Maddie gave us one of our favourite catchphrases of AfterThoughts of all time. SAY NO TO POO SHAMING! Maddie was diagnosed with Alveolar soft part sarcoma when she was 18. Shortly after she had primary tumour removed from her left shoulder, it was discovered the cancer had spread to her lungs. While her disease is currently stable, it is incurable and Maddie will be on treatment for life.
She joined us to tell her stories about dealing with stomach side-effects at Swiftogeddon, how writing a will can be empowering and how she became more confident talking openly about her cancer over time.
For an incredibly niche podcast like ours, getting any downloads feels pretty great. But hitting a big milestone? Priceless. So when we hit 10,000 downloads, we decided to check in with some of our guests from previous series to see what they were up to and how they were doing.
Listen now, wherever you usually get your podcasts. And check in on all the episodes there too.
The path to diagnosis isn't always straight forward, especially when you're diagnosed with cancer at a young age. Jake found himself in hospital with a blood clot in his arm after running a half marathon, only to be diagnosed with osteosarcoma some time later. But the real moment Jake knew something was seriously wrong? When his brother broke Jake's leg in a daft game.
Hear more about Jake's stories of his leg funeral, going through treatment during COVID-19, looking like (his words, not ours) 'a big fleshy moon' and training to be a paratriathlete.
Find Jake's ep wherever you usually listen to your podcasts
We've heard a snippet of co-host Aiden's story from when he was a GUEST on AfterThoughts, now it's time for Shaumya's tales from her cancer treatment.
Ever found yourself in a situation where you end up throwing wee in the direction of someone cute? Shaumya has. And we're pretty sure any young person who's had cancer will have their own embarassing/funny/mortifying story.
Head over to listen to Shaumya's episode of AfterThoughts - then tell us in the comments. What's the most embarassing thing that happened to you during cancer treatment?
Aiden's story of (accurate!) self-diagnosis
HEY remember Aiden, our host for the most recent series of AfterThoughts? Here's his episode of AfterThoughts where he talks about diagnosing himself with cancer. He's a medical student and ended up down a cancer symptoms wormhole after watching After Life on Netflix.
Aiden was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma at 18. Listen to him chat about toxic positivity and its long-term impact on your mental health, the impact of his hair loss on his self-confidence (something we don't talk about enough when it comes to guys!) and tonnes more, wherever you get your podcasts.
Lauren Mahon chats about the impacts of chemobrain
The inimitable Lauren Mahon of You Me and the Big C spoke to us in Series 3 about the lasting impact of cancer on her mind. Chemo brain is something that's not mentioned all that much - but here Lauren tells us just how it impacts her everyday life.
Check out Lauren's episode for more stories of being diagnosed with breast cancer in your 30s wherever you usually get your podcasts. Just search 'AfterThoughts'
Series Two saw us *dive in* to explore The Teenage Years. Partnering with Teenage Cancer Trust , we began unpicking what it's like to get diagnosed with cancer before you're 25.
Here, Bhav, who was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma when he was 13, shared with us the importance of having great people around you, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and doing things that scare you.
Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. Search 'AfterThoughts'.
Kris Hallenga on founding CoppaFeel!
We were really saddened to learn of the death of our friend @howtoglitteraturd last month. Kris died after living with secondary breast cancer for 15 years. Her diagnosis came after she was turned away from her GP because she was 'too young for cancer'. After her diagnosis, Kris decided to change the world and set up @coppafeel in an effort to stamp out late detection of breast cancer. She joined us on THE VERY FIRST series AfterThoughts to talk about her experience of living with cancer for 11 years at that point, and shared the story of the very first time she heard the CoppaFeel! Charity Number.
Listen to the whole episode wherever you get your podcasts.
AfterThoughts - The Teenage Years with Bhav
Bhav was one of the guests on AfterThoughts: The Teenage Years. Diagnosed with follicular lymphoma when he was 13. Here he tells us about one of the key people who supported him in treatment when they went on an EMCTrust sailling trip. He describes it as being 'one of the best weekends of his life'.
Listen to all of Bhav's episode, wherever you get your podcasts.
🚨New episode alert 🚨
THE WHOLE GANG IS BACK TOGETHER for the wrap up epside, just dropped wherever you listen to your podcasts. Join Aiden, Shaumya AND Toby and Alice as we take a look back over some of our favourite stories from this series.
We take it theme by theme and try to agree on the best bits. It ain't always easy, but we get there in the end. And what a series it's been. We've talked about long term impacts, feeling psychic, chicken nuggets, getting back to work, the mental health impacts of a cancer diagnosis, cancer with a newborn, navigating fatigue, writing a will, the power of words, facing your fears, having the best job in the world and tonnes more. And we've done it all with our new hosts Aiden and Shaumya at the helm.
What a series! Big up Jak, Lauren, Maddie, Poppy, Callum, Yami and Amber for being storytelling legends and PRAISE BE to Aiden and Shaumya for taking on the role of hosts so bloomin' well.
We've some Thoughtcasts (bitesized episodes) coming your way next week, but til then, why not catch up on whatever you've missed? And let us know what your fave episode has been this series below 🎧
We've got the whole gang together (inc Toby and Alice) to reflect on some of our highlights from Series 6! Episode dropping tomorrow at 8am.
Missed out on some of the stories? Best get a wriggle on and catch up, so you can let us know your fave stories in the comments below. Find all the episodes wherever you usually listen to your podcasts.
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AfterThoughts: The Teenage Years is going to be back soon. But with a few changes. More details dropping in a special teaser episode tomorrow.
