How Long Have You Got?

It’s a year since Sarah Edmundson, the wonderful co-host of this podcast, died from breast cancer at the age of 38. As a tribute to her daughter, Sarah’s mum, Jacki, talks movingly about how she and her daughter coped with Sarah’s diagnosis, the reality of looking after someone in the last few weeks of their life, and when it’s time to say goodbye as their life draws to a close. This is an honest, heartfelt and stoical account that may prove useful to those who may be facing a similar situation. 

This week Tessa Parry-Wingfield shares her extraordinary story. Tessa, who runs a communications company and lives in London with her husband and two daughters, was out for a regular run just over a year ago when her vision felt slighty blurry. It turned out she had a large tumour within her eye which very quickly had to be removed. Here Tessa reveals how it felt knowing an eye was to be taken out, talks about the operation itself, and how she’s about to have a 3-D printed eye to replace the one removed. Tessa also talks about telling her children, the novel use of spreadsheets for treatment notes, and how she wanted her close friends to treat her post-surgery.

Please do like and recommend the show as it helps us reach more members of the cancer community. And we'd like to hear about your experiences with cancer, so please do get in touch if you’d like to share. If you're listening on Spotify, you can use the show’s Q&A feature, or please share your thoughts through our Instagram page at @howlonghaveyougot2024. 

Studio and Recording by A Digital. Production for A Digital by Andrew Armitage and Matthew Connolly.