Hello, my name is Ruth, I live in West Yorkshire with my husband, son and rescue greyhound. My eldest son is at university. I’m retired now but I worked for nearly 30 years in the NHS in a variety of roles; trainer, team developer and facilitator, development coach and finally a senior role in a national NHS organisation focussing on workforce health and well being. I love helping others develop and grow, learning new things, making a difference, developing my own skills, history, reading and wine gums!

And I have metastatic lobular breast cancer.

My life was turned on it’s head when I found out I had cancer. I have found that I am capable of dealing with so much more than I ever knew, I’ve plumbed depths I didn’t know I had, I’ve learnt to reach out, explore and open up. I’ve found some amazing new friends, networks and communities. I’ve deepened my existing friendships and family connections. I’ve made the switch from NHS employee to NHS patient and it has reinforced all my beliefs about the importance of staff, behaviour and environment in patient care. I want to use my time now to help improve the experience of breast cancer patients.

I’ve found a peace and a happiness I couldn’t imagine before.