another trail blazer

Anonymous

another trail blazer

Longtermsurvivor

Life in the long shadow of cancer: Margaret's story

Over the course of a decade, Margaret has had ovarian, breast and skin cancer — and was once told she might only have years to live. Now in remission, she says the spectre is always there, but "cancer has to live with me".

excerpts:

Margaret, 73… appears wearing deep pink lipstick and a colourful blazer. Her cheerful demeanour belies an 11-year struggle with recurring bouts of cancer...

Margaret opted not to have breast reconstruction after her mastectomy and is at peace with her post-operative body.

"The scarring really doesn't make any difference to me," she says.

"When I needed to dress up, I was able to use the prosthesis but they're a bit of a nuisance to try and organise."

With the exception of refusing to wear a swimming costume, Marg takes pride in her appearance.

"I put makeup on every single day and yes, I do like to dress up," she says.

coraleliz