Tits Up – a new book by St Annes resident, Carole Paterson, documenting her journey through treatment for the little known variant of breast cancer – triple negative cancer which only affects between 10-15% of all breast cancer patients.
”Tits Up – A Journey Laid Bare’ is a breathtakingly personal account from start to finish – from her diagnosis she documented her journey day by day from a very personal viewpoint.
“When I was first diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer I was terrified. I needed to find out more regarding what the future may hold, but everything I researched was too scary to read. In fact, I bought a couple of books about breast cancer and couldn’t get past the contents pages! However, as I started my treatment journey I found out that the picture wasn’t as bad as I’d painted it, even though the following few months were probably going to be difficult.
“In the beginning I couldn’t talk to anybody about my treatment. I’d get too emotional because I was incredibly scared. But as time went on and I got over some of the hurdles – chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and immunotherapy, I found that people would ask me questions and I’d be able to give them a good answer. I’d been there and done it, so I was able to allay some of the fears.
“I’ve intentionally written my book in a conversational way so that it’s easy to read, full of information, but not too frightening. I want it to be something that can be read by patients, their loved ones, and friends and colleagues who just want to understand what it is like to be a cancer patient and how they can provide support at a very scary time.”
You can find out more about Carole’s network and community support here. Follow on instagram or contact Carole directly on carolepaterson1809@gmail.com.
‘Tits Up – A Journey Laid Bare’ is available from Troubador Publishing, from bookshops nationwide and from online retailers. It is priced at £10.99 with all proceeds going to various breast cancer charities.
