Today we’re joined by Carly Findlay — she’s an award winning writer, speaker, and an appearance and disability advocate. Carly was born with a rare skin condition called ichthyosis which is  a rare genetic condition where the skin over produces dry, scaly, thickened skin and can be incredibly painful. Carly has spent much of her life navigating a world that hasn’t always made room for her differences. 

Carly has spoken widely about what it was like growing up, how she came to embrace the term “disabled” later in life, and the pressure to constantly explain or justify your body to other people and she has published two wonderful books titles ‘say hello’ and ‘Growing up disabled in Australia’

We also wanted to speak to Carly about a more recent challenge that she faced with her ovarian cancer diagnosis and what that has meant for her body now after going through early menopause and having a  hysterectomy. 

We spoke about:

• What is was like growing up and having to face a lot of judgement and comments from strangers
• Why Carly decided to become an advocate for disabled people
• Laura being complacent with her ovarian cyst until Carly reached out and encouraged her to advocate for herself
• The early signs Carly experienced of ovarian cancer
• The confusing diagnosis
• Being faced with having to have either a half or full hysterectomy 
• Having the choice of children taken away
• The additional things Carly had to navigate throughout treatment like chemo
• The ridiculous trolling Carly received like saying that she was ‘faking’ a cancer diagnosis
• The really practical ways you can support a loved one through a cancer diagnosis

 

You can find more from Carly’s website 

You can follow Carly on instagram 

 

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