So you've finished your cancer treatment and......now what?!
Life 2.0 begins. That's what!
But figuring out exactly what that means isn't always easy. I know, because I've done it!
Hello! I'm Jan Haworth. And in April 2011, at the ripe old age of 36 I heard the words no one ever expects to hear "You have breast cancer".....that unforgettable moment is engraved in my memory like it was 5 minutes ago - its safe to say it was a gamechanger!
From that day on, my life, and the way I lived it, was never the same.
Following the usual succession of treatments (lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy), I was in your shoes wondering what the heck just happened and what the heck I was supposed to do now.
When your treatment ends, you might find everyone else is ready to move on and get back to normal, but that's exactly the time you start falling apart! All the fears you pushed to the side to get through treatment may come bubbling to the surface, I know mine did.
I felt my future had been wiped away; I was anxious and scared about recurrence; I felt vulnerable; that my body had let me down or betrayed me in some way. I had put on weight, I had no energy and was tired all the time, and I was uncomfortable in this new body.
I felt I had no control over anything. I wanted to move forward, but I didn't know how!
Life 2.0 begins. That's what!
But figuring out exactly what that means isn't always easy. I know, because I've done it!
Hello! I'm Jan Haworth. And in April 2011, at the ripe old age of 36 I heard the words no one ever expects to hear "You have breast cancer".....that unforgettable moment is engraved in my memory like it was 5 minutes ago - its safe to say it was a gamechanger!
From that day on, my life, and the way I lived it, was never the same.
Following the usual succession of treatments (lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy), I was in your shoes wondering what the heck just happened and what the heck I was supposed to do now.
When your treatment ends, you might find everyone else is ready to move on and get back to normal, but that's exactly the time you start falling apart! All the fears you pushed to the side to get through treatment may come bubbling to the surface, I know mine did.
I felt my future had been wiped away; I was anxious and scared about recurrence; I felt vulnerable; that my body had let me down or betrayed me in some way. I had put on weight, I had no energy and was tired all the time, and I was uncomfortable in this new body.
I felt I had no control over anything. I wanted to move forward, but I didn't know how!
The good news is that I worked it out!
I've done some of the hard graft, and now I want to share what I've learnt to make it easier for you. You can read more about my cancer story here.
I know its scary and confusing, and there are a lot of crazies out there, telling you to rub crystals on your breasts and the like. Or other "experts" with their very long should-do lists who've no idea how daunting it all feels. Me, I'm a stats lady who wants to see the science and research behind everything, plus I've made the journey myself so know exactly where you're coming from.
My research and exploration into living a healthy satisfying life means I actually feel better now than I did before I had cancer. Yes, that's right....and so can you!
Life 2.0 can be like the phoenix rising from the ashes! Okay a bit dramatic, but you get the picture ;-) Perhaps instead I should say the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire. I sometimes feel that I've been through the furnace hell, and am far stronger because of it.
I've created Life 2.0 because I want to help other people find their way forward to living a wonderful life after cancer.
I've done some of the hard graft, and now I want to share what I've learnt to make it easier for you. You can read more about my cancer story here.
I know its scary and confusing, and there are a lot of crazies out there, telling you to rub crystals on your breasts and the like. Or other "experts" with their very long should-do lists who've no idea how daunting it all feels. Me, I'm a stats lady who wants to see the science and research behind everything, plus I've made the journey myself so know exactly where you're coming from.
My research and exploration into living a healthy satisfying life means I actually feel better now than I did before I had cancer. Yes, that's right....and so can you!
Life 2.0 can be like the phoenix rising from the ashes! Okay a bit dramatic, but you get the picture ;-) Perhaps instead I should say the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire. I sometimes feel that I've been through the furnace hell, and am far stronger because of it.
I've created Life 2.0 because I want to help other people find their way forward to living a wonderful life after cancer.
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Want to know more about my cancer experience? Well, I just happened to write an article for Breast Cancer Network! Read all about it here! |
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My training
I've always been fascinated by people - being one myself and all - and what makes us tick! Hence my education began with a psychology degree from Waikato University. Enthralled as I was, I felt the call for adventure outside a lab, and so one month into my Masters in Neuropsychology I broke the news to my professor, sold my computer and bought the cheapest ticket I could find to the other side of the world.
I spent the next 16 years travelling, working in almost every job you could imagine, and generally getting up to mischief until I eventually found myself living in Bristol, married, working in television editing with a 15 month old son. Cue cancers arrival! (You can read all about that part here!)
Living in Bristol, UK at the time, part of my path to living life after cancer involved the amazing centre that is Penny Brohn Cancer Care, a wonderful wellness charity helping us understand that good health is about more than whats going on in our bodies, but also our mental, emotional and spiritual health (plus the realisation that I really didn't eat enough vegetables!).
On returning to my homeland New Zealand, I realised I no longer had passion for my previous career in television editing. After all that, I felt inspired to know more about my body, how to look after it, why we don't look after it and how to help others look after theirs. Plus of course, to definitively know what's the meaning of life!
My transformation, my new way of living, was so positive I was inspired to help others do and feel the same.
I received my training as a health coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I was trained in more than 100 dietary theories (if you think that sounds confusing it sure is, but I can make it easy for you!) and studied a variety of practical lifestyle management techniques, and innovative coaching methods with some of the world’s top health and wellness experts.
My teachers included Dr. Andrew Weil, Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine; Dr. David Katz, Director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center; Dr. Walter Willett, Chair of Nutrition at Harvard University; Geneen Roth, bestselling author and expert on emotional eating; and many other leading researchers and nutrition authorities.
I'm also a Certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher (trained with MTIA) and spend a lot of my time teaching Mindfulness Based Resilience at work to the staff at Counties Manakau District Health Board (believe me, these wonderful people need it!) and other organisations. Mindfulness meditation has been a key part of my post-cancer life and sanity! I aim to offer at least one public course each year, so be sure to contact me if you'd like to know more!
My education has equipped me with extensive knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, positive psychology and preventive health. Drawing on these skills and my personal experience of illness and healing, I created and run Life 2.0 courses, all about living life after cancer to help people reach their goals of being as healthy and happy as possible.
I'm also a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher |
