Tea & Chemo

BOOK REVIEW

I feel like Jackie Buxton is a part of my life.  This last year I have dipped in and out of her best selling, award winning book; listened to her radio broadcast; followed and communicated with her on Twitter.  What a lovely and remarkable lady.  I think that of all women going through breast cancer treatments and about others that have had other life changing health issues.  We woman are NEVER the weaker sex.  Men I know too have endured stem cell treatment, liver, prostate or bowel operations, radio and chemotherapy.  They bravely fight back when cancer attacks.

 

Tea & Chemo has been my bible for 2017.  I needed to know stuff I’d rather not know - stuff I didn’t want to ask anybody about but needed to be informed.  In other situations I have always turned to books and when some kind young man gave my daughter a copy of Tea & Chemo, I promptly ordered it as well.

 

I read a chapter at a time, finding out what I needed to know to support my daughter in the process of BC.  You will probably have read Breast Cancer for BC but for me BC equals B***ard Cancer.  Anyone who has been affected by others close to them having the most dreaded disease will understand. 

 

The book is written in a positive light although not hiding the truth of the awfulness either.  It is one woman’s story, one woman’s experience and yet there are many common elements to all breast cancer survivors’ stories.  Yes, I know others stories too.  My friends are 15, 13, 3 and 2 years down the line but I wasn’t involved in their journey like I was with my daughter.
 

I felt Jackie was writing like my daughter would, with positivity and humour.  How I wished I had the gift of humour in such dire times, I think my chuckle went out of the window at the first hurdle.  This book lightened the load.  It was affirming that all would be well.  It reassured me that someone else knew exactly what was happening, someone who was indeed ‘holding my hand’ through the process.

 
As the ‘dust’ settles in the ‘after treatment’ phase I intend to dip in again because although I want to put the experience behind me I don’t want to loose the gems that were hidden in the fog of my brain through the first reading. 

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for anyone going through Breast Cancer treatments, anyone who is married to, parent of, best friend of, work colleague etc.  Don’t go to the internet as is so easy to do these days but sit with a cup of tea or coffee and be still and calm to read it.  My guess is you will not manage it all in one sitting; if you are closely involved with someone going through it you will not be emotionally strong some of the time and the words will just be a blur on the page but when you have time, read, digest and learn so that your loved one, friend, colleague can draw reassurance from your knowledge and understanding.  Buy them the book – there will be plenty of ‘stay in bed’ days for them to dip into it too.

Well done Jackie.  Keep fighting the good fight with all your might, and with a brilliantly positive attitude and good humour.   If there is to be a follow-on book I’m sure that will be a huge success too.

 

Footnote : if you have read this review you may like to scroll down to the next one as it relates to the subject matter - Split Second by Sharon Rose is a play about how life can change in just a moment.

Split Second

Split Second – A Review

No it’s not the title of a book, but rather it is a stage play, written and presented by Sharon Rose.  If you have read other blogs I have written, you will see she has written four books about her journey through breast cancer, sepsis and other life’s tragic events, scroll down to Thorns of a Rose 22.4.17.

I was so thrilled when Sharon asked me to attend/review the play held in a local High School hall.  The day arrived and I was so excited for Sharon.  Writing and publishing memoirs and supporting local charities is one thing, but staging a play is taking her story to a whole new level.  Sharon has proved that if you want to make dreams come true just keep on working towards them and sure enough it will happen.

The music started and the salsa dancers, dressed in black and red sashayed around the stage with the backdrop of Blackpool Salsa Weekend, Feb 2015.  We were soon then into a family life scene which portrayed mental and physical abuse and the first reference to the charity ‘Pathways’ (a local supporting agency for those experiencing domestic violence).  The scene quickly changes from normal daily household life – kids and mum doing their own thing – to a visit from an angry, controlling man (ex husband/child’s father).  It makes shocking viewing but highlights our need to be aware that this sort of relationship is a ‘normal’ part of existence in some households.

Back to the Salsa class and the audience began to laugh.  Being a beginner and meeting different members of the group the leading lady, Becky Easen as Lucy, is soon in the arms of a ‘show off’ and ‘daddy dancer’ and she was having trouble with knowing her left from right.

Scene changes were effortless and with minimal props one quickly knew where we were next.  Lucy was a Health Visitor, stressed out in the baby clinic with the workload and facing cut-backs in the service.  Another scene and we were in Magaluf on the beach and at the airport which afforded the audience more giggles.   

A ticking clock featured several times throughout the production and also projector pictures on the screen behind the actors helping us to know the year and be aware of how precious time is.  This is a quote that was screened early on:

Not only were the cast giving their time freely but without realising it they probably didn’t bargain for the feeling of great elation at their first efforts of performance, whether it be in acting, dancing, singing, stage hand or showing the audience to their seats.  Sharon, will no doubt have set many on a road of self-discovery, be it empathy for the tragic circumstances of the story, performing ballet, playing the guitar, singing either alone or in a choir.  I was struck by the many talents before me.  The young girl named Summer who danced to a recording of Barbra Streisand – Papa can you hear me (from Yentl) must have melted many a heart with her beauty and suppleness and again later in her second solo dance.  Ali Gilbert, Sharon’s son, is also very talented playing the guitar and singing equal to that of an X Factor winner, and the ladies choir and soloist young Jenny in a red dress all all added beauty and uplifted our spirits.

Messages regarding the urgency of treatment for SEPSIS and the scariness of being treated for CANCER would have, I am sure, resonated with members of the audience who may have encountered these dreaded illnesses either for themselves or someone they care for.

The words of the final song “Even if we can’t find heaven, I’ll walk through hell with you, I’ll stand by you, you are not alone…” really got me.  When we are ill it may feel like we are very alone, but as cast members joined the choir to fill the stage it made you realise there are loads of people pulling you through – doctors, nurses, friends, colleagues, family, charitable organisations, hobby groups etc. 

The event raised over £1,600 for sharing between local and national charities.  Sharon said I was there to ‘critique’ the show but there is no criticism to be found.  I am just full of admiration and feel that this show should be repeated, perhaps in another part of town, neighbouring towns etc.  The messages are clear – there is help out there; also you can have fun dancing, singing, writing or whatever your passion or hobby is as well as endure life’s scary moments; do what you can when you can.  TIME is precious, use it wisely and fully because in a Split Second life as you know it can change.