I survived stage 4 cancer as a new mom, but couldn't return to my job or have more kids. But I found a new, fulfilling career.

• When Ceinwen Giles was diagnosed pinch crab astatine 34, it changed her life.
• She didn't cognize anyone her property pinch cancer, truthful she started organizing java meetups to find them.
• It grew into a kindness that connects nan rising number of younger adults experiencing cancer.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Ceinwen Giles, 48, co-CEO of Shine Cancer Support, who lives successful London. The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Weeks aft giving commencement to my first kid astatine 34, I was diagnosed pinch shape 4 cancer.

I felt rather unwell during my gestation but ne'er suspected it was thing different than normal. Even erstwhile I was hospitalized pinch swollen legs and high humor pressure, I still didn't deliberation thing was really wrong.

Over that infirmary stay, I had unspeakable thorax symptom and sewage sicker and sicker. I ended up giving commencement to my girl six weeks prematurely via emergency c-section. My mini girl and I stayed successful infirmary for different 3 weeks, but my wellness conscionable kept getting worse.

We managed to get home, but soon after, I was hospitalized again pinch unspeakable backmost pain. I couldn't eat and had nary energy. The doctors still thought it was gestation complications. It took them different 3 weeks to diagnose maine pinch non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of humor cancer, connected February 4, 2010.

I had wanted to cognize what was incorrect pinch maine because I was truthful unwell, cipher knew why, and that was an atrocious feeling. But past to beryllium told I had crab was conscionable wholly shocking. I had nary thought that that was moreover a possibility. I was really frightened that I mightiness die.

I had a six-week-old baby, and I had been looking guardant to spending my maternity time off pinch her. I retrieve conscionable thinking, "I don't cognize what to do," because my hubby only had 2 weeks of paternity leave. Luckily, his employer was very understanding, and we had tons of support from friends and family.

By nan clip I was diagnosed, nan crab had dispersed each complete my assemblage and I was told I had a 40% chance of survival. They said my champion action was to enactment successful nan infirmary connected a clinical trial for six months and do a high-dose chemotherapy. So that was what I did, and thankfully, I'm still present 14 years later.

Treatment near a imperishable mark

I don't deliberation that location was immoderate portion of my life that wasn't affected by cancer. It's not conscionable nan diagnosis. It's a batch of nan things astir it that are really difficult.

I spent my maternity time off getting chemotherapy, worried I was going to die. I was nan first of immoderate of my friends to person a important illness. They were shocked. A batch of them were awesome and really stepped up, but immoderate group don't cognize really to woody pinch it. They don't want to talk astir it.

About six weeks aft I vanished treatment, I had a scan, and nan doctors said they couldn't spot immoderate grounds of disease. Obviously, that was bully news, but I still had a precocious consequence of relapse, which near maine hypervigilant and anxious. Plus, nan curen near imperishable marks connected my wellness and body.

I had ever wanted to person 3 children, but chemo affects your fertility, and I was told earlier I started curen that I wouldn't beryllium capable to person much children.

Before I sewage ill, I was an world improvement consultant, and I often worked successful West Africa pinch communities affected by conflict aliases disease. I had planned to commencement my ain business arsenic a freelance consultant, but chemo near maine pinch immune deficiencies that made it unsafe for maine to recreation to immoderate processing countries.

I retrieve asking my hematologist, "Can I spell to Sierra Leone?" And he was like, "Absolutely not." So I could nary longer do my occupation successful nan aforesaid way. I went backmost to activity successful nan agency 3 days a week because I was still recovering, and that had a financial impact.

I could nary longer workout arsenic overmuch arsenic I utilized to, and I couldn't subordinate to my peers anymore. I had to rebuild everything from scratch.

I didn't cognize anyone my property pinch cancer

I felt very lonely because I couldn't find anyone my property pinch cancer. I felt for illustration I was nan only personification that this had happened to, and that location weren't immoderate resources for coping astatine a younger age.

Luckily, personification told maine astir a female they knew called Emma Willis who lived connected nan different broadside of nan country. She was diagnosed pinch bosom crab erstwhile she was 29 and was organizing coffees for younger adults pinch cancer.

I emailed her and we arranged to meet erstwhile she was adjacent coming up to London. We had a awesome chat, and soon I started arranging meetups of my own.

We ran a study astir nan issues young group pinch crab face, thing I utilized to do astatine my aged job, and a fewer 100 group filled it in. We recovered that fertility, work, friendship, and intelligence wellness were accordant issues.

We put connected a shop to find retired what group thought of nan study results and we couldn't get nan attendees to time off because they were having specified a bully time.

That's erstwhile we thought, "We're onto thing here," and we grew from there. We registered arsenic a kindness called Shine successful 2012, and it's now a full-time occupation for some of us.

We've sewage astir 17 support groups astir nan country, each tally by volunteers who person had crab themselves, a convention successful October, and a camping travel successful August.

We ever opportunity it's a organization you wouldn't want to join, but if you've sewage to, it's amended that there's a organization to support you.