Yes the Yoga group gave me such confidence in myself, they changed my way of thinking.

Reflexology, now that was when I’ve had various physical problems I suppose. I’ve also had healing which was another revelation for me.

That’s this business of somebody looking after you. This feeling you know which always makes me smile and I’m not sure that it’s not happening now, but it gives me, it’s a big help so that’s another alternative.

Yes, I’ve had Reiki with this friend who practices reflexology and that was interesting because I felt there was a great big weight on my chest.

And I finished the session and I said’ “Gosh I felt as though I’ve had a great big weight on my chest and I can’t understand why.” And it suddenly dawned on me, of course I would have because of the operation.

I don’t know whether this is strictly alternative, oh I’ve been to an osteopath which was wonderful. And chiropractor recently because I’ve terrible trouble, because I’ve got this re-arrangement of muscles it causes a problem this side and ache.

And this bust, this breast here has grown so much you know it’s heavy, so I have to use a prosthesis to balance it which again you know. So the chiropractor, McTimoney, which is the gentler, that was a big help.

So I have yes, because I don’t think, before I would never have used alternatives so I suppose that’s an ongoing thing. I find it really interesting. Sometimes it doesn’t always work but I work on the principle that it certainly doesn’t harm you, and it’s better than taking, well, antibiotics.

Well, I’ve got to be terribly careful with those you know for something fairly minor you know, I haven’t touch wood, I haven’t had anything really major.

So, do you have aromatherapy regularly?

Yes, every week.

How does it help?

It makes you, I can relax now. I must’ve spent 14 years of my life being all screwed up. I could not relax any part of my body. Now I can sit, I can relax. I know what it is to relax. I just, whereas before I didn’t know the meaning of the word relax. So in a way that’s done me good.

Did you have a very hectic lifestyle?

No. I wouldn’t say that I had a hectic lifestyle, it was just, I think I was just one of these people that was just burned up all the time.

I lived on my nerves, but now I don’t.

I have Tamoxifen, but I also go to the homeopathic hospital and I have several things. And I’ve found that they have been very helpful.

Some of their, I don’t know whether they call them potions or medications or whatever, have been extremely helpful. Some didn’t seem to have any effect, but there was two that I’ve had that really were magical for the sickness. They helped me more for the sickness, and, I think for feeling states too they were helpful.

And they have a very, I mean I see someone very nice there, a lovely doctor. And I’m glad to see her because there is such a lot of grief involved in cancer and she gave me a medication for grief and sorrow.

And I was amazed that they had something for grief and sorrow. And I felt it was helpful, it sort of took the edge off. But I am so amused that they have a potion for grief and sorrow.

That I don’t know whether it was sort of this nice young doctor, because shes a particularly sensitive woman, and her coming up, she picked up my grief and sorrow at having this illness and had responded.

And that was helpful.

I’m a great believer in being very positive and mind over matter. I keep saying that I’m not going to be ill because I don’t have time to be ill.

And I always felt that the chemotherapy was going to work and work really well and it did. I don’t know where my positiveness went with the surgery but I think that was out of my hands. And I just, I just keep a positive frame of mind.

And I didn’t particularly want, I’m not even, when I went to the counselling groups they used to do sort of it’s like a meditation at the beginning and the end. And I couldn’t visualise. I couldn’t do it. I can’t, I don’t know whether I can’t detach myself enough.

I’m a very down to earth, practical person and that’s how I’ve treated my cancer. You know just straight down the line, and none of this nonsense.

I don’t know what would happen if I was diagnosed again. I might look at alternative things at that point. But, as I said, if I was diagnosed with a recurrence I may look at alternative options at that point but not at the moment.

I’m a pragmatist. I like evidence-based practice and I’ve never yet seen any evidence that proves that these sort of ‘complementary therapies’, (I think of them in quotes) do anything.

They might make you feel, some people, feel more comfortable. They get your endorphins running. You know your brain can produce its own opiates that give your mood a lift and make you feel good.

Massage will produce that, eating a good dinner would produce it, sex produces it. Oh, endorphins are produced by a lot of activities.

But I have other ways, you know I go for a swim. I swim every morning, I do a kilometre, I’m still doing that. Started that within, as soon as the wound had healed, within a month. He wouldn’t let me go sooner. But that’s the only thing I would do.

But I wouldn’t call that complementary therapy I’d call that just doing things to make you feel good.So no, I’m too pragmatic I’m afraid.

My sister went into that very, very deeply. I actually felt as though she was ripped off by quite a lot of people. Maybe she didn’t go to the right ones but she did try quite a lot of things yeah.

You mean they promised results that didn’t happen?

She was charged so much for things.

Right.

And they didn’t do any good. She was due to go to the [name] Hospital on the day she died. I think that probably would’ve helped her tremendously because it’s not just treatment it’s your own well-being as well. Your own thoughts, and your quality of life, and anything that helps you and I think it should do.

You should go for it. If you believe that eating leaves off yew trees are going to help you then do it.

You’ve not tried anything yourself though as yet?

No.

I mean I always had and continue to have a fairly healthy diet, I always ate lots of fruit and vegetables and so on, and I still do. And I like fruit and vegetables. I didn’t eat much meat. I was almost a vegetarian for a number of years before I was diagnosed and I continue with that diet.

I like good food and I’ve never eaten, you know, lots of chips or anything like that. So I’ve made no change to my life in that way.

I’ve always been a bit interested in things like homeopathy but I didn’t adopt any of those ideas when I was being treated. I just went along with the medical treatment.

I felt that I was in good hands and I’m sure I was, so I didn’t feel the need.

So I read all these things and I reduced the amount of fat in my diet and salt and tried to drink less caffeine. And tried to reduce the stress in my life but of course that was virtually impossible. A lot of my stress was kind of in-built. I didn’t address that for years.

But, yeah, I did try and adjust my lifestyle and went onto wholemeal everything.

And I still have some of those changes but I’ve backtracked on some of that because I prefer to enjoy myself.

I feel that, to some extent, you can put yourself under a lot of stress by going for these changes and that I’d rather have a healthy lifestyle, a reasonably healthy lifestyle, but still enjoy myself.

So I eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I try and have my 5 portions of fruit and veg a day and wholemeal bread and things like that.

But I eat meat. I use butter. I drink alcohol. And I aim to do those things in moderation rather than give them up.