The lessons that cancer taught me

I thought I would write one more blog, just to update everyone on how I am and to put down in writing some things I’ve learnt over the last 18 months during this amazing journey.
So, here are the lessons that cancer taught me..........
• Never Give Up
There were times when I wanted to give up, when I honestly felt like I couldn’t keep going with the treatment or cope with what I was going through, but each time I pulled myself together and kept going. There were a few times I wanted to give up on the treatment (as the surgery removed the cancer the rest of my treatment was to give me a better chance of the cancer not returning but I may have been fine without) but I didn’t, I kept going and powered through and am so pleased I did now.

• Believe in yourself
Having cancer has definitely taught me how strong I can be and that I’m capable of so much more than I would have ever thought. I coped with all the physical side effects (I will never complain about having a cold again!!) as well as the emotional side better than I expected, which I am really proud of, but at the same time.........................

• It’s ok to find things hard
I’m proud of how well I coped, but it’s ok to have bad days and get a bit down about everything I’ve been through, even now. I won’t let it keep me down for long or get the better of me, but sometimes being a little sad or overwhelmed by the fact I had cancer is ok and a good reminder of how lucky I am to be well again now and how important it is to live my life to the full because........................

• Life is short
You never know what will happen in life or what/who you might lose so it’s important to appreciate every minute you have and to live your life the best you can making yourself and others as happy as possible. I’ve always been pretty laid back, but now more than ever I won’t let the small, unimportant things in life get to me.

• My family, boyfriend, and friends are amazing!!
The constant support and love I received was overwhelming, sometimes from the most surprising sources. I had so much practical and emotional help from those around me and even at my lowest points, I felt truly blessed by how good my life is.

• You have to learn to love your scars
Having your face cut open is always going to be hard, especially as a 23 year old woman. My scars and changing body have been hard to deal and the way I look is often a stark reminder of having had cancer. Even though people tell me all the time that they don’t even notice my scars I am very aware of them and they are a constant reminder of what I’ve been through. However, I am learning to be proud of them and to show them off along with the story of what I’ve been through, they make me unique and I like that.

• It’s possible to still speak and eat even with a tongue made out of your leg!
This point is pretty straight forward, I just think it’s amazing what they can do and how little it really affects my everyday life!!


• There are some truly amazing people in this world
I have met some amazing people through having cancer who have been a real highlight of the last 18 months. I was in hospital with some other young people fighting cancer who really taught me the meaning of strength and who never gave up even at the worst times. Will, one of the guys on the ward was such an incredible inspiration to me. He was fighting a really rare form of cancer and there wasn’t much they could do for him, yet he was always so positive, always laughing and joking around and always there for me ready to cheer me up if I needed it. Unfortunately Will lost his fight with cancer earlier this year, He didn’t deserve this, but I am determined to live my life to the full for him. I’ve met plenty of other amazing people through the Teenage and young adult team at the hospital who have been through cancer and they always encourage me and remind me that it can be a positive thing as they are some of the most incredible people I know.
• Even cancer can be funny sometimes
Don’t get me wrong, cancer is a horrible disease that devastates lives, but there were plenty of times when I had to look at the funny side of things and laugh about what i was going through. If I didn’t laugh, I just would have cried. Whether it was seeing the funny side to my consultants badly phrased comments or playing ‘would you rather have cancer or....’ with Will (we both agreed we’d rather have cancer than fight Voldemort!) or our arguments about who was more ill and should get up to make the drinks, laughing about the situation was my way of coping!

• There are always positives to come out of a bad situation.
Here are a few positive things I’ve taken away from this experience;
 Having learnt how strong I can be
 The friends I've made
 Being able to appreciate the good things in life so much more
 Becoming even closer to Kev than ever
 Learning the true meaning of good friends
 Beating cancer!!!


I’m sure there is plenty more I could say and I’m only a year on since treatment and I’m sure I’ll continue to learn to more and more. I’m feeling so well now and so exciting for what the rest of my life might bring and all the things I’ve yet to achieve. I want to see far more awareness of cancer and support for younger people diagnosed and I want to encourage people that you can take whatever life throws at you, just be determined and keep smiling.

It's nice being well again!!

Hello again everyone! I realise it’s been a while since I last updated this so thought I would say hi. It’s now nearly 8 months since my operation and 5 months since all my treatment finished. It all feels like a life time ago to me and I’m still feeling so lucky to be over the other side of it all now. It was a really rough 3 months, but I’m glad that’s all it lasted. I’m on to having 2 monthly check ups with Mr Brown and 4 monthlys with the oncologist. At my last appointment Mr Brown was really pleased with everything. He really feels that they made the right decision with the treatment they gave me, he’s sure the cancer is definitely all gone and feels there is very little reason to worry about it ever returning. It’s amazing news to be told and I’m just so happy to have beaten it! He’s also really pleased with the function I have left in my tongue, especially my speech, which is pretty much back to normal now, at least you would never guess I’m actually missing 2/3 of my tongue!!
Otherwise, life is getting back to normal, spending time with my friends and Kev. I’m having a big party at the end of march to celebrate my birthday and being better!! I’m going back to work at the beginning of April so that’s very exciting!!
I can’t thank everyone who has supported me over the last year enough. It’s a horrible journey to go on, but all of you have made it so much easier!!

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Race For Life

Ruth Collington is fundraising for Cancer Research UK

Here is my fundraising page for the race for life 2011!! Please sponser me as it's such a worthwhile cause!!!

Tick tick tick tick....

So, it’s been a while since I wrote this blog, but that’s a good thing, It’s because there hasn’t been much to report! I am recovering well, my mouth is slowly healing, still waiting to have my wisdom teeth out on February 1st, but hopefully that will be a walk in the park compared to everything else!! I’m still quite tired and weak, but it is improving and I’m still pushing myself to build my strength up. My neck is still quite stiff and sore as is my leg, but i’m getting nice and used to my new tongue so you take the good with the bad!
Had a lovely christmas and new year in Thirsk, I love spending time with my family! I’m back in Liverpool now slowly trying to rebuild my life, it feels very strange but it’s nice and feels very good to be back amongst my friends!
I won’t lie, life after cancer is really tough. From diagnosis to surgery to treatment was all so fast I barely had time to take it all in and was so busy fighting so hard for my life that it wasn’t really until everything finished that it all hit me. It was such a huge thing to go through physically and emotionally it’s left me feeling a bit battered. It’s a really scary experience that makes you realise how fragile life can be. It sounds like an obvious thing to say, but you really don’t expect to get cancer, especially not at 23, and especially not a type you’ve never even heard of before. Having treatment and fighting the cancer was the easy part in some ways, now all I can do is wait and see what happens, it’s out of my hands, another young person living with cancer recently described it as being like ‘you’re waiting for a bomb to go off’ and he’s so right. You’re pretty much left on your own and it can be really hard. I’ve been really lucky to have the support of the Teenage and young adult team at clatterbridge who have been really supportive and have made a huge difference, but a lot of the time you feel like no one quite understands.
There are still a lot of positives to take away; I’m alive, that’s a pretty good one! My treatment is over and the cancer has gone. I’m really grateful for all these things, but when you’ve been so worried and ill for so long it’s hard to get used to the idea of being ok.
I don’t want to seem negative and just focus on the bad, but it’s important that people realise that this battle doesn’t finish just because the cancer has gone. So many people have told me that this is often the hardest part emotionally and that’s definitely been true for me, but I’m still here and I’m still fighting!