Last year, we spoke with Rosamund and her husband, Jonathan, about her recent breast cancer diagnosis and how the two of them were managing things alongside being parents to their young children.

Dealing with this breast cancer diagnosis would have been harder without our children

When Rosamund was told there was a 95% chance she had breast cancer just days before Christmas 2020, she and Jonathan approached the matter quite pragmatically. By the time it was confirmed on 6 January, they were almost relieved that they could stop speculating about possibilities and that Rosamund could get underway with treatment.

As well as doing their best to look out for one another, however, the couple also had to think about their children, who were just four and six at the time Rosamund was diagnosed. While it was difficult to explain things to them at times, Jonathan said that having their little ones around was actually really helpful for morale.

'They liven our spirits up a lot,' he said. 'Having a couple of humans in the house just saying really silly things is a great help when you're going through something that, as grown ups, we obsess over.' 

But, in many ways, dealing with breast cancer is very much like having a new baby, Rosamund said.

'There's this thing where people pay a lot of attention to your first kid - and obviously your first chemo and your diagnosis,' she explained. 'But, by the time it comes to your second child, or your second chemo, people tend to move on to other things.'

You can listen to more of Rosamund and Jonathan's experience via the link below, or by searching for the 'Breast Cancer Now Podcast' via your preferred podcast provider.

Another way in which having cancer is like having a baby is that it's different for everyone. There are so many different symptoms and different elements of it and different ways of dealing with things.

Everyone’s experience is unique to them. This podcast contains the personal story and experience of the speaker, rather than that of Breast Cancer Now.  

You can subscribe to Breast Cancer Now in your podcast app to stay tuned for more episodes of 'My story', as well as discussions with healthcare professionals and researchers. 

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