A breast cancer patient’s journey – Blog Post 7 – Telling the family that I have breast cancer

Ruth Taylor
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Ruth Taylor, 45, is a mum of two who was diagnosed with breast cancer back in May 2016. We are honoured to share her journey from initial diagnosis, informing her family, through to chemo and radiotherapy. She hopes to raise awareness and educate others about breast cancer, while firmly kicking cancer back where it belongs. This is the seventh instalment in her guest blog.
So, now that we knew what we were dealing with, we started to think about who we should tell and when. I didn't necessarily want to keep it a secret, but at the same time I certainly didn't want to broadcast it via a Facebook post! Thoughts went to immediate family. Laura was in the middle of her exams and there was no way I was going to jeopardise those. She was also due to go to Mannheim in Germany at the beginning of July and I wondered how she would cope being away staying with a family she had not met before, when see knew I was ill.

Start the conversation: Men’s Mental Health

Administrator
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Recent high-profile campaigns, documentaries and spokespeople like Stephen Fry's 'The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On' (BBC One) and retiring England Cricketer Jonathan Trott have launched the subject of Men's Mental Health into the public spotlight.
Some surveys suggest as many as 1 in 4 of us suffer from mental health problems each year, and 75% of all suicides (caused by a variety of mental health issues) in 2015 were men.

Betty Tebbs: Farewell to Manchester's finest

Gillian Cooper
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It was a month in which the issue of gender equality returned firmly to the spotlight as hundreds of thousands took part in Women's Marches across the globe. And so it seems especially poignant that January 2017 also saw the passing of one of the cause's biggest champions - Betty Tebbs.
Bury-born Betty was just 14 when she got a taste for what would become a lifelong campaign to improve working conditions.

Where there's a will...

Gillian Cooper
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It's not something we like to think or talk about, but leaving clear instructions about how we want our property and possessions to be distributed after we've gone deserves more attention. If you're among the majority who hasn't already drawn up a will, the following may offer serious food for thought...
So why do we put off making a will?

#HeartUnions - Durham Miners' Gala

Gillian Cooper
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We’re looking back on key events in union history. In this blog post, we cover the Durham Miners Gala.
Famed for its rousing colliery bands, bright banners and for being one of the biggest trade union gatherings in the whole of Europe, Durham Miners' Gala occupies a special - and prominent - place in the trade union calendar.

#HeartUnions Week - Burston School Strike

Gillian Cooper
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To commemorate Heart Unions Week, we’re looking back on key events in union history. In this blog post, we cover the Burston School Strike.
What's your most enduring memory from schooldays? Coming second in the 200m sprint on sports day? Taking the lead in the annual drama production? Or how about kicking off the longest strike in history?

#HeartUnions Week - Chainmakers' Festival

Gillian Cooper
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To commemorate Heart Unions Week, we’re looking back on key events in union history. In this blog post, we cover the Chainmakers’ Strike in 1910 and the Chainmakers Festival.
1910: the year Old Trafford was opened, George V succeeded to the British throne, and the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath in the Black Country won minimum wage following a ten-week strike, effectively doubling their pay.

'Women underestimating their financial importance'

Gillian Cooper
Insurance news
21/08/2014
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Failure to take out income protection or life insurance cover means many UK women are inadvertently putting their families' financial futures at risk.
According to a report by insurance group Aegon, working women are not considering the implications of long-term illness or premature death on their nearest and dearest.