Milestones & a new name

Twelve months ago the world felt like a very different place. We had experienced a nationwide lockdown, endured toilet paper and flour shortages and had entered into the Covid era.

Lockdown presented an opportunity to spend time on projects

once delegated to the 'when I have time pile'. While the rest of New Zealand was making bread I channeled my anxiety into what I thought was going to be a short video series. The C Word was created as a way of connecting with other people at a time when we all felt so disconnected. I wanted to produce a resource that was accessible and relatable for anyone impacted by cancer.

(Image: a selection of the wonderful people featured on the C Word in the first year).

I feel pretty proud of what the show has achieved after just one year on air! A dedicated audience of fellow cancery people who seem to keep listening, making the finals of the NZ Radio Awards, I've presented at three online podcasting conferences about my experience of starting a podcast and I've had the honour of interviewing people about cancer.

Talking to people about cancer has helped me work through a lot of the aftermath of breast cancer. The C Word Radio has given me a chance to connect, to normalise my own experience and hopefully help others not feel alone in what they are going through. I want to keep creating episodes that allow people to feel seen and heard - I feel like I've only really scratched the surface of telling our stories!

I've learned a lot about how people experience cancer in the past year and I remain steadfast in my belief cancer isn't always a gift. For some people it is, my lovely guest Shona aka the Happy Lady is a great example of someone who took cancer as an opportunity to start-over.

For others (myself included) cancer has been a traumatic experience that alters you in a way that is hard to explain. Grief, changes in your body, ongoing pain, surgeries, infertility and fear of reoccurrence have featured in many of my guests stories. Aussie Elle Veitch captured how many of us feel in the title of her book 'Hey Cancer, Fuck You!'.

And the reality for so many people is cancer will take their lives far too early. One of my first interviews with Larnz and her wife Buffy hit home how bloody unfair cancer is. A feeling I revisited when I interviewed Canadian woman Libby Porter about living with cancer. Libby is unlikely to see her daughter grow up or reach her 40th birthday. My guests Andrew Young, from the Cancer Society, and Emma-Kate Woodham lost their beautiful mothers - something that leaves an unfillable hole in their families.

The C Word turns one during Matariki (the Māori new year) which is a time to māharatia (reflect), whakanuia (celebrate) and wawatatia (aspire). It feels like the right time to make some tweaks to the podcast, think about how to keep growing and how to reach more cancery people. One minor tweak will be to the name, The C Word Radio will be the title for the podcast, dropping 'Kiwis Talk About Cancer' as we move into a new season. Cancer is a universal experience and I love including stories from cancery people across the globe. Our stories connect us, create community that isn't bound by geography.

Thank you to all my guests, listeners and the people who have supported the C Word Radio in the first year. Here's to another 12 months of creating content for cancery people.

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