“It was really helpful to speak to other people with cancer.”

Lucia E, 25, who lives and works in London for a management consultancy, is a keen traveller. In 2023, she enjoyed several fantastic holidays, including to India, Holland, Germany, The USA and Portugal. She even joined a charity trek to Romania.

This was all the more special because Lucia was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2021. It wasn’t a straightforward diagnosis, as COVID was still impacting everything, and Lucia had contracted COVID at the time. After several months, however, a lump on her neck and a persistent cough that refused to go away meant that Lucia attended several appointments with healthcare professionals and underwent many CT, PET, and MRI scans and x-rays. The cancer was detected just before Christmas.

2022 saw her undergo steroid treatments and intense chemotherapy, causing her to feel unwell and extremely run down. It was shortly afterward that Lucia, who loves to play the piano and draw illustrations of real people, (mainly wearing sunglasses, as she hasn’t quite mastered drawing the human eye), attended several Look Good Feel Better workshops.

“The skincare and make-up workshops for young adults meant that I was able to interact with others of my age in the same situation. It was really helpful to speak to other people with cancer.

“The workshops were really useful in preparing me as to what I could expect, such as losing my eyelashes and how to look after my hair when it would grow back with a different texture.

“I loved the goodie bags and the products are a real treat to use. I savour using them, even now. I still also refer to the guidebook, too, so it has been really worthwhile.”

Lucia is now in remission and is back at work full-time. She is looking forward to a year packed with exciting travel plans. We wish her all the best for the future!