Ruth Taylor
Ruth Taylor, 45, is a mum of two who was diagnosed with breast cancer back in May 2016. We are honoured to share her journey from initial diagnosis, informing her family, through to chemo and radiotherapy. She hopes to raise awareness and educate others about breast cancer, while firmly kicking cancer back where it belongs. This is the eighth instalment in her guest blog.
A fortnight after my diagnosis appointment I had a further meeting with Mr Masannat to give me an opportunity to ask questions and go over my treatment plan. He mentioned that he had put a referral in for me to get a bone scan to check my back and I was pleased that I was getting what I perceived to be an MOT! We went through the plan for my chemotherapy which the doctor told me would be scheduled for after I’d recovered from the operation and I would then most probably need radiotherapy, but they would know for certain once they removed the lump and analysed it. My operation date was confirmed as Mon 20th June and I was told I would need to come into the hospital the afternoon before to be admitted, as my operation would be in the morning the following day.
Administrator
Recent high-profile campaigns, documentaries and spokespeople like Stephen Fry's 'The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On' (BBC One) and retiring England Cricketer Jonathan Trott have launched the subject of Men's Mental Health into the public spotlight.
Some surveys suggest as many as 1 in 4 of us suffer from mental health problems each year, and 75% of all suicides (caused by a variety of mental health issues) in 2015 were men.
Gillian Cooper
It was a month in which the issue of gender equality returned firmly to the spotlight as hundreds of thousands took part in Women's Marches across the globe. And so it seems especially poignant that January 2017 also saw the passing of one of the cause's biggest champions - Betty Tebbs.
Bury-born Betty was just 14 when she got a taste for what would become a lifelong campaign to improve working conditions.
Gillian Cooper
It's not something we like to think or talk about, but leaving clear instructions about how we want our property and possessions to be distributed after we've gone deserves more attention. If you're among the majority who hasn't already drawn up a will, the following may offer serious food for thought...
So why do we put off making a will?