overall, for the whole of the UK including all other research charities, childhood cancer gets less than £10million!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cancer research UK, you are responsible for 60% of childhood cancer research, but giving us so little funding seems unresponsible to me. Face reality and help us kids, we deserve it as much as the adults!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am very lucky to be NED. I am over the moon. However, I have stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, and that gives me a 50% chance of making it past the 5-year survival rate. It is hard to think about, because with more funding my perspective of survival could be much higher. What kind of childhood is it to have anxiety for every scan, to be scared that the cancer is going to come back? No child deserves this...</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">Essentially us kids are being featured on Cancer research Uk adverts to generate more donations that are unlikely to benefit us at all. Kids are supposed to be the future, but Cancer research Uk aren't raising enough funds to secure a future for children with cancer. Only 3 drugs have ever been developed for children's cancer, compared to hundreds upon hundreds of adult cancer drugs. Cancer research Uk, you need to step up and give children with cancer more funding, we matter too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Please help children with cancer in the Uk by sharing this post, so we can raise more awareness to give children with cancer more than 1% and a better prospect of survival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> We can beat childhood cancer together!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-31097496271117219812016-09-27T09:17:00.000-07:002016-09-27T09:17:13.968-07:00What it is like to have cancer as a teen.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Teens often think they are immortal, nothing bad could ever happen to them. So when the doctors said the word "Cancer", I was in a state of disbelief; I was never the ill kid, bad things didn't happen to me. I should be kissing boys, hanging out with friends, going to school and have no care in the world. Cancer took that away from me.</div>
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Having cancer as a teen is hard, as you are at that awkward stage in your life: you are young and still needing a lot of guidance, but you understand a lot about everything. Which is scary at times. Sometimes I wish I was a little kid, because they don't understand what cancer is and the risks that come with it. Not being able to understand cancer would be amazing, because you wouldn't get anxiety that it could come back, you wouldn't cry every time you think of how life used to be, and you wouldn't be scared to death of what the future holds. </div>
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I am not sure about anyone else who received treatment as a teen, but it makes you feel a lot younger. It made me not feel like a teen anymore, it made me feel like a child, because I needed to be cared for 24/7 and I felt vulnerable without my mum. I used to call myself a 'big baby' because I was bald and being constantly looked after. It kind of sucked as your teenage years are supposed to be about freedom, but cancer locks you away.<br />
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HORMONES! If you are a teenager you have probably been referred to as the following: "grumpy", "moody" and "big attitude". Hormones plus stress, can bring out the worst in you. Just imagine what it is like for us cancer teens! We have a lot more stress than the average teenager, so at a time like this we can get extremely distressed. I used to get agitated quite a lot if things didn't go my way or I was tired. The hardest thing for me was the stress building up causing me to have anxiety and depression. It was a very dark time for me. I would not want to do much, I would lay in bed all day feeling depressed and I would be on edge all the time with the anxiety. I especially got tearful a lot, if I felt like someone was trying to start an argument with me, be mean or even mentioned something I didn't like; I would break down in tears. Teens with illnesses go through such a hard time, because they are naturally anxious anyways due to hormones, I can completely understand how tough it is.<br />
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The hardest thing for me was missing school. I was very liked at school and I enjoyed it so much. I was a librarian, school council, on the sports teams and I was in top sets. So when I wasn't able to do it anymore, it hit me so hard and I missed it greatly. I would look through my classmates' snapchat stories and see them having fun at school, it tore shreds into my heart when I looked at those snapchat stories, as that should have been me there enjoying school with my classmates, but instead I was locked away in hospital.<br />
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I used to always day dream about what I would be like and all the great things I would be doing if I didn't have cancer. I don't think about that anymore, because I like to make the most of the present. Yeah, I know Ive got cancer and that sucks a lot, but I have learn't to accept it and I have realised that the present me is more important than the Ellie who was never supposed to be.<br />
I embrace the fact I have cancer, I am proud that I have cancer because it has made me the person I am today. It has made me realise my full potential: I CAN inspire others, I CAN write a blog, I CAN do youtube videos, I CAN beat cancer and I CAN do anything my heart wants me to do! It has made me realise that other people's judgements aren't necessary. I would have never of done a youtube video before, as I would be too scared of what other people would think. Please do the things that YOU want to do. Teenagers can experience a lot of pressure to do certain things and be a certain way, but don't stop your dreams because of the people around you.<br />
Cancer has stolen my childhood and has forced me to mature quicker than the average teenager. Cancer has opened my eyes to the fact that your life could change for the worst in a click of a finger. It has made me realise that you need to live every second to the full, because you don't know when it could end. Cancer has made me realise that life is so precious. You need to do things for you, do things that you won't regret and help others.<br />
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Thank you for reading this blog post. Being a teen with cancer is tough at times, but we realise that all you can do is be strong and pull through. Spreading love to all the Teen cancer warriors and survivors out there!</div>
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Ellie xxx</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-48021528603286866892016-09-19T10:17:00.000-07:002016-09-19T10:17:07.340-07:00We NEED chemotherapy specifically for children!We need your help to raise funds so we can create less harsh chemotherapy treatments for children. Children with cancer are receiving toxic adult chemotherapies which are so harsh on our small bodies they cause long term side effects, such as hearing loss and heart problems. But in Sydney's case the chemotherapy actually killed her.<br />
