Life After Cancer? WTF Now?

After a cancer diagnosis your suddenly you’re supposed to shit rainbows and unicorns, radiate gratitude and live your best lifeThis week, I’m talking about the difference between toxic positivity and a positive mindset that actually helps. The pressure to be grateful, the Instagram “living my best life” posts, and why finishing treatment didn’t magically leave me farting unicorns and rainbows.

Through my own experiences of anxiety, fear of recurrence and inappropriate jokes, I explore how a helpful mindset makes room for the difficult days and helps us work through them.

You can be grateful AND scared. Hopeful AND having a shit day. There’s room for all of it here.

Follow: @lifeaftercancer_WTF

People say some truly wild shit when you have cancer.

“At least you kept your hair.”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“You’ve just got to stay positive.”
“Well, at least it hasn’t spread.”
“If I was going to get cancer, that’s the one I’d want.”

And, of course, the absolute classic…

“Well, at least you’re still alive.”

In this solo episode, I’m counting down 10 things you really shouldn’t say to someone with cancer from toxic positivity and cancer comparisons to the well-meaning comments that can make you want to scream.

Most people aren’t trying to be insensitive. They just don’t know what to say.

So here’s a revolutionary idea: you don’t need to find the silver lining, fix it or tell someone why it could be worse.

Sometimes “Are you okay?” is more than enough.

Funny, sweary, honest and probably one to send to that person who keeps saying “at least…”.

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Why do we feel the need to rank cancer?

At least you didn’t lose your hair.
At least you caught it early.
At least you didn’t need chemo.
Other people have it worse.

In this solo episode, I’m talking about the Cancer Comparison Olympics —that weird habit we have of comparing diagnoses, treatments, side effects and even how well we’re coping.

I talk about the comments people make (usually with the best intentions), the guilt that can come with feeling like your cancer “wasn’t bad enough” to justify struggling, and why somebody else having it worse doesn’t make what happened to you any less bloody hard.

Because cancer isn’t a competition. There’s no podium, no medal for suffering the most, and no minimum amount of trauma required before you’re allowed to find it difficult.

Your experience is your experience. And it counts.

@lifeaftercancer_wtf

Cancer is expensive. And I don’t just mean emotionally.

There’s a hidden financial cost that comes with a cancer diagnosis: reduced income, sick leave, hospital travel, heating bills, wigs, post-surgery bras, childcare, changing the way you work… all while you’re trying to recover from the small matter of having bloody cancer.

In this episode, I’m talking about the cancer tax, the costs nobody really warns you about , and sharing my own experience of returning to work after treatment, cutting my hours, eventually leaving teaching altogether, and how I planned financially to make that possible.

I also share some of the support I wish I’d known about sooner, including PIP, Universal Credit, ESA, ill-health retirement, reasonable adjustments and critical illness insurance, plus why finding your own financial “enough point” can give you more options than you realise.

Because sometimes the goal after cancer isn’t earning as much money as possible.

Sometimes it’s having enough money and enough of your life left over to actually enjoy it.

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This week, we’re talking about bums. Because apparently there are still some parts of cancer we’re all a bit too embarrassed to talk about.

Ali joins me to share her experience of being diagnosed with HPV-related anal cancer from the symptoms that first made her realise something wasn’t right, to diagnosis, treatment and everything that came afterwards.

We talk about HPV and its link to anal cancer, the stigma that can come with a diagnosis like this, and why embarrassment can sometimes stop people talking about symptoms or getting themselves checked.

But, as always, this isn’t just about the cancer. It’s about the life after it too identity, recovery, finding your confidence again and figuring out what comes next when treatment ends.

It’s honest, funny in places, and probably contains more chat about bums than your average podcast episode.

Because if talking about the awkward stuff makes even one person get something checked, it’s worth talking about.

@lifeaftercancer_wtf

@alistripling

@TheBraveBehinds

What happens when cancer makes you stop and question the life you were living before?

