By Harry Mottram: Super fit and healthy PE teacher Lara Philips, 34, noticed she was feeling tired and generally unwell. When she struggled for breath, suffered fevers and a pain in her chest she decided enough was enough.
She said: “I was diagnosed with pneumonia and a collapsed lung. The doctors feared there was something more sinister going on, and a further PET scan confirmed their fears. To my complete shock, the results identified cancerous tumours in my neck, stomach, pelvis, lung, aorta and spleen. On the 20 April 2016, aged 34, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma stage 3.”
After intensive treatment she recovered but after leaving hospital she wanted to talk to like-minded people of her own age who had been affected by cancer.
The result was she founded a group in Bath called We Get It – a charity where people can talk about life with cancer, of treatment, of whether they can still enjoy sex, and generally converse with those who understand.
We Get It have weekly meetings, workshops, talks and have lots of personal stories on their website including the Scars for Life photo shoot. if you have cancer or have had cancer then check out https://www.wegetit.org.uk/