That dreaded word, we all don’t want to hear it, we all don’t want to say it. You know which word I am talking about, Cancer… 

Only a few of you would know that a few weeks ago, the day I returned back from the Mystery box Rally and got to my empty apartment in Sydney late at night, I got a text from my father back in England. It had the words, the MRI scan showed some shadowing and they need to do a biopsy. I was shattered physically and emotionally from the rally, where we raised over $1 million for cancer council research, this news sent me over the edge and I started to whale in tears, just shaking and not knowing who to call or what to do. 

I talk about cancer everyday, I read about cancer everyday, and I talk about the statistics everyday and why it is so important for the programs MyMuse has designed to be incorporated into businesses. Even though I have seen first hand how cancer effects people and work places. I was still not ready to hear that my father was now going through his own journey. Every conversation I have, I talk about that 1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer, yet, when my dad sent me that message, I still thought “why us?” 

A few days ago my dad called me to say he was told it was early stage cancer. He was devastated, and his mind was in the world of the unknown. I was on the end of the phone, feeling helpless and so far away. All i wanted to do at that very moment was get to the airport and step onto a plane home. But it was 10pm at night, that was not going to happen. My initial reactions were, what can i do to help, what can I say, and how can I be there for my family. We have a group Whatsapp group, this is a place we post photos, and just keep everyone up to date, not once did I think this was going to be part of our conversation. I immediately spoke to my brother, who I am very close with, we put a little bit of a plan into action. He straight away, went and told his manager at work, and they were extremely supportive, and really just said all the right things - well done! And well done for my brother for being so open with them, something a lot of people fear for the judgement that may follow. Even though I deal with conversations around cancer everyday, I have not lived in the UK for over 10 years, and wanted to understand the process. For once the time differences worked in my favour, I called Macmillian UK and had a chat with them about what type of process to expect. Immediately, this calm and reassuring voice on the end of the phone put me at a bit of ease and the urgency to get on the plane home lessened. 

After writing a whole page of notes during the call, I relayed the information in the group chat and this made all of us feel a little calmer. My family said I should get some sleep and we would talk in the morning when I woke up and it was evening for them. Lets just say falling asleep with the weight on my mind was hard to say the least. 

Morning came, and we arranged a three-way video call, with my parents in Yorkshire, my brother in London and me in Sydney. I really was so grateful we live in an age of technology that can allow this to happen. Seeing everyone's faces and talking through everything was so nice. I felt less distant and I think for my family, having the day to come to terms with the news allowed us all to see things more clearly and calmly. A few days have passed now and it is still raw and hurts to think my dad is going through this. Wednesday I had an event where I would be talking to a room of women about MyMuse and what I do, and I was so worried that I would burst into tears with the recent news, the whole way there I was crying behind my sunglasses, but having a room full of women that have my back and are my tribe gave me the strength I needed at that time. And I stood there and talked about MyMuse, and more than ever, I know what I am doing is right and needed. The drive for this to become part of peoples conversations and not the taboo subject is crucial, so people can feel as supported as I did in that room on every step of their journey.