Caroline was diagnosed with cancer in June 2025 and from her chemo chair, she started building something new.

In this episode, we talk about her diagnosis, the mental side of cancer, mindset, and how going through something that completely turns your life upside down can also make you ask some pretty big questions about what you actually want next.

We talk about starting a business during treatment, designing a life on your own terms, letting go of the pressure to go “back to normal”, and navigating that messy middle when you know you want something different… but you haven’t quite figured out what that looks like yet.

And this definitely isn’t a “cancer happened and then I became super productive” story. You absolutely do not need to start a business from your chemo chair.

It’s about giving yourself permission to question the path you were on and maybe choosing a different one, one that gives you PURPOSE!

Because life after cancer doesn’t always have to be about getting your old life back.

Sometimes, you get to build a new one.

🎙️ Life After Cancer: WTF Now?
Hosted by Naomi Jolly

@lifeaftercancer_wtf

@carolinewoolley_

@thrive_businessandbalance

What happens when cancer changes not just your body, but the entire direction of your life?

This week I’m joined by Alex, founder of H.E.R Bodywear: Heal, Empower, Revive. After facing breast cancer twice, multiple surgeries and the breakdown of her marriage, Alex found herself rebuilding far more than her body.

She went back to university, retrained in fashion and, through her own experience of struggling to find post-surgery bras that made her feel comfortable, confident, feminine and sexy, spotted a huge gap in the market. That experience eventually led to the creation of H.E.R Bodywear.

We talk honestly about body image and femininity after breast cancer, finding confidence in a body that has changed, changing direction when the life you had no longer fits, and having the courage to build something new even when you're still very much in the messy middle.

Because cancer is a shit show. But sometimes, out of something you never would have chosen, comes a completely new direction and purpose.

Follow Alex and H.E.R Bodywear: @her_bodywear
Follow the podcast: @lifeaftercancer_wtf

Amy was just 30 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer an age when cancer probably feels like the last thing you should be worrying about.

In this episode, we talk about what it’s really like facing breast cancer as a young woman from diagnosis and treatment to fertility, body image, relationships, BRCA1 and the reality of trying to rebuild your life afterwards.

We also ask the question so many of us are wondering: why are we hearing about more and more young women being diagnosed with breast cancer?

An honest conversation about being young, being thrown into a world you never expected to be part of, and figuring out what the f**k life looks like afterwards.

Follow Amy: @amysarmyx and @aimaddisonx
Follow the podcast: @lifeaftercancer_wtf

Cancer put me into menopause at 42 and this week, seeing my latest hormone results in black and white hit me much harder than I expected.

I cried. I felt robbed. And I started wondering: why am I so bloody sad about something I already knew was happening?

Because I don't think I'm only grieving menopause. I'm grieving what it represents: fertility, ageing, the body I had before cancer, and that little door I'd kept open to maybe having another baby.

In this episode, I'm talking honestly about treatment-induced menopause, denial, fertility after cancer, toxic positivity, and why being unbelievably grateful to be alive doesn't mean we're not allowed to grieve what cancer took from us.

There is, obviously, some light relief, including my ovaries taking early retirement, my rapidly disappearing tolerance for bullshit, the absolute fucking audacity of my new turkey neck, and why Instagram can keep its “second spring” for now.

If cancer has thrown you into menopause before you were ready, this one's for you.

You don't have to find the positive straight away. You don't have to be grateful every minute.

You can sit in winter for a bit. Spring will come when you're fucking ready.

@lifeaftercancer_wtf

What does healing after cancer actually look like?

Since quitting the job that kept me anchored to one of the unhappiest periods of my life, I’ve started to feel lighter. In this episode, I explore healing beyond the physical from prolonged stress and people-pleasing to reclaiming my autonomy and letting go of what I no longer want to carry.

This isn’t about blaming ourselves for becoming ill or believing we can think cancer away. It’s about asking whether true healing also means understanding ourselves, releasing the past and choosing a healthier way to live.

@lifeaftercancer_wtf