An Experience of Breast Cancer

Anise Bullimore recently underwent treatment for breast cancer. Over the past year Anise has been sharing her experiences online but also running sessions with our nursing and radiotherapy students (please see video presentations below).

Anise said of her experiences of working with the School of Health Sciences:

‘It’s been a really positive experience. I’ve been able to make sense of the treatment and cancer and aftermath by creating presentations which has been really valuable. I’ve met some wonderful students and SHS staff and feel that I’ve been able to make a difference to how some people view cancer or understand patients. I’ve also had the chance to be involved a little in your courses and learning spaces which has helped me to understand teaching at City more. On top of that, during an extraordinarily stressful working year I’ve been able to do something that I’ve felt I was good at which helped me to feel confident, develop my skills and do something good at work.’

On behalf of the School of Health ‘User and Carer Engagement’ community we would like to thank Anise for sharing her experiences with our staff and students and presenting them with the invaluable insight of a patient’s journey down the road of cancer treatment. The impact Anise’s sessions have had can clearly be seen through the student responses to her rehabilitation talk:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myrtock/sets/72157636902394906/

During the course of Anise’s treatment she gathered a number of artifacts – writing, videos and pictures. Anise has kindly agreed we can share this material with you as they may be of use to your students in the future.

Googledrive artifacts available via this link https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxhVBUjKRTTKWC03VFZFUnZhZkk&usp=drive_web : •

  • My Year on the Sofa – photobook of Anise’s treatment including photos, art therapy images and scans (powerpoint)
  • Wordle of qualities that make a good cancer nurse by nursing students (jpg)
  • Nursing session talk (powerpoint)
  • Rehabilitation session talk (powerpoint)
  • Art therapy experience writing (Word)
  • Radiotherapy experience writing (Word)
  • After cancer experience writing •(Word)
  • Family and friends experience writing (Word)
  • Harvey Survivorship article – excellent article about psychological experience after cancer treatment • Impact on friends and family writing (Word)

Videos available online:

  • My Body of Work, TedX talk (13 mins):

  • An Experience of Breast Cancer Treatment, nursing session talk video (52 mins):