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Sydney was a very loving person, she was your typical teen - she loved surfing, hiking and painting. She was truly beautiful inside and out, she would light up the room when she came in.<br />
Sadly, Sydney's family learn't on November 3rd 2015 that Sydney had Burkitts lymphoma, 3 large tumours were found in her abdominal area. Immediately Sydney started her first out of 6 rounds of chemotherapy. Sydney had scans after the third chemotherapy treatment and her oncologist said there was no evidence of disease - everything was looking up!<br />
Shortly after Sydney's 6th and final round of chemotherapy, she was having what appeared to be side effects from the chemotherapy. Sydney had a fever early in the day, but nothing too high. The fever went away, however Sydney started vomiting when she went to bed. Sydney got up at 3:00am to go to use the bathroom, she was off balance. She went into the bathroom, shut the door and collapsed. Her mum ran into the bathroom, got Sydney out and laid her on the bed. She was barely breathing, then stopped, so her dad started performing CPR. The paramedics arrived and got Sydney's heart beat back, but had to breath for her. This continued in the hospital throughout the day. They declared that Sydney was brain dead. The chemotherapy killed multiple segments of Sydney's intestines and part of her stomach. The intestine ruptured the moment in the bathroom and poisoned her whole body to the point of full body shut down.<br />
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Sydney sadly passed away on March 18 2016, six short months after diagnosis.<br />
Sydney will always be remembered for her loving,<br />
strong and happy spirit.<br />
RIP Sydney.</div>
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Sydney went too soon. This is why we need less harsh treatments. Sydney is a very rare case, however Sydney's story shows how toxic the treatments really are on children's bodies.<br />
For instance, when I got radiotherapy they said I had a risk of developing cancer in later life because of the radiotherapy! The treatment that kills the cancer can actually give you cancer. How does that work?!<br />
When do we stop and realise that a change needs to happen? With only 3 chemotherapy drugs specifically made for children, we deserve so much more! Please help raise funds for childhood cancer research charities, so the research can be made to make chemotherapy drugs for children, which are less harsh on our small bodies. Let's make a change for families like Sydney's, who have really felt the pain of the effects of adult chemotherapies on children.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Love Ellie xxx</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-10108191867075696092016-09-03T07:24:00.000-07:002016-09-03T07:24:26.546-07:00How can you help children with cancer this September.September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, it is such an important month for children with cancer, like me, because we can have the chance to be heard. However, we can't do it all alone - WE NEED YOUR HELP!<br />
Childhood cancer only gets 4% funding, therefore we have a lack of funding, meaning we have to receive adult treatments that are so harsh on our bodies it causes long-term side effects, and in some cases even death!<br />
With your help we can fundraise to raise funds for life-saving research. And most importantly, spread awareness! With your help of spreading awareness we can show everyone the truth to childhood cancer, after all it is the No1 disease killer of children in the USA, so we desperately need more funding. Together, we can help children with cancer have a chance in life and not have to endure such harsh treatments.<br />
I am hoping that by now you have made the righteous decision to help children with cancer this September, but how can you help?<br />
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<u><b>Fundraising ideas:</b></u><br />
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZYBWnvgcunWJvxK5_xlPLmnKUNBqpdCFZYse_Cvs0NYm_qgaP7nZEiCFT9XZXa0rjoQXZiubNRmYGGowDo031-tOoRpGIBiHz5an9M4KvIICtlphg4zSx6ZY-B-CYKJ6l2KahTFZrxA/s1600/childhood-cancer-awareness-ribbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZYBWnvgcunWJvxK5_xlPLmnKUNBqpdCFZYse_Cvs0NYm_qgaP7nZEiCFT9XZXa0rjoQXZiubNRmYGGowDo031-tOoRpGIBiHz5an9M4KvIICtlphg4zSx6ZY-B-CYKJ6l2KahTFZrxA/s320/childhood-cancer-awareness-ribbon.jpg" width="320" /></span></a>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bake sale.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sponsored run/walk.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Coffee morning.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Non-uniform day at school.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wear gold for the day.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Karaoke night.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Quiz night.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Raffle.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sky diving.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Head shave.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cinema screening.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dance/disco.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sell your unwanted items.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sponsored silence.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tuck shop.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Talent show.</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><u>Help us spread awareness:</u></b></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Take a video of your self saying 'More than 4% for childhood cancer.'. Share it with your friends and family on social media, and get them to take part as well.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Re-post pictures and articles about childhood cancer on social media.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tell your family and friends about Childhood cancer awareness month, and get them involved.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wear a childhood cancer ribbon pin. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Do an assembly at school.</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><u>Who to fundraise for:</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
It can be a hard to decision who to give the money you have raised to. I would recommend giving it to a childhood cancer charity, or a children's cancer ward, or to a child you know who has been affected by cancer. (Links to fundraising sites will be at the end of this post)<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>If you want to donate your money so you can help families affected by cancer and help keep charity hospital houses running: I recommend donating to 'CLIC sergeant' (UK).</li>
<li>If you want to help teenager's with cancer: Donate to 'Teenage cancer trust' (UK) or' Teen cancer America'.</li>
<li>To help fund research for childhood cancer: 'Children with Cancer Uk' or 'American Childhood cancer organisation' or 'My room' (AUS)</li>
<li>If you want to raise money for a specific childhood cancer, search on the internet for one.</li>
<li>Donate your money to a charity who gifts presents and wishes to children with cancer: 'Chelsea's Angels' (UK) or 'Make a wish' or 'Star light' </li>
