I thought, “when I get to the end of this, I’m going to give back"
Anjali, who stars in our latest advertising campaign, tells us about her experience of primary breast cancer, how she got involved with our work through Someone Like Me and why she wanted to be part of our campaign.
Please tell us about yourself
Hi, I'm Anjali. In 2022, I felt a lump on my right breast. I wasn't expecting to feel anything, but I was so glad that I did because it led to me finding out that I had a grade 2 invasive breast cancer.
It was unfortunate timing, because 3 days before, I found out that my mum had leukaemia. She went on to pass away in 2023.
I continue to have treatment for breast cancer. I’ve had surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and I'm currently taking hormone therapy. The journey has been tough, but I’m really amazed to see where it’s taking me.
Life after cancer is a whole new journey. You think you're going to end treatment and just hop back to who you used to be. It’s a shock to find out that’s not the truth.
You have a whole new perspective of life. There are obviously side effects to deal with, but I’ve developed a whole new sense of who I am. I've got a whole new world around me, including a whole community of new friends and different projects that I'm working on.
How did you get involved with Breast Cancer Now?
When I was diagnosed, I started looking for what resources were out there. I came across the Someone Like Me service. I thought, wow, this is amazing. And I got matched with somebody with 2 children who was from the same ethnic background as me - somebody who might understand me better.
We had some great conversations. It was such a relief to see that there's light at the end of the tunnel. At one point, treatment had been so hard that I hadn’t wanted to continue with it. I was thinking, “how do people get through this?”
But this lady was so calm, so collected. She told me all her little tips and tricks to make life easier. It changed my perspective and made treatment feel more doable.
And I thought, when I get to the end of this, I’m going to give back. It's going to be me on the other end of the phone.
The minute I could, I went in for the Someone Like Me volunteer training, which I had a wonderful time doing. Then I started talking to people over the phone straight away.
One of the ladies I spoke to told me “you saved my life.” She told me she wanted to give up chemo too, and I knew exactly what that felt like.
So it's a cycle. You’re supported by a service, and then you continue the cycle by sharing your journey and your experiences to help other people. A simple idea, but so effective.
Why did you want to be involved in filming our latest advertising campaign?
If you told me 5 years ago that I would be doing something like this, being on a TV advert, or even doing any kind of work like this, I would have said: “no, I'm not a public speaker.”
I've done a few presentations in my time, but I’d never have been so outspoken. And with all the confidence that you lose during cancer treatment, from not looking or feeling like you used to, I’d have said there was no way I’d do something like this.
Now I’ve written articles, been on the radio, been on the cover of Vita magazine and done lots of public speaking about my experiences. I think we need to talk a lot more openly about cancer, especially breast cancer. It's just so prevalent in this country and it's a taboo subject in many communities, mine included.
I’m motivated to do a lot of myth-busting and awareness-raising, and also to take it further and say, “hey everyone, it's your responsibility. It's your body.” There are wonderful charities out there. The NHS is doing so much. But what are we doing for our own bodies? We must take on some of that responsibility ourselves.
That's what brought me here today.
You can read more from Anjali about her journey in issue 48 of our Vita magazine.
Want to talk to Someone Like You?
With Someone Like Me, you can connect with someone, by email or over the phone, who understands what you're going through.