“The Before...."

originally shared November 2018, 10 days post diagnosis.

 I feel I need to go back a bit, to set the scene.

I feel this is relevant to highlight some of the areas of our life that are important to me, and that will no doubt crop up again and again as topics going forward and so that you know if any of this is going to be of interest to you too.

its cool if not.

my love of water, swimming and surfing ( watching more than doing currently) as an ex comp swimmer, my home is in water- any really, pool , sea , lake. I have ahuge affinity to all things related to the ocean and am happiest when I’m near it

gentle parenting, simply, the not leaving your child to cry, still supporting them with fierce boundaries but getting to understanding them and their emotions on their level. the language we use with our little ones is vital to their early sense of self worth. don’t get me started

essential oils as primary healthcare– best decision I ever made to turn to natural therapeutic grade doterra essential oils to stop us all getting ill and finally sleep. the emotional and physical support we get is off the chart, so I also now work supporting hundreds of families to do the same. This is my love and my passion and no disease will ever stop that

sleep -where the above all began. it wasn’t something we did for about 3.5 yrs following the arrival of my gorgeous boy. I now specialise in this area of oily support for anyone that needs it.

rockstar nutrition to feed a family all the things that an utter non foodie has learnt along the way through self education and awesome nutrition education rich friends , the disasters, the triumphs of removing sugar and mostly being paleo- Paleo-ish is a thing you know! The homemade imperfectness of it all. I’m now embracing and loving a Ketogenic food plan- I don’t use the word diet for a reason- more on that to come.

sugar free-ness– my sons intolerance , raaaaaaa behaviour, how we learned to cut it, replace it-  plus sugar feeds cancer so that’s #metoo- lots more on this to come.

juicing how to get energy when you have non. How to get a serious amount of  live and vital nutrition into you in one glass- rather than an hour of eating a huge plate to achieve the same thing. All learned from my juicy oracle and Sister in Oils Mairi Taylor.

breast cancer– yeah, so that’s a new one to me but I’m learning lots and just so you know – its gonna crop up- a lot! what is also gonna crop up is how all the surrounding topics support me on this path and how we stay strong and get through.

Swearing its going to happen, it helps me feel better about the above, plus I know I can use certain words in a well placed sentence and get my point across with as bit more oomph- if you are of a sensitive nature, either skim read or this isn’t for you – with love x

Fashion and body shape as a creative soul and having spent eons in the fashion industry, despite my revoking its practices, I have the need for colour and looking/feeling nice coursing through my veins. I wont sleep in mis matched pj’s. I will be bringing my own style to cancer as much as I do or choose not to, on any other day. Weirldy, ironically its taken me years to be ok in front of a camera, but it is already a coping mechanism that has kicked in and I’m not going to ignore it. I’m upping my game in survival mode, and already planning the wigs and the outfits with matching headgear- how utterly superficial right? This is how I appear to be managing the stress of impending hair loss and having a boob removed, make everything else as lovely as poss. lets see how this plays out. Walk with me and lets see. This renewed sense of self image is not related to body size or shape and boy that’s a whole blog on its own, but it will crop up. My 20 year battle with my curves is over. It’s over. It ended the day they said “cancer” and its such a relief, but why did it take this for me to fully appreciate and celebrate what I have? if nothing else dear reader- please rock what you’ve got.

Music– the fabric of our lives – I joyously married into the family Vontrap, literally,with a number of actual rockstars in our midst and serious talent. I had a jazz drummer as a granddad, an Aunt who can literally play anything by ear and parents that raised me on gospel, folk and pop,  I also have a deep rooted connections to awesome tunes for emotional support, dancing like you never did and laughing a lot. Despite never mastering a instrument, I choose my voice as mine. My everyday is music rich when I remember to upgrade the washing up/cleaning experience and most often my nights are completed by the sound of my wonderful husband playing guitar and singing.

rejecting chemical crap and plastic in our home- without levels of perfection!! sometimes my husband buys fairy liquid and I may get fruit in a plastic container- keeping it real but striving for the best we can do ok? Green cleaning, plastic reduction and chemical free body/beauty products are another huge passion of mine- so I teach workshops on these topics too. I love them, I love the women that gather around my table or online and I know that they go away changed, with more knowledge and education about their personal spaces and routines than they imagined. When one woman leaves my class knowing she wont buy another plastic bottle of toxic cleaning crap to harm her, her family or the environment- my job is done- in reality, they all do, and its not only one plastic bottle that’s no longer being bought, its a lot more. That is my mission- education and showing everyone how to make simple changes step by step.

Dream Team those around me that make it all ok. more than ok, on any given day. These are now huddling just that little bit closer and I love them for it. You’ll get to know them I’m sure. Just a heads up on what I mean- emotional support, practical support , recipe advice, oily back up, kids playdates, kick ass biz coach, cleaner, hair, nails,  yup even all the things that I’ve not bothered about for a while, I’m going to treat myself to to help keep me feeling ok when I am not. I think of them as my dream team  and for whom I know once this shit is over- I’ll be forever indebted. Jeez that’s gonna be a whole load of playdates and spa vouchers! laughing a lot now.

me..in addition to the above, I don’t accept negativity, have spent the last few years ensuring I’m surrounded by great people and try to hold up my side of that bargain too. I’m blessed to be surrounded by powerful kick ass bestie friends of women, that all bring immense knowledge and talents in their own right – see above -each will be lifted up and celebrated as we go as I’m sure as hell going to be tapping into their super powers in the coming months.

I’m a crazy in love mummy of my boy who’s 5 and my hubster Mark. They are my world. my heartbeat and who unfortunately are having to come with me on this not bargained for rollercoaster ahead.

I love my family, who are miles away but I get super power support from when they aren’t near, but who I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing more of soon. I love their resilience and no B.S natures that helps us all when the shit goes down- this isn’t the fist time we’ve had challenges and it wont be the last. we are made of tough stuff, but know how to have a good cry, pick up and move forward- very useful and empowering.

I’m dedicated to providing education to those who want to find natural alternatives in Therapeutic grade essential oils,  raising our  boy with my Mark our way, teaching him to surf and spreading the oily love. Just happens that I’m now doing this with the un invited guest of the big C, and along side my naturally infused lifestyle of oily healthcare, non processed food, chemical free cleaning products, body products and make-up , I also have to accept that modern medicine and the biggest dose of chemicals available legally to man is about to save my life too .

lets just sit with that for a minute..

if the above has peaked any interest in you, wonderful, see you soon

big mwah

Be Well, Stay Well

Rachel x

Present Day June 2024

It's made me smile today reading this- smiling back at her, but also knowing she had no clue what was ahead. I love her optimism and her sense of calm- this was 10 days after my diagnosis....

Survival mode- I can spot it a mile off now, I sense it in my clients before we even meet.

Survival mode, Phase 1- from the moment of diagnosis to the end of active treatment- this is the mode that keeps up moving forwards, and the one that leaves its mark over any other.

What I loved about reading this was that all of the principles I lived by then, plus a few more, were exactly what got me through my treatment and gave me the ability to thrive too.

All of this is in my access any time programme 7 Columns of Cancer Care, and if you would like to learn more about thriving through treatment and negating many side effects, reach out..

You can contact me via email : [email protected]

big love, again xxx