Helen tells us why coaching was so important to her and how it helped her move forward following her diagnosis.
“Having been diagnosed with endometrial cancer in spring 2023, I underwent a full hysterectomy and a short course of brachytherapy over the following months. I was lucky to have caught my symptoms early and to heal well from the surgery and radiotherapy, but during my follow up meeting with my consultant radiologist, she recommended I consider the coaching offered at the Fountains Centre.
During the intense period of diagnosis, surgery and radiotherapy, I coped relatively well but after this, I began to question what I should be doing next and felt rather confused about the direction in which I wanted to travel.
I met with Amanda, a coach at the Fountain Centre a number of times. I chose to meet in person at the Fountains Centre, but online meetings were also an option. The meetings were always relaxed, informal and provided a safe space to speak in confidence. Amanda was a tremendous support and very skilled at how she allowed our discussions to flow but also provided some structure and continuity from session to session to ensure that I could map out my “post cancer” future and shared various tips on how to manage certain anxieties.
Thankfully, I didn’t make any snap life changing decisions during this time – the coaching gave me time and space to consider what was important to me and how to approach different areas of life.
A very simple example of how Amanda helped me get back on track, was when she asked how my friends had reacted to my diagnosis and if I was socialising much, I then realised I had a very empty social calendar – not because my friends had abandoned me but they were giving me space to heal. Amanda encouraged me to re-start my social life – thankfully my friends count is still 100%!
Returning to full-time employment after almost three months’ absence was also challenging in various ways: I wanted to jump back in to forget the past months, but there were also a number of changes taking place which made me question whether I wanted to jump back in or consider early retirement. My employer had been very supportive during my diagnosis and absence, but I was still confused about the right path to take. Amanda helped me think through all options - I’m currently still enjoying my work life but do have some alternative options in my back pocket.
In summary, the coaching helped me greatly – I’m sure everyone needs support in different ways as we navigate our cancer journeys but I would most definitely recommend using the services of the Fountains Centre coaching team.
I’m very grateful to the whole team and hope to be able to support you in the coming years in whatever small way I can.”
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