How Long Have You Got?

A deep dive into breast cancer with the charity Breast Cancer Now

This week ⁠Sarah⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/sarahedsays/] continues to fly solo on the podcast with a deep dive into breast cancer with the largest breast cancer charity in the UK, Breast Cancer Now [https://breastcancernow.org/]. Sarah is joined by Sally Kum [https://breastcancernow.org/about-us/media/sally-kum-msc-rgn/] who is the Associate Director of Nursing, Healthcare, Professional Engagement and Health Information who talks about the incredible work done by the charity around research, funding and support for anyone affected by breast cancer. Sally shares some of the latest findings that show breast cancer diagnoses are increasing in the UK and she explains some of the different types of breast cancer. This episode was recorded on 29th July which by chance was the same day on which the the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) announced the NHS would not be making the drug Enhertu available to patients in England. Enhertu is a life-extending drug for certain women with incurable HER2-low secondary breast cancer, and in an emotional moment, Sarah explores the impact of this and how you can have your voice heard through an online petition [https://action.breastcancernow.org/enhertu-emergency-sign-petition]. You can read the Enhertu announcement from NICE here [https://www.nice.org.uk/news/articles/nice-disappointed-that-companies-unwilling-to-offer-fair-price-to-the-nhs-to-make-enhertu-available]. We'd like to hear about your experiences with cancer, so please do get in touch if you’d like to share. If you're listening on Spotify, you can use the show’s Q&A feature, or please share your thoughts through our Instagram page at ⁠@howlonghaveyougot2024⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/howlonghaveyougot2024/]. And please do like and recommend the show as it helps us reach more members of the cancer community. Studio and recording by ⁠A Digital⁠ [https://adigital.agency]. Production for A Digital by ⁠Andrew Armitage⁠ [https://instagram.com/aarmitage].

How health and fitness can influence your cancer story

On this week’s episode, Sarah [https://www.instagram.com/sarahedsays/] takes the mic while Jeremy [https://www.instagram.com/jeremylangmead/] is away on holiday, and she’s joined by a special guest in the studio to talk about health, fitness and nutrition. Jo Edmondson [https://www.instagram.com/fit4joed/] is a friend of both Jeremy and Sarah who is not only an exercise consultant, but has also recovered from her own breast cancer diagnosis which involved both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as a double mastectomy and reconstruction. Jo was a healthy 40 year old, enjoying regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, even competing in 3 ultra-marathons but found herself embarrassed to share her diagnosis back in 2016 (she thinks). Jo is now fully recovered and talks to Sarah about her cancer experience and why her mantra for life is to be ‘fit for anything’ as a coping mechanism - be that a medical diagnosis or other life events, and how exercise can play a key role in that. Jo and Sarah also talk about how to get started with exercise, finding motivation and different types of food - and why a little bit of what you fancy is no bad thing! The discussion also considers how additional guidance around health, fitness and nutrition could help cancer patients at the diagnosis stage going beyond the science, with practical tips on how to improve your overall health and fitness. We'd like to hear about your experiences with cancer, so please do get in touch if you’d like to share. If you're listening on Spotify, you can use the show’s Q&A feature, or please share your thoughts through our Instagram page at @howlonghaveyougot2024 [https://www.instagram.com/howlonghaveyougot2024/]. And please do like and recommend the show as it helps us reach more members of the cancer community. Studio and recording by A Digital [https://adigital.agency]. Production for A Digital by Andrew Armitage [https://instagram.com/aarmitage].

A stoical story about losing an eye to cancer

Tessa Parry-Wingfield shares her extraordinary story. Tessa, who runs a communications company and lives in London with her husband and two daughters, was out for a regular run just over a year ago when her vision felt slighty blurry. It turned out she had a large tumour within her eye which very quickly had to be removed. Here Tessa reveals how it felt knowing an eye was to be taken out, talks about the operation itself, and how she’s about to have a 3-D printed eye to replace the one she lost. Tessa also talks about telling her children, the novel use of spreadsheets for treatment notes, and how she wanted her close friends to treat her post-surgery. We'd like to hear about your experiences with cancer, so please do get in touch if you’d like to share. If you're listening on Spotify, you can use the show’s Q&A feature, or please share your thoughts through our Instagram page at @howlonghaveyougot2024. And please do like and recommend the show as it helps us reach more members of the cancer community. Studio and Recording by A Digital. Production for A Digital by Andrew Armitage and Matthew Connolly.

Actor Stephen Fry on cancer, kindness, and how to talk about it

To open our second series, actor, presenter and writer Stephen Fry talks to Jeremy & Sarah about his own experience with prostate cancer - from diagnosis to surgery and life post-cancer. He discusses how kindness, contact and smiling are clinically proven to aid recovery. And, as a renowned wordsmith, we ask him to suggest alternatives to some of the terminology often used in the cancer community (he’s not a fan of community btw) Please do like and recommend the show as it helps us reach more people who are living with, or affected by, cancer. We'd like to hear about your experiences with cancer, so please do get in touch if you’d like to share. If you're listening on Spotify, you can use the show’s Q&A feature, or please share your thoughts through our Instagram page at @howlonghaveyougot2024. Studio and Recording by A Digital. Production for A Digital by Andrew Armitage and Matthew Connolly.

How selfish can you allow yourself to be with cancer?

There’s a fine line between selfishness and self-preservation when you’re living with cancer. You need to look after yourself, those around you need to understand and support you, and yet it can’t just be all about you…Or can it? Sarah and Jeremy on how to make that call. Do contact Macmillan, Breast Cancer Now, Prostate Cancer UK or Cancer Research UK if you or anyone you know is struggling with the issues discussed in this episode. We are taking two weeks off and then we’ll be back with Series Two for which we’re speaking to some extraordinary and inspirational guests. See you here soon! We'd like to hear about your experiences with cancer, so please do get in touch if you’d like to share. If you're listening on Spotify, you can use the show’s Q&A feature, or please share your thoughts through our Instagram page at @howlonghaveyougot2024. And please do like and recommend the show as it helps us reach more members of the cancer community. Studio and Recording by A Digital. Production for A Digital by Andrew Armitage and Matthew Connolly.