<li>Donate to a childhood cancer ward: Find out your nearest childhood cancer ward and grant them the money.</li>
<li>When I began my cancer journey a team of mums from the school set up #TeamEllie which was amazing, because they got a lot of people to fundraise for me, so when I was well enough I could afford to go on holiday and do the things I have always wanted to do. You could also do this for a child with cancer you know, it will make them so happy.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Please fundraise and spread awareness for children with cancer this September, thank you.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ellie xxx<br />
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<b><u>Links to childhood cancer charities:</u></b></div>
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Clic sergeant:<a href="http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/" target="_blank"> http://www.clicsargent.org.uk</a></div>
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Teenage cancer trust: <a href="https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/" target="_blank">https://www.teenagecancertrust.org</a></div>
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Teen cancer America: <a href="https://www.teencanceramerica.org/" target="_blank">https://www.teencanceramerica.org</a></div>
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Children with cancer UK: <a href="http://www.childrenwithcancer.org.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.childrenwithcancer.org.uk</a></div>
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American childhood cancer organisation: <a href="http://www.acco.org/" target="_blank">http://www.acco.org</a></div>
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My room: <a href="https://www.myroom.com.au/" target="_blank">https://www.myroom.com.au</a></div>
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Chelsea's angels: <a href="http://www.chelseasangels.co.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.chelseasangels.co.uk</a></div>
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Make a wish: <a href="https://www.make-a-wish.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.make-a-wish.org.uk</a></div>
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Star light: <a href="http://www.starlight.org.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.starlight.org.uk</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-13329345779696273652016-08-28T04:48:00.000-07:002016-09-10T08:20:28.248-07:00Help find childhood cancer sooner + collab | Childhood cancer awareness month 2016My mis-diagnosis process all started when I told my mum about a lump in my bottom, which had been there for months, but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone. The next day I went to the local GP, so he could check it out and he said it was most likely a perianal abscess, and prescribed me with a 7 day course of antibiotics.<br />
After the 7 day course of antibiotics was over, we went back to the GP and I told them that the lump was infact getting bigger. But yet again I was prescribed another 7 day course of antibiotics!<br />
After 3 days on the second course of antibiotics, I was in a lot of pain, I couldn't sit down because of the size of my lump, I was having extreme constipation, and I was even having trouble urinating. Yet again we went back to the GP and luckily we had an amazing doctor, she took one look a the lump and straight away admitted me to the hospital for a perianal abscess removal operation. It was a relief when she admitted me, but little did I know it was so much more serious...<br />
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On September 18th, I was told that I had stage 4 metastatic Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. Due to misdiagnosis my cancer spread so much more than it should have done, ultimately making it stage 4. It is hard for me to think of that, as we could have caught it so much sooner if the doctor was aware of the signs of childhood cancer. Unfortunately, this is the same case for many children with cancer, the doctor doesn't expect cancer in a person so young, so they don't even think of it as a possibility, but it can happen! This is why we need to spread awareness, so we can diagnose children early, increasing their chances of survival.<br />
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When you are told your child has cancer, you are in a state of shock. It's another kid who gets cancer, not yours. It is completely understandable to be shocked because it is rare, so no one knows about it, but is that really how it should be? Think about it. If everyone knew the warning signs of cancer and actually accepted that it could be a possibility for their ill child, then children could be diagnosed earlier. Im not trying to say that you should open up every bruise, headache and pain as a possibility of cancer, but you shouldn't not think of it. Basically, you shouldn't think "That won't be my kid." , as you never know. The more awareness we spread of childhood cancer the better, so we can give parents the incentive to take their ill child to the doctors earlier, therefore promoting early diagnosis.<br />
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<b><u>Symptoms of childhood cancer</u></b><br />
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<ul>
<li>A lump or swelling</li>
<li>Swollen glands</li>
<li>Frequent bruising</li>
<li>Unable to wee or blood in the wee</li>
<li>Back pain that isn't going away</li>
<li>Unexplained sweating or fever</li>
<li>Persistant headaches</li>
<li>Unexplained tiredness</li>
<li>Unexplained seizures or changes in vision or behaviour</li>
<li>Unexplained vomiting</li>
<li>Abdominal swelling or pain all the time</li>
<li>Unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite</li>
<li>Changes in appearance of the eye or unusual eye reflections in photos </li>
<li>Frequent infections or flu-like symptoms</li>
</ul>
I did this blog post as a collab with my good friend, Evie, we have collabed before. Evie has Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and she has also experienced mis-diagnosis, go check out her blog post so you can ready her story and her advice. <a href="http://loveeviex.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1" target="_blank">Click here to go to Evie's blog</a><br />
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BE CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARE!</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-71528705150236774722016-08-07T08:23:00.000-07:002016-08-07T08:23:00.417-07:00Feeling stressed out...At the moment I am in a positive place with my treatment. I'm doing fine. So now my attention is directed to everything else that isn't fine. I feel like I have the whole world on my shoulders. I am stressing about my mum, as she is constantly in pain and the doctors aren't sure why. I get stressed out when my parents argue. I get stressed about the future. I get stressed out about the things I can't control.<br />
Some of you may know that ever since I have been in cancer treatment, I have become a bit of a control freak, so things that I can't control really worry me: My mum's illness, relapse, being passenger in a car, etc.<br />
I guess it is all just taking its toll on me, I woke up this morning from a terrible nightmare that my mum's pain was caused by a cancerous tumour. It really upset me, and my mum being in pain is scary as I constantly think of worst case scenarios, because the worst case scenario happened to me.<br />
