Making time for wellbeing when your child has cancer

HDW Newsletter - 6 November 2023

I’ve found myself here in November, almost like I’ve been dumped on to the shore by a big wave that I started riding at the beginning of the year. Slightly shellshocked, surprised, with a bit of salt water in my eyes and sand in my bathers!

So far 2023 has been a blisteringly challenging time following my teenage daughter’s diagnosis of cancer. She has done an incredible job of navigating procedures, hospital appointments, chemotherapy and more, in a way that makes me feel simultaneously emotional, proud and humbled by her strength, even in the depths of her illness. Treatment is not quite finished yet but there is some light at the end of the tunnel now and hopefully she will begin 2024 cancer-free and ready to dive back into life.

This experience has made me reflect deeply about what wellness means when lightning can strike out of the blue and turn life on its head.

I had to work out basic tools to utilise, even in times that felt unbearably difficult, and it forced me to distill my own acts of personal wellbeing down to their bare minimum. I also had to be willing to ask for help, and to accept the generous support of my incredible friends who did all kinds of wonderful things like set up a meal train, provide me with unlimited emotional support, and encourage me to do things they knew filled my cup.

I’ve written about the three key elements for creating a solid foundation for women’s wellbeing in my latest blog post on what I consider to be the ABC of wellbeing. (And no, I’m not talking about diet, exercise and sleep.) Here is a LINK to that post. Please read it and share your thoughts on it with me and whether you think you can bring these tools into your life too.

As the carer-fog has been dissipating a little for me, my primary objective is to work with women to support them to truly look after themselves. Because let’s face it… often our own wellbeing can get a bit lost in the doing of “All The Things” that a busy life entails.

This type of looking after yourself might be achieved through:

• creating a healthy relationship with stress;

• trying meditation, even for short bursts;

• bringing the benefits of essential oils into your life to help with wellness pillars like sleep, digestion, metabolism and healthy aging; or

• working with me to utilise some 1:1 coaching support to help you to achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

Since my daughter’s chemotherapy has finished I’ve also turned back up the dial on my own wellbeing and personal wellness practices. I will share a bit of this via my social channels. These links are below - please follow me on your preferred platform and stay in touch.

And please share this post with anyone who you think might be interested in looking after themselves too.

I encourage you to choose to look after yourself in this crazy world, because the small choices that we make consistently are the ones that really make a difference to our lives. I am here to support you with inspiration for practical and science-based wellbeing ideas, so that you can make a healthy difference.

Look after yourself.

With love,

Hilary xx