A Bingley author has spoken of how a shock diagnosis of breast cancer acted as the final “wake-up call”.
Businesswoman Jacqui Taylor ran a popular physiotherapy practice in Bingley for 13 years.
But something had to change when long hours and stress from work caught up with her health.
Jacqui was diagnosed with Grade 2 Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer.
“I didn’t really have any risk factors but I lived a very stressful life,” the mum told the Telegraph & Argus.
“I knew when I got the diagnosis. It was just a real wake up call to say, you need to stop.
“I can’t just go, ‘I’ll pretend that’s not happening’.
“When I first saw the change of shape in my breast which was the beginning of lockdown, I just noticed when I lifted my arm up there was this puckering on the side. I had quite a few weeks of ignoring it. I was so focused with work, I didn’t even think ‘Well, what could that be?’.
“In the end I went to the GP and she said ‘Come in, I need to see you’. She said, ‘I need to refer you to breast clinic’. The following week when I went I just had this sense. I knew. I was lying there and it was just this surreal thing of ‘Something’s happening here’.
“When she told me I wasn’t surprised. It was very numbing. I didn’t break down, I didn’t cry. I knew what was coming.
“I realised I was in emotional shock. Thinking something might be coming and it actually becoming real is quite different. There’s no getting away from this now. There’s no way I can wake up tomorrow and find out I dreamt it all.”
It sparked what Jacqui describes as a “soul searching” journey to recovery.
She underwent several chemo treatments and sold her business to start a new career in writing books.
Two years since the diagnosis, Jacqui’s latest scans show no evidence of disease and her first book is now complete.
“If you said two years ago I’d have done that I don’t think I would have believed you,” Jacqui said.
“If I wasn’t getting up to go to work I was sleeping.
“We’re all so busy working, looking after families. You can’t be there for anybody else if you can’t look after yourself.
“Take a step back. I talk about making space, it’s making space in your day not even in your life. Even if it’s just five minutes to sip your coffee and stare out the window.
“You only have one life, you don’t get a second life.”
When asked if she had a message to share from her cancer experience, she said: “You need to go and see someone straight away. Check regularly and be aware of what your normal is.”
Jacqui’s book, The Space Between: Breast cancer and finding me, is available to buy on Amazon from £9.99.
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