Navigating body image and cancer
There are loads of ways to nurture body confidence, even with cancer in the mix. We're here to support you every step of the way, providing resources to enhance both your physical and mental well-being. Together, we can help you embrace self-love and find a sense of comfort in your own skin, even in the face of cancer.
Let's be real: cancer affects numerous aspects of life, including how you perceive your body. Achieving body positivity can be a challenge even in the best circumstances, and it becomes even more complex when cancer enters the picture.
But it's important to remember that there are loads of ways to nurture body confidence, even with cancer in the mix. We're here to support you every step of the way, providing resources to enhance both your physical and mental well-being. Together, we can help you embrace self-love and find a sense of comfort in your own skin, even in the face of cancer.
'Loving yourself' can feel quite hard when you're living life alongside cancer. You may lose or gain weight because of your cancer treatment, or you may be forced to shave your head ahead of chemotherapy. Your body's scars might have become a map of the numerous surgeries you've had to undergo.
Changes may be temporary, but they can still alter how you view your body for a long time afterwards. Some may be permanent, leaving you wondering if you'll ever learn to accept them.
Common changes after/during cancer treatment:
- Hair loss. You may lose some or all the hair from your head. You may also lose your eyelashes, eyebrows and body hair too
- Losing or putting on weight
- Scarring
- Losing a body part - for example, your breasts after a mastectomy
- Skin and nail changes such as redness, infection and itching
- An opening (stoma) in your neck or stomach
Trying to maintain 'body positivity' can also feel jarring when we don't feel very positive about our internal goings-on. Facing infertility? Unable to run for as long as we used to? Struggling to feel pleasure in the same way? Yeah it doesn't all add up to Confidence City.
Loving yourself can feel hard alongside cancer
The physical effects of cancer treatment often don't make their way into the #LoveYourself movement. Loving your body when you live with a stoma, for example, can feel hard. Our community have told us that it feels isolating and de-humanising.
However you’re feeling, know it’s OK. Cancer changes everything. We're here to tell you that you don't need to feel a J-Lo level of confidence right now. Listen to your body and do what makes you feel good. Give yourself the space to feel what you need to. Hopefully with time you'll feel at the very least, comfortable in yourself.
We're here to help
There are so many ways in which you can help yourself to get there, and so many ways in which Trekstock are here to help you. Whether it's giving you a helping hand when you need help figuring out what to eat, getting you moving again surrounded by a group of friendly faces or offering you a space to ask - ‘hey, is everyone else struggling with this too?’ We've got it.
So until you're feeling boosted levels of confidence, we're reminded of a piece of advice a member of the Trekstock community recently gave us: "I know it might not feel like home now, but in time it will."
Other resources
Need support with menopause and its side effects because of cancer or treatment? We've got you.
Cancer and its treatments will undoubtedly cause many changes in your life. One change you might not have anticipated at the outset is going through the menopause early. Check out our tips for managing your menopause.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. We wanted to share some resources which might be useful for those living life alongside Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Conversations around cancer aren't always easy. Whether you're talking to your pals, loved ones, partner or even your medical team, knowing how to deal with topics that might feel tricky can go a long way in helping you manage your relationships. Check out our top tips for having those difficult conversations.
Whether you're dating, in a serious relationship, having a bit of fun or committed to be together for the rest of your lives, when your partner's diagnosed with cancer it can bring some big challenges along. Suddenly you've both got a lot to deal with. Working out how to support each other, and yourselves, is key for moving forward.
Lifting the Lid aims to create a safe environment to delve into important topics, while letting our community of people living life alongside cancer know that there are experts on hand who understand their experiences. Check out the full library
.avif)
If you’re the parent of someone in our community with cancer, we know there’s not a lot of information out there to support you. We explore how you might be feeling, how you can help and how to take care of yourself in amongst it all.
When you’re in your 20s or 30s and you’re diagnosed with cancer, lots of things change. One of the things you’ve told us can be most difficult, is navigating friendships in life alongside cancer. We unpick the gnarly topic of friendship and cancer, offering tips and advice for managing your relationships.
Whether you love it or hate it, exercising beyond a cancer diagnosis can be hugely beneficial. We look at the things that might be stopping you from exercising and help unpick how to tackle them
Sean was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma when he was 28. At the time, he was a self-employed personal trainer and found that his cancer caused paralysing pain. Now, Sean is back on his fitness journey and has joined us as a RENEW trainer. He shares the story of his experience from patient to cancer exercise specialist with us.
What do you need to know about food and cancer? It's the wild, wild West out there, so we worked with some brill experts and friends to bring you everything you need to know. Our guide is a no-nonsense, evidence based guide designed with you in mind.
Navigating sex and cancer is a minefield. Whether you’re trying to do the deed after diagnosis, you’re living with cancer or you’re in the realms of that elusive new normal we hear so much about, the truth is, the whole thing can be, well...Tricky. Here's our tips on sex and cancer
Parenting is tough enough without adding cancer into the mix. While there's no single formula that can make parenting through cancer easy; there are some practical tools, strategies, resources and services that can help.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis in your 20s or 30s is hard enough. When you are from the LGBTQIA+ community there can be a number of issues you may face. One of these may be your sex life and sexual health. Stewart from LGBTQIA+ cancer support charity OUTpatients and experts share their tips and advice that can help you navigate sex after cancer.
Menopause is a common but not often discussed side effect of breast cancer treatment. Stacey didn't realise how much her menopausal symptoms were impacting her until she joined Trekstock's menopause programme.
.avif)
Lydia's cancer diagnosis when she was 24 meant she had to undergo a complete hysterectomy – having her uterus and cervix removed. As a result, she found herself facing the menopause. Here’s her story on how she’s reached an understanding with her symptoms.
Exercise and cancer don't seem like ideal partners. But the truth is they go together exceptionally well. Exercise has tonnes of benefits for those going through cancer treatment and living with any long term impacts. Exercise physiologist Tom Cowan explains the benefits of exercising with cancer and shares the best ways to make it work for you.
.jpg)
Living life alongside cancer when you’re in your 20s or 30s brings its own unique set of challenges. But we exist to help you make the most of the parallel lives you’re living as both patient and person. Here’s a rundown of everything we offer.
We're able to consume more content and information than ever before. A world of news, dating apps and online shopping is always just a few seconds away. But humans have not evolved to handle this kind of consumption. We're still in the process of figuring out what exactly it does to us. This year's Men's Mental Health Week is focusing on the internet and its impact on male mental health
So you’ve just been told you’ve got cancer. And then you’re told your ability to have kids in the future might be impacted too. Because cancer’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Finding out you might be infertile because of your cancer treatment can have a huge emotional impact. Even if kids are the last thing on your mind, making sense of having this decision taken away from you is important. If you’re experiencing fertility issues and it’s impacting your mental health, it’s OK. There are people and organisations out there designed to help.
Just because you've been diagnosed with cancer during your education doesn't mean you should be held back. Here's everything you need to know about living life alongside cancer and education
Tips for opening up about your health at work - from what your rights are to how to talk to your employer and what to do if you decide to stop working.
.webp)
Ambassador Carolina shares what the Trekstock community means to her and how she found support from people who'd been through cancer treatment at a young age.
Because navigating friendships in your 20s or 30s is hard enough without cancer.
No matter who you are, the physical changes that might occur because of cancer or its treatments can be really difficult. Whether you're dealing with nausea, hair loss, early menopause or anything else, learning how to manage these impacts is key to a better quality of life.
Cancer’s an emotional rollercoaster. It’s OK to find it tough to cope.