I’ve left it so long between blog posts that I don’t know where to start!! There has been a LOT going on. So you know I’ve started my business. If you don’t know this, WHERE have you been? I’ve been flooding my Facebook page with self-advertising so if you’ve missed it, here is my website. They, whoever they are, are right when they say it takes a long time to get up and running when you start your own business. My lists of things to do are endless but I’m slowly getting there. I have started to see clients and I’m happy to say I have been reaching my own personal targets for client numbers. I am thrilled about that. I’ve proven to myself that it was a good move and it’s already successful. I’m trying to find a balance between seeing clients, all the admin bits and minding my own energy and it’s all a learning curve. I’m practising what I preach in terms of self-care and I’m taking breaks between clients, upping my meditation practice, grounding myself and not putting too much on my plate. And it’s all working out great. I am feeling a sense of achievement and job satisfaction which is something that’s been missing from my life for a couple of years now. When I worked as a guidance counsellor, I used to feel job satisfaction many times a day. I was useful to students and helped them when they had no one else to turn to. I have lots of notes and letters from them that I used to read back over if I was having a bad day. It’s a great feeling to make a difference to someone’s life and I honestly feel like I’m doing that again. And it feels really good! I am getting a lovely sense of pride in my work and I’m my sense of purpose is being fulfilled. And sure isn’t that what it’s all about?

I’m still travelling back to Istanbul every three weeks for maintenance treatment. It is much more manageable now that my time at home greatly outweighs my time there. I’m another step down the road and my path is getting longer and more colourful again. The trips to Istanbul are three days long and I’m in and out, it’s much easier than it was although last visit, I had to have a surgery to insert a port in my chest. This is so I can receive ongoing chemo without damaging any more veins (my arm veins are pretty non-existent now from receiving so much). I am still recovering from the surgery, I had a general anaesthetic last Wednesday (see pictures below for post surgery and port x-ray) and flew home again on Thursday. I’m a bit sore and my body got a shock because it was a last minute decision to do it. I’m glad it’s over with now and it will make treatment more tolerable in the future. Getting a cannula in your arm is hard enough without having to change it up to three times a day. I won’t miss that! I am going back again in two weeks and for the first time since I started going almost a year ago, I’m bringing Ali. She has heard about Turkey for all this time and I have no idea what she actually thinks it is. It’s somewhere that Mammy disappears to every couple of weeks and comes home a few days later. Of course I keep in touch with her on video phone a couple of times a day when I’m there but I would love to know what her concept of it is. I’ve started telling her she’s coming with me next time and she gets to go on an aeroplane and go swimming and go to the beach and she’s getting really excited about it now. Three is such a fun age. I am so excited to bring her over finally. My mam and sister are coming with us and we’re taking a few extra days after my usual trip to the clinic and we’re going south from Istanbul to the beach. It is my first time that I’ll be going anywhere other than Istanbul too which will be nice. I really love Turkey and Turkish people so I’m excited to explore a bit more of the country. Would definitely recommend Istanbul for a city break, it is such a vibrant city and is rich in culture and history. And the food is unreal. I might do a travel blog on it someday, I’ve spent time in a lot of different neighbourhoods at this stage so have a fairly decent knowledge of the city.

In other news… I’ve been asked to speak at a festival in the UK in the summer. I’m so excited about this! The festival is called Trew Fields and it’s a holistic health festival taking place on a pretty little farm in the Surrey hills. I will be taking part on a panel discussion with other stage 4 thrivers. The festival is focused on cancer care and what you can do to help yourself in terms of prevention, treatment, all the holistic and alternative health bits and pieces… it’s being called a restival instead of a festival because it won’t be hard work, it will be a relaxing couple of days in the countryside, a far cry from the all night parties at Electric Picnic and the likes! I’m swapping my disco boots for barefoot grounding meditation ceremonies and I couldn’t be happier! There will be live music, comedy, talks from leading doctors from around the world in cancer care (my own doctor is coming to speak), best-selling authors, health professionals, nutritionists, chefs, yoga, meditation, massage, acupuncture…. So much more. Sounds delightful doesn’t it?

What other news do I have…. Oh yeah, I’ve already shared this on my Facebook page but I’m exhibiting at a holistic fair this weekend in Carrick-on-Shannon. I am bringing the thermography business on the road and will have my camera and equipment with me and I’ll be demonstrating the scanning procedure. I’ll be showing what it’s all about, what the report that comes back is like and just generally showcasing the business. I’ll be there on Saturday from 11am-3pm. The fair runs until 6pm but again, I’m practising self-care and trying not to run myself into the ground so I won’t be staying all day. I will have discounts for any scans booked on the day and I’ll be doing a raffle with the prize being a scan worth €150. Pulling the ticket at 3pm so if you’d like to drop by and be in with a chance of winning, make sure you come before 3pm. There will be lots of other interesting stalls there on the day and I’m looking forward to mingling with the other practitioners and making some friends in the holistic industry. It’s one I love and I still keep up my treatments weekly as a support to my body while I get the conventional treatment too. If you’ve read any of my blogs before, you know that I highly regard the alternative health/holistic community and credit it as part of my success in regaining full health. So on that note, I bid you farewell for now. I hope to see some of you there on Saturday! I’ll be the one with the turban, come say hi!

If you’re still wondering what the hell it is I’m actually doing, click on this to link to the FAQ page of my website. If you would like to book an appointment with me or ask any questions about thermography, please email [email protected]

Slán for now!