Tessa Parry-Wingfield is a journalist and global communications expert—skilled at finding information, building communities, creating content.

Then she was diagnosed with ocular melanoma. Eye cancer. Most people have never heard of it. It affects 5 per million adults and roughly 600 cases annually in the UK - Tessa lives in London. And in her case, everything changed in less than three weeks.

She's the CEO of The Power of Words, a global communications consultancy. She has 25 years’ experience in journalism, communications and PR – across Europe and the MENA region. She loved every minute of being a journalist for ten years – as a reporter, producer and writer for TV news outlets such as Al Jazeera, ITN, and Channel TV. And the commercial arms of Reuters and Press Association.

For years she wrote the headlines but in recent times, she became one. She couldn't find adequate conversation about her cancer—not because she didn't know where to look, but because she was advised by her healthcare team that information online can be skewed or out of date.  The truth is there is still so much to learn about this and other rare cancers that don't attract the funding and the trials because the numbers are so small in comparison.

Tessa lost her left eye—the standard treatment for ocular melanoma. Surgical removal. And so begins the processing: physical loss, visible permanent difference, identity change, grief for her "real eye," navigating the world looking different, and acquaintances who would really rather not engage anymore. 

Basically, she had zero preparation time. But in an extraordinary twist, she found another ocular melanoma patient, Jo, through chance connection via a mutual friend. And Jo lives less than a mile away. Pure chance. 

In this episode, Tessa discusses:

This matters because, unlike Tessa, thousands of people are navigating life-altering diagnoses of rare cancers essentially alone.

The solution surely, is creating a comprehensive infrastructure serving ALL rare cancers, recognising commonalities rather than fragmenting by specific diagnosis.

Here's Tessa's story.  If if you know someone with ocular melanoma or any rare cancer, please share this and tell them we are listening and they're not alone.

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Tessa's website 

https://tessaparry-wingfield.com/

Read Tessa's story in her own words in The Times newspaper (UK)

https://www.thetimes.com/article/b344cb32-9bcb-44f9-a670-11fad5bfde9a?shareToken=a3d6005ab14c7c7b01b1dea141cdf873

Ocular Melanoma UK 

https://omuk.org/ 

When treatment ended, Sanna Tiensuu-Piirainen was told: "You're cancer-free. Good luck."

Then she was lost. And of course we know that's not a unique situation. By some distance.

But the real question that came out of this cancer conversation was: has discrimination ended her career because she's open about her cancer when talking to employers?

Sanna was diagnosed with breast cancer at 43 in Finland—a country with universal healthcare considered among the best globally. She received treatment: chemotherapy, radiation, mastectomy, hormone therapy. Then treatment ended. And healthcare provided zero framework for what came next.

Sanna is a Master of Science in Economics—analytical, logical, trained to solve complex problems. But logic wasn't enough to navigate the physical, emotional, psychological, and practical reality of life after cancer treatment.

So over the following years, she trained herself: certified business coach, master coach, positive psychology practitioner, mindfulness-based cancer recovery trainer, NLP practitioner, solution-focused brief therapist.

Years of training. Multiple disciplines. That's thousands of hours and no doubt euros too. And all to create what the healthcare system should have provided.

She and her nurse friend Tiina wrote a book—a 13-step recovery program for women healing after breast cancer treatment. They wrote it because the book they needed didn't exist. Then she tried to re-enter the workforce with all this vast range of expertise in post-treatment recovery—expertise addressing a massive healthcare gap. And she's been rewarded with unemployment since March 2024, partly no doubt to the fragile economy in Finland at time of writing.

But you could easily argue that the system that failed to support her doesn't value her attempt to fix the gap.

In this episode, Sanna discusses:

This matters because healthcare treating cancer as diagnosis → treatment → done ignores everything that comes after. And people are either left to build their own solutions (if they have resources) or fall through the gap entirely. How can that be acceptable economically, socially or morally?

This is #CancerCanDoOne—making sense of cancer when awareness isn't enough.

Sanna's book is in Finnish only at the moment.

https://www.tuumakustannus.fi/Tiina-Huhtanen/Hyvinvointikirja-rintasy%C3%B6v%C3%A4st%C3%A4-toipuvalle.html

#MakingSenseOfCancer

The diary is empty. No more scans. No more treatment. That's it. You're good. So why do so many cancer patients feel depressed, abandoned and lost when surely it's time to celebrate? 

In a first for #CancerCanDoOne, we eavesdrop on a brutally revealing conversation. This is the real and honest view of what breast cancer days are like and crucially what happens when the treatment ends. Because treatment is only one chapter in the story.

Rebecca Perkins and Charmian D'Aubosson are friends. And they both know breast cancer. They got online for #CancerCanDoOne, spoke to each other and unpicked their revealing experiences so we could appreciate just a little more...

#BreastCancer #CancerTreatment #CancerAwareness #LifeAfterCancer 

"I sat in the car for half an hour and cried."  His first thought; how will his new wife cope with this news? He was 30 years old with a life built on fitness and nutrition. He felt very alone.

There weren’t many role models for young men facing cancer.

Now, others reach out to him for advice — not about lifting weights, but about carrying the weight of a diagnosis.

In this episode:

How he went from patient to peer guide.