I am stressing because I want everything to be fine, but I need to learn that not everything can be fine all the time.<br />
For now, I am just going to try and not let everything get to me, and start focusing a bit more on me. I will still worry and stress, but I hope I can work my way through it, like I did with my anxiety. Hopefully I can see my therapist soon, so she can help me through it.<br />
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Thank you everyone for reading this post, I really just wanted to get my feelings out to you guys. Hopefully soon I can say I conquered stress, like I did with my anxiety, and help any of you guys who are dealing with stress too.<br />
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Ellie xxx</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-68423520694192228242016-07-24T10:14:00.000-07:002016-07-24T10:20:13.542-07:00Chemotherapy: What to expectChemotherapy.<br>
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We connote the word <i>Chemotherapy</i> with the loss of hair, nausea, pain and cancer. It can be extremely daunting, you see it on the TV and on the news everywhere. You try to gear yourself up for the loss of hair, and the nausea and the pain, but really you probably haven't experienced anything like it in your life; so how do you know what to expect?<br>
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That's the thing, you don't know what to expect. I most certainly didn't, but you just have to be strong and be prepared to fight whatever comes your way.</div>
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<b>Preparing for chemotherapy</b><br>
Come a few hours early to chemotherapy so you can get your bloods done. Or if you are like me and have blood done the day before, arrive when they recommend you to. They tend to check your vitals and weight/height when you arrive also.<br>
I for one know how hard it is to go into the hospital to receive drugs which make you feel so ill, so take your time to relax before your chemotherapy appointment, try to stay calm and take your mind off of it. It's great to have a friend or family member come with you, as they can be great support to you and take your mind off of the chemotherapy.<br>
When you are able to get your bed/chair, make yourself as comfortable as possible. Also, make yourself at home, most hospitals provide you with TV access, and food service if you are peckish!<br>
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<b>Starting your chemotherapy</b><br>
The nurse will have ordered your medications and chemotherapy drugs at the pharmacy, and that usually takes up to an hour to arrive. I would recommend starting mouth washes just before you start chemotherapy to prevent mouth sores.<br>
The chemotherapy is administered through your vein so the nurse will need to access the cannula in your arm, your port a cath or Hickman line. If you have a port a cath or cannula, they access with a needle - to avoid the pain I would recommend using numbing cream or cold spray to numb the area. The nurse will give your pre-chemotherapy medications, and then set up your chemotherapy infusion on an IV stand.<br>
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<b>During chemotherapy</b><br>
A chemotherapy infusion can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 8 hours, so you need to make sure you are comfortable and have entertainment. During chemotherapy you can relax, socialise with the other patients, watch TV etc. The nurses will have to keep checking your vitals to ensure that you are not having reactions to the medications or chemotherapy.<br>
You can go outside, however you can only go outside with the flush on your IV stand, not chemotherapy.<br>
During chemotherapy I recommend doing mouthwashes every couple of hours, if your are susceptible to mouth sores, it really helped prevent my mouth sores.<br>
During chemotherapy keep a sick bowl close, as a main side effect of chemotherapy is nausea, and you don't want to throw up everywhere! I am not certain whether adults have to do this, but the kids & teens have to wee and poo in a carboard container called a bed pan, so the nurses can keep an eye on whether we are flushing out all the chemotherapy and fluids given to us. If that is the same with adults, remember to take a bed pan with you to the toilet.<br>
When the chemotherapy is finished the nurse will flush your IV with saline and deaccess you Portacath or take out your cannula. Then you will have to wait 30mins to an hour before being discharged, so the nurses can ensure you are well enough to go home.<br>
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<b>After chemotherapy</b><br>
After chemotherapy go straight home and rest. My chemotherapy made every bit of energy come out of my body, I felt like I had just been hit by a truck, so rest is definitely important. Try and drink lots of fluids, a lot of my cancer friends recommend drinking energy drinks. Eat whatever you crave, I used to crave potatoes after Chemotherapy!<br>
Also, continue mouthwashes at home every few hours until the mouth sores are completely gone. Sometimes the nurses give you anti-sickness to take for a day or so after chemotherapy, taking them is important so you don't get nausea.<br>
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To those of you who are reading this that are about to endure your first chemotherapy treatment: Stay strong, I know how hard chemotherapy is, there is times when you just want to give up. The end may feel so far, but you just have to look at the light at the end of the tunnel. Show cancer what you are made of!!!<br>
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Thank you for reading,</div>
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Ellie xxx</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-84711199448242698112016-07-04T08:49:00.000-07:002016-07-04T08:49:33.847-07:00What is sarcoma? |Sarcoma awareness week 2016When my parents told me what cancer I had, it was weird, because I actually knew what the hidden beast was inside of me. It seemed unreal, as out of all of the 200 different types of cancer, I got SARCOMA!<br />
Sarcoma is that cancer that not many people know about, did you know that in a survey only 47% of people had heard of sarcoma, and only 26% actually knew it was a cancer! I am certainly not surprised of these figures, as myself went through numerous GP visits and an abscess removal operation until they twigged that it was sarcoma. And for many other sarcoma patients this is also the case, as sarcoma patients visit their GP more times than those with any other cancer before being diagnosed. Doesn't anyone else see the problem here? We need to spread awareness now, and fast so we can promote early diagnosis!<br />
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So let's talk a bit more about this pesky cancer that grows in soft connective tissues, bone and nerves. Before we start, I got all of this information from an amazing charity called Sarcoma Uk, they are a charity which spread awareness for sarcoma and they are such a great team, if you have any more questions about sarcoma you can ask them on their help line or via email. For more information visit their website <a href="https://sarcoma.org.uk/">https://sarcoma.org.uk</a><br />
