Neurodiversity & Me: Autism, ADHD & Cancer
- Helen King
- Jun 6, 2022
- 2 min read
June is my cancerversary, my diagnosis with ADHD as an adult has been one of the most significant aspects of my post-treatment life! Over two episodes in June I'm talking to other people who have been through cancer diagnosis and are neurodivergent like I am.
In my latest episode, you'll be meeting one of my online friends, Denise Carter-Bennett (Ngāpuhi; Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei; Ngāti Hine), who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was eleven.
Denise is autistic and has ADHD and has faced a lot of medical issues in the past few decades! Her cancer diagnosis at such a young age had a big impact on her, now in her 30s she still grapples with side effects.
Denise shares how she has learned to advocate for herself with doctors and how she has learned to appreciate her body for all it has been through.
In this episode, we talked about:
How to deal with medical information that contains a complex health history
What is it like going through surgery, being diagnosed with cancer, having autism, and ADHD as a teenager
The mental and physical trauma of pregnancy after cancer treatment
Why it is important to have self and body appreciation after cancer; and
And more!
Listen here:
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Helen's links:
The C-Word Radio is a podcast that asks WTF does young cancer survivorship mean. If you got cancer and all you got was a darker sense of humor and PTSD join host, Helen King, and regular guests, for raw and at times inappropriate conversations about life after a cancer diagnosis.
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