The questions young men ask that no doctor prepares them for.

What he’s learned about strength that has nothing to do with muscle.

A story of unexpected leadership born from a brutal surprise.

#BreakTheCancerSilence #Testicularcancer #CancerAwareness #CancerCanDoOne

What happens when cancer doesn’t just hit one person, but an entire family?

In this episode I speak with Anthony McLoughlin, one of five siblings who were all diagnosed with cancer before the age of 60 — a staggering and highly unusual family experience.

Anthony shares how his family uses humour to cope, rarely talking about cancer unless it’s truly needed. He opens up about the loneliness and insecurity that can follow when treatment ends and healthcare professionals step back — the dreaded “Now what?” moment too many people face alone.

We explore how cancer can pull families closer together, the small ways laughter helps survive fear, and the challenges of navigating life when the system goes quiet. This conversation is raw, honest, and occasionally darkly funny — a real insight into a family living with cancer in a way most of us can barely imagine.

⏱️ Timestamps:

[00:58] Intro – Why this family’s story is so rare

[03:41] Anthony’s family journey – how cancer brought the five siblings closer. Humour as survival.

[05:58] Need to talk – when even they NEED to talk it through together.

[13:08] When the system goes quiet – the loneliness after treatment ends. How for Anthony it lead to deep depression.

About the guest:

Trigger warning:

👉  If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who thinks cancer is never going to affect them. Who cares? Follow the show for more off-grid, human takes on life with cancer.

#BreakTheCancerSilence #CancerCanDoOne

Tony Collier had it all—or so he thought. In his 60s, he was the embodiment of drive: building a business, checking every box for success, and clocking 60–70-hour workweeks.

Then came the diagnosis: incurable prostate cancer. Life as he knew it stopped—and in its wake, something unexpected emerged.

In this powerful, unfiltered conversation, Tony tells us how cancer forced a deep reordering of his priorities. How workaholism gave way to presence. How fear gave way to clarity. How facing mortality didn’t just change his life—it improved him as a man, a father, and a human being.

If you’ve ever wondered what it means to live, not just survive, this episode is absolutely for you—for anyone who needs courage to say, “There has to be more to life.”

Listen in for a story of resilience, reinvention, and redefining what matters most.

Tony has no intention of making the same mistakes again...

#CancerCanDoOne #ProstateCancer #CancerAwareness  #BreakingTheSilence  #SexualHealth #CancerConversation

Beverley is a mum to Jake, a thirty-something who still lives at home—not because of choice, but because a missed brain tumour diagnosis changed both their lives forever.

For months, doctors searched for the wrong answers. Migraines. Epilepsy. Anything but the tumour that was slowly taking hold.

Today, Jake lives with seizures. Beverley lives on permanent alert. Every noise. Every bump in the night.

Her life is on hold—not from a lack of love, but from a system that didn’t look, so didn’t find.

In this episode, Beverley speaks for every parent trapped in the aftermath of a diagnosis that came too late.

This isn’t just a story. It’s a warning.

#BrainTumourAwareness #DelayedDiagnosis #CancerStories #PatientAdvocacy #SeizureAwareness 

#WhenTheyDontLookTheyDontFind #InvisibleImpact #CancerCanDoOne #CancerConversation #BreakTheSilence

What happens when you’re diagnosed with cancer but the nearest treatment is hundreds of miles away — and there’s no radiotherapy machine? When the cost of the most basic of treatment is way beyond what your community can afford.

But this isn’t a story of helplessness — it’s about grit, workarounds, and refusing to give up, even when the system makes it hard. Sarah sees a future in the growing number of educated and engage young people who are more than prepared to stay and fight to make cancer care a right and not an option.

#cancercandoone #cancerinafrica #cancerawareness #cancerincameroon

What happens when cancer care is both the best—and the worst?

In this honest, unfiltered conversation, Norwegian breast cancer survivor and doctor Patrycja Buxton (just not the medical kind) shares what it’s really like to go through a system that can be life-saving one day… and completely indifferent the next.

We talk about:

The shock of diagnosis in a country known for universal care

What great healthcare actually feels like when it works

The silence, stigma, and loneliness that medicine can’t fix

Why geography can still decide who lives and who dies—even in a wealthy countryIf you’ve ever wondered how culture, systems, and humanity collide when cancer strikes, this episode will change how you see it.

👉 If this resonates, please follow the show and leave a quick rating—it helps others find these voices who deserve to be heard.

She knew something wasn't right. At all. But getting her fears recognised took far longer than anticipated.

Time and again this mum in her 30s who'd just had baby number three was told she should really concentrate on the baby and stop worrying about her breast. 

But she went back to her doctor again and again only to hear the same response.  Finally out of frustration on all sides Sarah Drake was sent for a scan.

She had breast cancer...

That was 12 years ago and now after a double mastectomy her life has moved on and cancer is her life in a positive way.  Today, Sarah runs a training company called Elephant In The Room that helps workplaces better support staff going through cancer.

In this episode, she shares her story — one of deep pain, growth, and ultimately, purpose. It’s a conversation about what it means to heal, to forgive, and to turn something incredibly difficult into something meaningful.

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Elephant In The Room Training:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/eitrtraining/posts/?feedView=all 

Follow Mike on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekinnaird?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app