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<b><u>What is a sarcoma?</u></b><br />
<ul>
<li>Rare cancers that develop in the muscle, bone, nerves, cartilage, tendons, blood vessels and the fatty and fibrous tissue. There are many types of sarcoma:</li>
<li> Bone sarcoma</li>
<li>Soft tissue sarcoma </li>
<li>GIST (In the gastrointestinal tract)</li>
<li>Gynaecological sarcoma</li>
<li>Retroperitoneal sarcoma (Deep into the pelvis, where the kidneys, pancreas and bladder are located.)</li>
</ul>
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<b><u>Facts and figures</u></b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>There are around 100 sub-types of sarcoma.</li>
<li><b>10 people diagnosed in the UK everyday!!!</b></li>
<li>In general patients with sarcomas tend to be younger.</li>
<li>Sarcomas make up 15% of children cancers (0-14) and 11% of all cancer diagnoses in teens and young adults (15-24).</li>
<li>Every year 3,300 people are diagnosed with soft tissue cancers including GIST in the UK.</li>
<li>500 people are diagnosed with a bone cancer each year in the UK.</li>
</ul>
</div>
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<b><u>Symptoms and diagnosing sarcoma</u></b></div>
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Be 'On the ball' when it comes to learning the symptoms of sarcoma! Sarcoma UK launched a campaign called 'On the ball' to spread awareness about the symptoms of sarcoma to GP's, because GP's are usually not aware of the red flag signs of sarcoma. Typically a sarcoma appears as a <b>lump</b>, if diagnosed under 5cm usually you will be treated successfully, however many sarcoma patients aren't diagnosed until the lump is 10cm. This is why we need to spread awareness, so we can promote early diagnosis.</div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b>
When diagnosing Sarcoma, like many other cancers you have to go through a lot of tests, such as:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Clinical examination.</li>
<li>A scan- taking pictures of inside the body using ultrasound MRI, CT, x-ray, PET or EUS.</li>
<li>A biopsy- taking and testing tissue sample.</li>
<li>A bone scan- to test for primary bone sarcomas.</li>
</ul>
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Overall, I hope you have learn't about sarcoma from this blog post. For me it is so important that you share information about Sarcoma and donate to Sarcoma UK as SARCOMA NEEDS TO BE HEARD! As a result of misdiagnosis, my cancer spread to many places- it started in my left bumcheek, it grew throughout my pelvis, into my lymph nodes and into my bone marrow. For me it is scary that my cancer has spread so vast as it gives me a higher chance of relapse. So please share this post, go to Sarcoma UK and spread awareness!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-32141940412251022982016-07-03T08:58:00.000-07:002016-07-03T08:58:27.885-07:00Mixing friendships with cancerLosing friendships due to something you can't control is hard, it is as if they can't accept the new you anymore. Cancer has put a strain on many of my friendships. Before I got cancer, I had my two best friends and I had several other close friends. My two best friends are absolutely amazing, they have stuck by me throughout and they make me feel normal again. However, my other friends distanced themselves from me, and now when I speak to them it is as if I am a stranger, they can barely even talk to me! Cancer is one of them things, even though it is common it is extremely feared of, so I think some of my friends just are not sure what to say to me anymore.<br />
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Although I have lost friends, I have also made friends. There have been people who have reached out to me and they have been so supportive. It definitely shows how amazing some people can be, my close friends didn't bother with me, yet a total stranger did...</div>
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<b><u>Friendship advice</u></b></div>
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<b>Regular meet-ups with friends-</b> Cancer can be such a lonely place, so regularly meeting up with your friends is a great idea! I see my friends every week and it is so fun & gives me a bit of normality.</div>
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<b>Losing friends-</b> It is tough losing friends over cancer, as you can't help it. However, the way I see it is that if they are so shallow to stop being friends with you due to cancer, they aren't worth your friendship & they obviously are not your real friends.</div>
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<b>Fake friends-</b> I have found that some people who weren't even my friends before cancer, started messaging me saying how sorry they were for me and how they would be there for me and would visit me. I understand people want to support me, but all I needed right then were my real friends. And most of the people who messaged me just wanted my friendship for popularity, so they could say "I went and visited Ellie today, I'm such a great person." Also, none of those people ever messaged me again after a month or so after my diagnosis, so they are definitely FAKE FRIENDS!!!</div>
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<b><u>Cancer friends</u></b></div>
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I find having friends who have cancer really helps a lot. My friends are amazing, but they can't completely understand what I am going through. I have a few friends from the teen cancer ward, but mostly via social media. Social media is an amazing way to find people the same age as you going through cancer. I have met so many people, and most of them I still talk to! I love talking to them as they completely understand what I am going through.</div>
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I would definitely suggest making friends with children your age in your cancer hospital ward, or use social media. To find cancer people on social media join Facebook groups, and I recommend finding cancer kids on childhood cancer awareness Instagram pages.<br />
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This blog post is a collab with one of my amazing cancer friends who I met on social media, she is called Evie, she has Hodgkin's lymphoma. Like me, Evie definitely knows the strain on friendships with cancer in the mix, so we worked together and we both made a blog post about Mixing friendships and cancer, go check out her blog too!<br />
Evie's blog: <a href="http://loveeviex.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1">http://loveeviex.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1</a><br />
Evie's instagram: @evie_shallom<br />
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'Friends don't let friends fight cancer alone!"</div>
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Thank you for reading and I really hope this blog post helped you.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ellie xxx</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-72847412650968687602016-06-26T05:57:00.001-07:002016-06-26T06:13:57.233-07:00My cancer survivor party!Don't think of a survivor as someone who wins their battle, but as someone who fights for their life and thrives to survive. I wanted to do this party to honour those who have sadly lost their battle with cancer, and to celebrate the HELL I have been through these past several months. Fortunately for me I have won my battle, but I also wanted to honour the survivors who have lost their battle.<br />
