Wendy on how singing at Maggie's is a highlight of her week

I don’t tend to worry about the big things, which might sound a bit daft. I tend to be able to get on with them. It’s the small things I worry over, and it took a bit of time to get the right diagnosis, so it was a very unsettling time.

I'd then had a sore throat for a while, and one of my doctors had a hunch about my condition and followed up on it. Eventually I was also diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in April 2023.

Once I had a diagnosis – although it was obviously quite shocking, I knew I was in the hands of the experts. I knew I had to trust them and just get on with my treatment.

I'm extremely grateful to the team of doctors who identified what was going on and who treated me.

My treatment was six rounds of R-CHOP chemotherapy, which I can only describe as brutal. My hair started to fall out immediately and my son Euan had to shave it off for me. I was honestly so exhausted. I ached all over my body – it felt like I’d been run over by a tractor.

I was also on steroid treatment, and this also can affect how you’re thinking and your emotions and how you’re feeling too. There was a metallic taste in my mouth, which meant food didn’t taste very good for a long, long time even when my chemo had finished. I was simply eating because I had to for nutrition, but I couldn’t even look forward to my food.

Before I was diagnosed, I was very active – I used to walk three miles a day and I had a job as Front of House at Verdant Works in Dundee. But my treatment hit me very hard, and I didn’t have the strength to do anything.

It was a difficult time, but I was lucky to have my family and my friends looking after me, which meant the world to me. I don’t know how I would have coped without them.

Having cancer has been a very humbling experience. My whole perspective has changed. I now know how much people care about me and I really make an effort to let people know that I care about them too.

Achieving my goal of going to Maggie's

I didn’t feel strong enough to make my way to Maggie’s until October 2024.

Now, it's like my second home.

My consultant had told me about Maggie’s when I was first diagnosed. But between the illness and the treatment, I was completely floored, and I didn’t have the strength to make my way there. But it was always a goal I had in mind.

One day, I got up, had a shower, phoned myself a taxi and I went. I burst into tears when I made it into the building and I had a lovely welcome from Nancy – one of the Maggie’s Cancer Support Specialists.

She just put me at ease, and I’ve been visiting ever since.

Courses, workshops and groups to help me cope

The first workshop I did at Maggie's was ‘Look Good Feel Better’, which helps people with make up tips and advice on how to look after their skin after treatment.

After that, there was no stopping me, and I’ve been on further Maggie’s courses including ‘Manage Stress and Anxiety’, ‘Mindfulness Course’ and ‘Managing Fatigue’.

Fatigue after cancer treatment is not just feeling tired – it can mean feeling wiped out for days. This can be difficult when I like to make arrangements with friends and family but fortunately, they understand that sometimes I have to rearrange things for another day at the last minute.

People should not feel afraid to approach Maggie’s for support.

Nor should they feel forced into going if they have cancer. But what I would say is that however rubbish you feel when you go in, the friendly support and welcome that you get from the staff and other centre visitors at Maggie’s, who just seem to get it – they get what you’re going through – means that you will always feel much better when you leave.

Becoming a member of ‘Just Sing’ - the singing group that meets up at Maggie’s Dundee - has also become a highlight in my weekly calendar. I’m not the best singer, and I can’t read music, but the singing group at Maggie’s on a Thursday night is the best thing ever.

It’s so uplifting – we can be singing anything and everything. I look forward to it every week!

Something for everyone

That’s the thing about Maggie’s – there is something for everyone – whether people need one-to-one support to understand their treatment, or emotional support or benefits advice, or they come in to do yoga or a nutrition workshop, there is always a friendly face to guide them through whatever is going on in their lives.

I feel so much better every time I come in.

We’re here with you

Our cancer support specialists, psychologists and benefits advisors are here for everyone with cancer, and all the people who love them. 

• Come and see us at your nearest Maggie’s
• call us on 0300 123 180 or arrange a callback
• email us at enquiries@maggies.org