Meet Ellie! Her #OneWordForCancer for World Cancer Day 2026 is ‘transformation’. Here’s why…
Transformation
Noun: a profound change in form, appearance, nature, or character, a complete alteration, often from one state to another.
When I was asked to write this blog, it felt impossible to choose ‘one word’ for cancer. How do I begin to write about change, when in fact cancer changes everything?
When I was diagnosed with a Grade 4 Astrocytoma, an incurable tumour that had silently taken half my frontal lobe, the first questions from each doctor were the same. “Have you changed?” “Has your personality changed?” “Have your friends and family noticed changes in you?” Even last week, making casual conversation about cancer (if there is such a thing): “had you changed?”
My honest answer was no. There were no signs, other than a persistent headache. With the luxury of hindsight, however, after eighteen months of gruelling treatment, I have changed. I used to be afraid of small spaces, but after a dozen hours in an MRI machine, I feel safe in the cocoon. My body has changed: through surgical scars, weight- and hair loss (and regrowth), my appearance reflects the internal transformation. Admitting I wasn’t well enough to work – in a career to which I had tied so much of my identity – has changed me. Looking out at months, years, of nothing-time forced me to adopt new hobbies, revive old ones, in search of a way to find myself again. I moved home to live with my family, which changed me; learning to be a daughter again after so many years of living independently. Allowing myself to be cared for after years of neglecting myself. I’m more attuned with my body now; I listen to every creak and moan, for any potential sign that my cancer is growing. So far, it hasn’t, but I’m always on the lookout.
Cancer has transformed my family too, as they adapt to life with a chronically ill daughter and sister, facing grief they never imagined they’d have to confront.
Friends whom I thought would be with me forever disappeared, didn’t know what to say, didn’t realise how much I had changed. How much cancer was changing me. My relationship ended, my then-girlfriend unable to match the new levels of empathy I had acquired, and required from her. Eventually, I made new friends, met people I would never have crossed paths with before, and reconnected with people I hadn’t had (or made) time for.
My old life is gone. With every month that passes, the life and the ‘me’ before cancer feel further and further away. I grieve the ‘before’ Ellie, but increasingly celebrate and welcome the new one.
I’ll never be ‘grateful’ for cancer. Make no mistake, there is no silver-lining a disease which destroys countless lives each year.
What I do know, however, is that because of cancer, I am a different person. And I’m learning.
Click HERE to find out more about World Cancer Day 2026 at Shine. 🌎🧡
If you’d like to support #OneWordForCancer, share a selfie with our poster and a word that reflects your experience. Be sure to tag us or share with fundraising@shinecancersupport.org so we can add you to our gallery!