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Firstly I got my makeup done, it is the first ever time I have worn a full face of makeup in my life! The makeup was beautiful, but I would never have the patience to do that myself- I think I will stick to all natural.<br />
We drove to the party in style, a very posh limo, it was so fun! I arrived to the party with a red carpet entrance (awesome surprise!), and with my beautiful dress (it was white and gold to represent the childhood cancer ribbon) I was definitely red carpet ready. My reception was outstanding, so many people came to support me and I was stunned. It was great to see all my school friends again, and relatives who live far away.<br />
I did a speech, it was my third speech of the week, so I think I do the whole public speaking thing well by now. I spoke about what a survivor was to me, and thanked everyone, but typical me had a mental block whilst thanking people- there was too many people to thank!!!<br />
Unfortunately, I had to take my dress off after the speech as it was quite scratchy, and was irritating the port tube in my neck. It reminds me of when I got changed into a football kit at my parent's wedding, I was a huge tom boy so that was the deal for wearing a dress!<br />
Overall, the party was one of the best nights of my life, it was as big as my wedding will be! I want to thank everyone that came. Especially Nancy, Levi and chelsea- Nancy has the same cancer as me and she really rocked the dance floor with her moves, Levi is 6 and is a lung cancer survivor and he is super cool, and Chelsea sadly passed away from neuroblastoma but I am certain she was there to support me. Also, I want to thank TeamEllie for making this night possible, and always supporting me. Most importantly, I want to thank my whole family for sticking with me this whole journey, I couldn't of done it without them! <3<br />
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Thanks to the best night of my life!</div>
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Lots of love,</div>
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Ellie xxx</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-8620811974601931352016-06-19T10:42:00.000-07:002016-06-19T10:42:27.690-07:00My favourite fashion accessory...kind of!Fashion accessories are great because they can complete your outfit and show off a bit of your personality. For me I don't tend to bother with fashion accessories, I have never really been a fashionista kind of girl however there is one accessory I won't go without- NG tube!<br />
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To those fashionistas who were thinking that this blog was seriously about fashion-sorry but you are at the wrong place! </div>
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I love my NG tube, but it is the biggest statement piece to my outfit that I could have, it screams 'Poorly kid!!!'-definitely not the fashion statement I want to make. However, like my bald head I embrace it!</div>
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My first chemotherapy made me so ill and covered with mouth sores that I just couldn't eat, my stomach shrunk so much, resulting in me losing 12kg in a month. I dropped to a frail 36kg by my second chemo so I was offered the option of either a NG tube or a G tube, by that point I was fed up of operations so I decided to go for a NG tube. The NG tube has been amazing for me, it has basically saved me, if I continued without it I would just be skin and bones. Also, during the 6 months of intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy I had no appetite at all so being able to eat without even chewing was great! Although the NG tube has really supported me, it has also given me terrible anxiety, anxiety so bad I would get many panic attacks and not be able to sleep at night. Despite all of that I still have my feeding tube now and I have conquered the anxiety, I could really loose the tube now but I find it like a safety net for me. It has helped me so much that I don't want to lose it, and if I lose it I will have to drink my chemo medicine and take the HUGE septrin tablet. So I am tied between losing the tube and looking normal, or keeping the tube and not being able to go on rollercoasters etc. I am definitely more for losing the tube but I am apprehensive to have the icky meds.</div>
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<b><u>How an NG tube is put into your stomach</u></b><br />
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Getting an NG tube put in is definitely not nice, having something shoved up your nose and travelling down your throat is a weird sensation. Here's how it works: The NG tube is passed through your nose, then it comes out to the top of your throat where the gag reflexes are, after that it is gently travelled down through your oesophagus into your stomach.<br />
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<b><u>Tips for during the procedure</u></b><br />
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<b>Keep swallowing: </b>Swallowing helps massively when getting the NG tube done as it makes it a whole lot easier for the tube to pass through your oesophagus.<br />
<b>Icy cold water: </b>Icy cold water is the perfect! Water will keep you swallowing and keep your throat moist whilst the tube is going down, and the iciness will numb your throat.<br />
<b>Don't panic: </b>The worst bit of the whole procedure for me is when the NG tube hits your gag reflexes, when it does that don't panic. If you would like stop for a second, what I just do is close my eyes and keep swallowing water. Or what I also find helpful is to concentrate on your breathing, so you are distracted from thinking about the tube going down your throat.<br />
<b>Puking up the tube-</b> Puking up the tube is a scary experience, it hangs out of you mouth-it is very uncomfortable. When this happens just stay calm and DO NOT pull the tube out through your mouth, pull it out though your nose.<br />
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I really hope this blog helped you. Ironically in the midst of writing this blog I threw up my tube! I am trialling without the tube, it is going well so far, however chemo tastes gross but I can handle it. Comment down below how you found your NG tube experience!<br />
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Thank you for reading,</div>
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Ellie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-42803271628695668192016-06-05T04:13:00.000-07:002016-06-05T04:13:03.195-07:00Mixing cancer with schoolBefore I got cancer I would walk through the school hallways barely getting a single glance, however now I have cancer I seem to be centre of attention- I almost feel like a celebrity at school. Recently I have been attending school on a regular basis, it is a lot of fun, but I don't really feel like I fit in anymore. My good friends even from before I got cancer don't know what to say to me, it is like being the new kid every single day. It doesn't really bother me, but for some other people I have talked to who also have cancer have said they hate being at school because of all the stares and how differently you are treated. School is much harder for me now, it is so much more tiring and school work doesn't come as easy to me as it did before. School really shows me how little energy I have, before I would do a full day of school and then run after school, however now a couple of hours tires me out, thats one thing I have found very hard- I just wish I had enough energy to do everything my friends are doing.<br />
