When Suzanne Digwood lined up with seven other Shropshire women to fight for a drug the NHS was refusing to pay for, she was battling for her life. She needed Herceptin to help beat breast cancer and staged a determined campaign in which she knew the stakes were high.
She was the first to go public with her plea for help to win the best chance she had of beating the disease.
Soon more women were stepping out of the corners of Shropshire to say they too were not willing to give up just yet even if the health authority was making the path they were travelling all the more arduous.
Suzanne, a farmer’s wife and mother to three children, is not afraid of hard work and she’s not afraid to lead the way. What she is afraid of is ever taking life, or more importantly the parts of her life most dear to her, for granted ever again.
It’s why she’s determined to make the most of her second chance at life. And that’s exactly how she sees it.
Suzanne and her fellow breast cancer sufferers celebrated victory in their Herceptin 4 Shropshire Now campaign although her treatment was paid for by generous fundraising. Thanks to those dedicated supporters, she is well on the road to recovery.
Meeting her for coffee at the Bellstone in Shrewsbury, she is fresh from a visit to the hairdressers and she looks fantastic but it’s not simply an hour or so in the stylists chair which has given her this air of confidence. She looks relaxed, happy, contented and healthy. A miracle few hairdressers can conjure up alone.
She admits that she now has a lot to look forward to but it’s not just thanks to the Herceptin.
Joining her for our meeting is Sue Barker, not one of the Herceptin campaigners but a woman who has also faced the nightmare of breast cancer and has now emerged the other side.
Sue also has enough enthusiasm for life that it makes you wish it was catching.
Both maintain they have seen the light and the error of their ways in those past lives - the one where breast cancer had not had the chance to focus their priorities and banish those everyday worries that now seem so trivial.
Instead they have grasped an opportunity to take control and to do exactly what they want to.
Suzanne and Sue are among a growing number of women who have opted for a lifestyle which suits them and in which they feel they are the ones in the driving seat.
Control becomes very important when you have fought a disease which robs you of any sense that you can decide what’s happening in your future.
Now in network marketing for Forever Living products, one of the world’s largest distributors of aloe vera-based products for health and beauty, they feel they have found a way to win back making all the choices they want, when they want.
“I had chemotherapy and I was on the Herceptin when I was facing the prospect of going back to work as a nurse in September 2006,” said Suzanne.
“I had no energy and could hardly cope getting through a whole day without feeling shattered so I really didn’t know how I would cope going back to work full-time and trying to keep up with three children.
“My youngest Harry was only 12 months old and I also didn’t want to go back. I wanted to be able to spend time with my children and time in my home enjoying the important things in life.
“Then someone suggested I try the aloe vera gel from Forever and drink it every day. The results were fantastic. I felt great and had got back to the energy levels I had before I had cancer.
“I believed in the products so much I knew it was the best way of making a living while keeping the lifestyle I wanted. I have not looked back. I feel great and the business works in such a way that I can do as much or as little as I want.
“My brother is getting married in Brazil and I now can contemplate going because I can afford to.”
Sue is also determined to live a more stress-free existence after she was re-structured out of a job as a television executive in 1996.
“I like this business because it is about helping others to live a better lifestyle,” said Sue.
“It’s not just retail. It is about people and I think if you are a good listener and good with people you can succeed. Because part of Forever Living is to talk through all the products with your customers and being part of a team.
“Suzanne is part of my team and I really enjoy working in this set-up. I feel that at last I can make a real difference to the lives of others and no-one can take that away from me again.”
For more information on Forever Living contact 08444 530904
Share this article:
What are these?