Whether it’s Christmas, or some other occasion, cancer doesn’t take time out. Specialist personal trainer, Becky, who is based in Horsham, shares her thoughts on learning to live with the facts…
These things always seem to come in waves, and I can see that one is approaching again. I am biased by my experience – supporting those living with and beyond cancer is my job, so of course, at any given time, I’m aware of several people who are in the throes of it. I then also see people in the public eye sharing their stories, and I am grateful for the opportune moment to share this fact: cancer doesn’t stop for Christmas.
Cancer at Christmas
In my time so far as a professional, I’ve seen on several occasions that cancer really doesn’t care for your plans and schedule. I’ve heard of people having surgery on their birthday, or spending the night prior to a milestone birthday in hospital. I know that people receive a diagnosis around significant occasions within their lives, and for some it permanently taints the memory of that day when it comes to the following years.
And, of course, those who have gone through treatment aren’t able to magically turn off memories or side effects. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, I’m here to sadly tell you that treatment side effects go far beyond hair loss and nausea – distressing as those things are, there’s a whole laundry list of other things which are also life-changing and disruptive to our bodies.
Celebrities and cancer: Amy Dowden
I’ve blogged about Amy before, and her ongoing recovery has been part of the narrative of her continuing career as a professional dancer. She was given a celebrity partner on 2025’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, having had to withdraw from the 2024 series and hand her then-partner over to a fellow professional. In 2025, Amy and her partner’s early exit was due to being eliminated by the public and judges, and she continued for a time in her professional capacity, until it was revealed that she needed to have surgery during the show’s run.
In the wake of that, an article was published, in which she shared more on her desire to have children, and the uncertainty around the biological possibility due to side effects of her treatment. This was undoubtedly highlighted by one of the other professional dancers – Dianne Buswell, who’s also a very good friend of Amy’s – announcing her own pregnancy this year.
What struck me most about the article was a very small line right at the bottom, as it resonated with my own experience: “I just longed for that old Amy back and I know that I’m never, ever going to get her back,” Dowden is quoted as saying.
I felt it viscerally. I had therapy after my own surgery, and during those sessions, it was pointed out to me that I’d never again be pre-cancer. It has left an indelible mark on me, and that is something that I’ve had to learn to live with – it’s there daily.
Celebrities and cancer: Chris Hoy
When the news about Chris Hoy’s cancer first broke, I felt incredibly sorry for him, not just because of the dire prognosis, but because he’d been outed. Chris had been trying to maintain his privacy, and a media outlet learned of his diagnosis and took the autonomy away from him, which is very cruel.
He has since taken ownership of the narrative and, in September 2025, ran a mass-participation cycling event which not only raised a lot of money for charity, but was also a hugely beneficial experience for many. A documentary aired recently about the Tour de 4 event, and his cancer experience so far, and it was a powerful watch.
Throughout his professional cycling career, Chris was known for receiving psychological coaching that he found gave him a brilliant edge, and he has now used this experience to help him through cancer. He isn’t deluded, and this isn’t a “the power of the mind can heal the body” rhetoric; it’s about making an effort to understand what you can and can’t control, and making the most of the opportunities you have.
Cancer wasn’t in Chris’s retirement plan, but he has adapted. He quite rightly pointed out in the documentary that all of us are dying, just that some of us are doing it faster than others, and in ways that we might not have hoped for. None of us is immortal, he has been forced to come to terms with that sooner than he’d expected, and he is now living differently as a result.
Living with cancer
Whether or not your cancer is cured, once you receive a diagnosis, it is something that you must live with, no matter how much life you have left. Something that I’ve learned along the way is that I have a new type of knowledge – things like: “oh, this can and did happen to me, and might happen again”; “my body has changed and I cannot change it back”; “I kind of know how that other person feels”.
All of us will vary in how we choose or are able to cope with this situation. Privilege plays a part – some people have better access to treatment than others; some have more resource to support them in healing differently. But the storm is a similar event in our lives – we are all forced to handle a change we weren’t necessarily expecting and, if you know someone in this situation, that’s something it’s worth being aware of.