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<b><u>CHEMO BRAIN!!!</u></b><br />
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Before I got cancer I could easily memorise two pages of french writing in a week, but now with chemo brain it would probably take me 3 weeks! Chemo brain has been hard for me, just little things like forgetting something my mum told me or not being able to concentrate on school work without getting very tired. Does anyone else have this? It is very annoying and I am nervous that it will hold me back for the rest of my life, but I guess you kind of learn to live with it. I have a few tips to help with your chemo brain:<br />
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<li>Writing down things, or setting reminders on your phone.</li>
<li>Taking regular breaks so you don't tire yourself out to much.</li>
<li>Plenty of rest and eat healthy.</li>
<li>Avoid chilling for too long in the day otherwise you don't really have the motivation to do anything productive. </li>
<li>Have a calendar.</li>
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<b><u>Repeating a school year</u></b><br />
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Repeating the school year is often used as a sign of stupidity, but we aren't stupid, we just had to take several months off to kick cancer's butt- which is much more important! Even though having cancer was a horrid experience, we learnt more than you could ever teach in a school year- we learnt about medicines, medical procedures, types of cancers, listened to other people's stories, immersed ourself in hospital culture and most importantly learnt the true meaning of life- it was the best/worst gap year we could ever have!</div>
I am going to miss my year a lot, and even though moving to a new year group is nerve-wracking it is also exciting. Think of it like this, you will be older than everyone else and if your school allows you then you get to go to TWO PROMS!!! I know it still isn't the ideal situation but we just have to make the best of it.<br />
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<b><u>Dealing with questions from people at school.</u></b><br />
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Personally, I don't mind answering most questions people ask me, I think it is great as they are showing an interest and I want to teach people what having cancer is like. For some people going back to school is a place where they like to feel normal, so an abundance of questions about cancer isn't always what you want. I would simply say to the person asking you the question that you would rather not talk about cancer, I am sure they will respect your request.<br />
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<b><u>Feeling like you don't belong</u></b><br />
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I wish I could walk around school without getting stares, I wish people who were my friends before would actually talk to me, I wish I wasn't seen so differently. Getting stares is very horrible at school, you feel self conscious as you have so many eyes watching you. Obviously it is a shock to see the kid who has been away with such a serious illness, but I have been at school for a couple of months now, surely you are used to me by now? It just feels like we don't fit in anymore, I don't really have a solution for this except to just wait and ignore the stares. The shock of seeing someone like us won't go away over night but it will get better with time, and just ignore the stares, I just walk with pride and strength. </div>
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<b>We are like celebrities, the school halls are our red carpet and the students are our paparazzi! (; </b></div>
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Thank you for reading this blog post, I really hope you found this helpful. Mixing school and cancer can be hard but we just need to remember that we fought cancer, so whatever tough school situations are thrown at us, we can handle! </div>
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Ellie xxx</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-68026907205484261162016-05-22T04:50:00.001-07:002016-05-22T04:50:49.910-07:00How to cope with insomniaInsomnia is extremely debilitating, frustrating and can make you feel alone. I know how you feel. You feel like you are trapped in consciousness, unable to slip into a sweet dream.<br />
Sleep is such an amazing thing, the thought of a relaxing deep sleep when you are tired is so inviting. However, for some of us our brains won't allow us to slip into a peaceful sleep, we have to fight for hours to get to sleep.<br />
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Insomnia has been such a depressing experience for me. Throughout my cancer treatment I have had bouts of insomnia. The worst was when I had terrible anxiety, I would lay awake for hours, feeling restless and depressed because my mind wouldn't let me fall to sleep. It was an extremely sad time for me as I felt alone and helpless. The only time I would get a break from insomnia was when I was away at a charity house with my mum during radiotherapy, my anxiety was caused by fear of liquid getting into my lungs, so when I slept in the same room as my mum I felt safe. Fortunately, I have being seeing a counsellor and my anxiety has improved dramatically, I can sleep extremely well now and I don't have my mind fixated on my anxieties all day.<br />
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<b><u>Symptoms of Insomnia</u></b><br />
Here is a few common symptoms of Insomnia, let's see if your symptoms match:<br />
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<li>Difficulty to fall asleep.</li>
<li>Lay awake for long periods at night.</li>
<li>Wake up several times in the night.</li>
<li>Don't feel refreshed when you wake up.</li>
<li>Feel tired, irritable and lack of concentration.</li>
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<b><u>Possible causes of Insomnia</u></b></div>
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These are some of the most common causes of insomnia:</div>
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<li>Stress and anxiety.</li>
<li>Poor sleeping environment.</li>
<li>Mental health conditions.</li>
<li>Life style factors, e.g jet lag, shift work and drinking alcohol or caffeine before bed.</li>
<li>Physical health conditions, e.g heart problems or long term pain.</li>
<li>Certain medications, e.g antidepressants, epilepsy medication and steroid meds.</li>
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<b><u>What to do about it</u></b></div>
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Especially if your insomnia is caused by lifestyle factors you can change some things to help get rid of your insomnia. For people with mental health conditions, like me, it is a bit harder but I personally recommend seeing a counsellor/therapist because that can ease your mental health conditions. Here are a few ways you can get to sleep easier:</div>
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<li>Setting a regular bed time.</li>
