Speaker • Author • Storyteller
Speaker • Author • Storyteller
For as long as I can remember, all I’ve ever wanted to do is to help people. It’s why I became a breast surgeon. It was ironic that I ended up getting breast cancer. Twice. I was forced to retire at the age of 45 and had to find a new purpose in life.
By speaking and writing about my experiences as a doctor and a patient, I’ve been able to change the landscape of cancer care. I talk about the things that no-one else will. Sex, death and exercise. My mission is to help cancer patients cope with life outside the hospital by showing health care professionals that it’s the little things that matter
For as long as I can remember, all I’ve ever wanted to do is to help people. It’s why I became a breast surgeon. It was ironic that I ended up getting breast cancer. Twice. I was forced to retire at the age of 45 and had to find a new purpose in life.
By speaking and writing about my experiences as a doctor and a patient, I’ve been able to change the landscape of cancer care. I talk about the things that no-one else will. Sex, death and exercise. My mission is to help cancer patients cope with life outside the hospital by showing health care professionals that it’s the little things that matter
COMPANIES WHO HAVE BOOKED ME AS A KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
“Liz speaks with the strength and raw honesty that she is known for. Her story – as a surgeon, a cancer patient and as a woman – is, as ever with Liz, an inspiration”
RUTH MAY
ENGLAND’S CHIEF NURSE
“Liz speaks with the strength and raw honesty that she is known for. Her story – as a surgeon, a cancer patient and as a woman – is, as ever with Liz, an inspiration”
RUTH MAY
ENGLAND’S CHIEF NURSE
APPEARED IN
Under The Knife
All I’ve ever wanted to do is help people – from the age of seven, I knew I was going to be a doctor. Surgical training was hard. Have you ever wondered what it feels like to literally hold someone’s life in your hands? The highs were life-changing, but the lows were worse.
Surgery was a man’s world. Sexual harassment and bullying were commonplace. By the time I reached my thirties, I was ready to quit. The mild depression I’d had at medical school got worse and worse. Two things helped – antidepressants and alcohol.
I thought I knew everything about breast cancer.
I was wrong.
Despite being a breast surgeon, I still bought ten books when I was diagnosed myself. Although my medical team told me what would happen to me, it was other patients who told me how to cope. I realised how much more I could do to help patients in the future.
I co-wrote The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control with Professor Trisha Greenhalgh, another doctor and breast cancer patient, to help patients and their families as they go through treatment.
