One in seven women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime*, and more than 56,000 women are diagnosed in the UK every year**. This makes it the most common cancer among UK women***. Which is why every October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, where charities, movements and individuals around the world unite with the aim of increasing education, raising vital funds for advancements in research and treatment and sharing personal experiences to increase awareness.
The power of individual stories is something that Bupa is supporting through its Health Stories campaign, which aims to inspire more open conversations around our physical and mental health. The movement was inspired by new research that shows that while 8 in 10 people believe sharing their health experiences boosts wellbeing, more than a third (36%) still shy away from opening up.
In Bupa’s latest film, we meet Natalie Hall who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 at the age of 43. At the same time, she also discovered that she was a carrier of the BRCA-2 genetic mutation, which means a person has a higher risk of developing certain cancers, including breast cancer. During treatment, whilst navigating chemotherapy, multiple surgeries – including a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction – and a surgical menopause, Natalie drew her comfort and strength, whenever possible, from exercise and nutrition. As a devoted dance teacher and keen runner, this is where she found her physical and emotional resilience.
“There are a lot of things we can’t do, having cancer. But dancing is not one of them,” Natalie says. “Dance is everything. Dance is therapy, it’s beauty, it’s grace, it’s elegance, it’s strength. Determination. It’s so powerful – and everyone can dance.”
It wasn’t until Natalie had finished her primary treatment for her initial cancer and was in remission, that she found a community of women who all understood what each other was going through. “I hadn’t really accessed any [support groups] as a cancer patient myself… I didn’t think I needed to, at all. I thought, ‘I’m fine,’” Natalie says. “I finished my treatment and I thought, ‘Well, I’ll go and do my bit’. So I went to this charity and met all the other people, and I hadn’t realised how much I’d needed to do it myself.”
This led Natalie to launch Fireflies Fitness, a community-interest company offering a range of inclusive physical and mental fitness programmes to support those living with cancer. Natalie believes that every person diagnosed has the right to crucial fitness support and, through Fireflies Fitness, aims to close this gap in cancer care.
“A big part of my initial idea was that it wasn’t just going to be somewhere where you came in, did your exercise or your dance, and then you left again,” Natalie explains. “It was something I really wanted to build a community around.”
It is this community – alongside the physical and mental health benefits of exercise – that can provide a crucial support network during members’ recovery.
“Talking is a huge part of it,” Natalie says. “We’ll stay behind afterwards and we’ll all catch up. It can be about someone’s new ballet gear, or it can be about somebody who’s just had some nipples made. It can be very liberating to talk.
“We have a way of knowing how to lift each other up. And people do share some quite vulnerable stories, and vulnerable parts of their treatment, and how they’re feeling.”
Natalie explains she called the group the Fireflies “because they really do shine, and they’re going through such a lot of darkness.” But, she adds, “they are brilliant and magical. Ethereal. I’m really proud to know them.”
Today, her cancer is currently stable and she sees each day as a chance to love, to laugh and to notice the small miracles around her. She says: “Please, don’t wait for life’s challenges to remind you how precious it is.”
“I often think, ‘Would I have it any other way?’” Natalie says. “Because my life has a lot of meaning. A lot more meaning than it did before. And the Fireflies are a huge part of it.”
It’s time we normalise conversations around women’s health. To see other Health Stories and find out more, head to @bupa and bupa.com.
You can find out more about Natalie and Fireflies Fitness and how you can support this community via firefliesfitness.org.
* What Is Breast Cancer Report