<li>Relaxing before bed, e.g take a bath or listen to music.</li>
<li>Get off of technology an hour before bedtime as the blue light from your device can disrupt your brain activity and keep you awake.</li>
<li>Use thick curtains/blinds, ear plugs and ear masks if your sleep is disrupted by the environment.</li>
<li>Avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, heavy meals, and exercise for a few hours before going to bed.</li>
<li>Don't nap during the day.</li>
<li>Write down your worries and solve them to help you forget about them.</li>
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<b><u>Treatment</u></b></div>
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Try some of the appropriate tips on how to stop your insomnia for a few weeks, if no progress is made then sometimes treatment is necessary for you.</div>
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<b>Cognitive behavioural therapy-</b> This is a type of therapy that can help you deal with your thoughts in a more positive way. It helps your break down overwhelming problems into smaller parts and showing you how to change these negative patterns to help improve the way you feel. Unlike other talking therapies, it does not focus on your past, instead it helps you look for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis. This therapy will help you avoid the thoughts and behaviours affecting your sleep.</div>
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<b>Sleeping tablets- </b>Sleeping tablets are usually used as a last resort, doctors try and avoid prescribing them as they won't fix your insomnia and they have longterm effects.</div>
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I really hope this post has helped you in some way. Insomnia is such a hard thing to go through and to finally fix it is the best feeling in the world. Sleep seemed so unnatural to me before but now it seems perfectly natural, and now I look forward to sleeping. I wish you the best of luck if you have insomnia.</div>
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Love Ellie xxx</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-82630376282584131752016-05-08T05:37:00.000-07:002016-05-08T05:37:48.350-07:00Missing the old me, but living for the new me.<div style="text-align: center;">
Hey guys, just want to say before we start this blog post that I did a youtube video about my cancer story!<br />
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Do you ever just reminisce about the good old days? The days when you were care-free, healthy, and having fun. For a person with an illness them days seem so long ago, your new life just seems like your new normal. For me I still shock myself of how quickly my life flipped upside down, one day I was happy and free but the next day I was trapped by cancer. It may make you feel sad wishing you could be how you used to be, at the start of treatment I wished more than anything for this to all be a dream and to be back to normal again- but sadly it doesn't work like that.<br />
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You know what? You have just go to embrace the new you! Look to the future, not the past. Now I don't often think about how I was before, as I'm not totally the same person anymore, I'm slightly different now. Everyone goes through different stages in their life where they change, and this is just one of them stages for us, it's more dramatic than other people's but who said change wasn't a good thing? From cancer I have changed as a person so much, and I feel as if I'm a better person now; my outlook on life is better and I'm not worried about what people think of me. I've embraced how I am by creating a blog, social media accounts and creating a youtube channel. Embrace your illness and show the world how awesome you are! Ever since I started my blog I have felt happier than ever before, as I can use my experiences to help other people and also inspire other people to stay strong. It's the best feeling in the world to be told that you are inspiring, so if you have an illness why not help others and make an impact on the world?<br />
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Additionally, I just want to say that you are beautiful no matter what. If your illness has changed you physically then don't be ashamed, I have a bald head due to chemotherapy and I show my bald head with pride as it shows how strong & brave I am. So if you have a scar, amputated limbs, etc please don't feel self conscious as it shows that you are a fighter! Show off your imperfections due to your illness with pride and strength.<br />
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I just want to inform you guys that I will be doing my blog every two weeks now as I am also doing youtube videos every two weeks. Thank you for understanding (:</div>
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Ellie xxx</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3233258755539354640.post-69593068855959528762016-04-14T09:31:00.000-07:002016-04-14T09:31:09.445-07:00Hope is a powerful thingHope is a powerful thing. Even though hope doesn't always work, the strength and motivation you get from hope is incredible. Look at World War 1 & 2, Winston Churchill published propaganda to keep up the nation's morale/hope, this shows how powerful hope is, as it got the whole nation through such a tough time, without hope everyone would have not been as happy and willing to stay strong. When I first got cancer I hoped the treatment would work and I hoped that I'd survive, and that hope helped me through the pain of my experience.<br />
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Every item has a story, whether big or small, when I first got diagnosed my nan gave me a golden elephant. It belonged to my Great-Grandad, he kept it with him as a token of good luck and hope during World war 2. My Great-grandfather was a spitfire pilot, he was such a courageous man, he has been shot down from his spitfire 3 times and survived- so his story really proves that this Golden elephant is truly lucky! My nan wanted to give me the golden elephant to give me luck and hope throughout my treatment, and it definitely seems to be working. </div>
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Also, my nan said to me "Ellie, you are even braver than my father as you are fighting a battle you can't see." However I disagree; if I had the choice I would of wanted to not have cancer and not to fight this horrible battle - but my Great-grandfather was truly brave, because if he had a choice to go to war or not, he would have gone to war as he wanted to fight for his country. My Great-grandfather was truly inspiring and I know he's looking down on me.</div>
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Throughout my treatment when things got tough I would disbelieve in hope and good luck. Now I look back, hope has truly helped me get through this experience, hope and luck isn't guaranteed but that fighting spirit you get from it can get you through. So for all of you that are starting a courageous battle with illness, remember to believe in hope as it will keep you strong.<br />
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'Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness'</div>
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Ellie xxx </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223745183919584823noreply@blogger.com1