The inspirational CoppaFeel! founder Kris Hallenga shares the highs and lows of her eight-year journey with cancer
This week marks eight years since docs told Kris she was suffering from breast cancer
THIS Sunday I will be celebrating my eighth cancerversary.
Eight years ago to the day, when I was 23, I was told I had breast cancer.
This means I have lived almost a third of my life with cancer and no matter how hard I try, I cannot remember what it was like to not have this stupid disease.
But that’s OK, I quite like the life I have now.
My gosh, I would not have believed I would be saying that when I heard that news on February 19, 2009.
Having cancer for eight years means I’ve spent about 500 hours in hospital, had around 200 needles poked into me, three operations, 35 scans and 35 nailbiting days hearing good or bad news related to my condition.
But it has not been all bad. It also means I have spent 2,920 days happy to be alive.
I’ve had around 30 awesome holidays and lost count of the amazing people I have met as a result of having cancer.
I have shed a few litres of both happy and sad tears and have been tested to my absolute limits.
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But what matters is that I am still here.
It is still my plan to stay here for as long as possible, despite the fact the average survival time after a stage-four breast-cancer diagnosis is two years.
But statistics mean very little when you already very much beat the odds in getting the disease at the age of 23.
To hell with stats.
So how am I marking this significant milestone? With my family, doing one of my most favourite activities – eating.
It may not sound all that exciting to you but to me it’s the mundane things that often mean more.
Doing things you love, no matter how big or small, is what is important.
It will undoubtedly involve a walk on the beach, too.
I live in Cornwall now, after all, and the novelty of living by the sea hasn’t worn off yet.
Finding happiness after something as crap as cancer is hard and, in a way, I am lucky to be as strong as I am to deal with the many beyond-rubbish situations I’ve had to deal with.
My friend Fearne Cotton has written about happiness in her rather aptly named book Happy, which is out now.
She writes about moments when she too has had to dig very deep and get through depression.
On the surface you would think she’d have her life together and be blissfully happy.
But like all of us, she has tough days.
Her book is full of exercises and ways to deal with, well, crap.
And guess what? Yours truly has contributed to the book.
It was an honour to take part and write about how having cancer taught me what happiness really is.
I hope you too can spend this Sunday doing something that makes you happy.
