Black Women Rising- The Untold Cancer Stories Podcast

Leanne Pero, 4 years on from Cancer 

For our final episode, host Charlotte is reunited with our founder Leanne Pero. Charlotte and Leanne dive into an array of topics. Leanne shares her coping strategies as well as the ups and downs of working within the cancer industry. These days so much can be glamourised on social media, so it is nice to get a real look behind the scenes. Leanne never shy's away from being real about her feelings giving a real account of the joys and trials and tribulations within the industry and personally.  

Leanne Pero is an award winning community champion who overcame breast cancer at 30 years young. The South Londoner founded @themovementfactory , @thepositivedayplanner and The Leanne Pero Foundation, which of course is mother to the Black Women Rising and Black Men Rising projects.

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder & Guest @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk

Cancer, Confidence and Body Image

 Dealing with confidence and body image after diagnosis, many of us ladies can relate to the many changes the body goes through on both a physical and emotional level after diagnosis. It can be really taxing and hard to come to terms with, but we want you to know your feelings are valid and you are not alone. This week Charlotte is in conversation with Adobea and Chanette about their experiences and how they are currently coping.   

Chanette who is 36 from Derby is a wife, mother and a teacher. She was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in the spring of 2016 and later found out it was BRAC1 positive.  

Adobea who is 34 from Essex is a mother and a director of a recruitment agency. In May 2018 she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Guests: Chanette @always__another_chapter Adobea  @itsdivinestyle

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk

What are my rights? 

This is a huge subject for alot of ladies so our focus was all about employment and knowing your rights during and after treatment. This week Charlotte was joined by Jennifer who shares her journey and work plight. Along with Caroline who is a solicitor and very kindly answered some of the anonymous questions some of the listeners sent in.  

Jennifer who is a mother of one, with amazing family and friends. She has a good social life, loves fine dining, travelling, fashion, music, art, design and reading. She came from a design background and changed careers 18 years ago to become a teacher in a special educational needs school. She’s also the Computing Lead and absolutely enjoys teaching such amazing young people. Jennifer was diagnosed with : Clear Renal Cell Carcinoma (Kidney Cancer) May 2018. In December 2018 she found out she had stage 4 as it had spread to the lungs  

Caroline Oliver who is a Senior Solicitor at Didlaw specialising in employment law with a particular focus on discrimination in the workplace.  Most of her clients are employees who have suffered from unlawful discrimination and negative treatment due to gender, disability, race, age or long-term health conditions.  She has a general interest in employee wellbeing and mental health in the workplace.  Caroline is passionate about her job because work is so central to identity, well-being and self esteem. Too often there is an imbalance of power between employer & employee creating a real injustice which she enjoys fighting. Didlaw.com Caroline's blog https://didlaw.com/cancer-and-employment

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Guests: Jenny v -  @icanaspireto and @jennifersstorydoc Caroline - twitter @caroline2oliver

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk

Navigating through cancer is tough when you just have to think about yourself. When you have dependents it brings a whole new level to the experience, with them also trying to navigate and understand what you are going through. This week Charlotte is joined by two mothers Shevelle and Nina share their experiences of how it was parenting through cancer.  Meet Shevelle Shevelle, a 30 year old from South London and a mother to a beautiful daughter. She’s a HR Manager who loves to travel, weight lifts and vibe to music.  She is also the founder of the Happy Glow Project.  Shevelle was diagnosed with Trip neg breast cancer in July 2019.  She went through 16 rounds of chemo plus a mastectomy with reconstruction.   Meet Nina Nina who is a mother to a special little girl that inspires her daily and keeps the world around her moving. She is a menswear designer,  loves to dance and finds that going for walks calms her down.  Just before Nina turned 37 she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer and had 12 rounds of chemo, surgery and radiotherapy.  “Cancer has changed the direction of my life. Right now living with purpose means helping others and being able to raise awareness.”  

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Guests: Nina Lopes @frodayss - Shevelle @Msckellz

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk

We go through so many changes with ourselves whilst journeying through cancer. One of the topics that is huge for many women after treatment is fertility, a subject that I feel not enough light is shined on. There has been so many stories of the lack of support in this area. One liner piece of advice can have a huge impact on women trying to navigate through life after cancer. This week Charlotte speaks with Kreena who takes us through the motions of manifesting something she always dreamed of “motherhood”.  

Kreena is a mother to a daughter and triplet sons, a podcaster, writer, speaker and lightworker. At the age of 33 Kreena was diagnosed with breast cancer. Due to the side effect of the chemotherapy she suffered acute heart failure 3 years later.

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Guests: Kreena - kreenadhiman

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk

Friendships! How many of us have been shocked by how some of their friends fell off on the journey or even how ones you never considered that close became a rock. When you’re  going through cancer and even after, a good support network plays a huge role in that journey, even more so when that person understands what you are going through. 

In this weeks episode Charlotte was joined by Telesha (Tilly) and Sophie, who met soon after being diagnosed. 

Tilly, from London is an identical twin, cancer survivor and so much more  In July 2019 she was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Grade 3, - Lymph nodes positive - stage 3. She  completed treatment May 2020 and is now focusing on her recovery.  

Sophie from London is a mum of two, local politician and a youth advocate.  Sophie was diagnosed with stage 2, oestrogen positive breast cancer and underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Guests: Telesha - @tilzn9    Sophie - @sofison

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk

When going through treatment, and even after so many questions can flood into our minds. In this episode Charlotte has a chat with Andrea, Carla and Carmel about how their experience has been and some of the typical things that tend to come up whilst navigating through and beyond cancer.

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Guests: Andrea @cancer_chemo_colostomies_crap Carla @diff818z Carmel @1baddassmum

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk

5 cancers and still going strong!  This episode is based around hope, courage and strength. Charlotte is joined by Marcia Brock who take us through her multiple experiences of having cancer since being a teen. We talk about what keeps her going and all things in-between.   

Marcia Brock, is a mother, partner, business lover and author. Marcia is a 5 x cancer survivor who was first diagnosed with cervical cancer at just 19 she is also a lupus survivor and manages a condition called EDS. She recently released a book to help others, who are living with chronic illness.

After podcast notes:

Blackwomenrising @blackwomenrisinguk

Founder @Leanneperoofficial

Host & production - @Charlottecrowl

Guest: Marcia - @marcia_brock

Sound engineer - Harry @soundhuman.uk