Julia Bradbury : Breast Cancer And Me | Interview with Julia Bradbury

Can you tell us about your documentary? Is it very different to your previous documentaries?

This is completely unlike any other documentary or television series I have made before. I wasn’t expecting to make a programme about myself like this: my cancer diagnosis was a real shock and out of the blue.

I started keeping a video diary on my phone, because I’ve always been candid about things like mammograms and say, my endometriosis, to spread awareness.

I spoke to a very good friend of mine, Rachel Innes-Lumsden. We have worked together a lot over the years, and we instantly discussed the possibility of this becoming a documentary. Rachel is not just a good trusted friend, as Director of Programmes at Twofour, she’s also a respected colleague. She took the reins to act as executive producer in a cautious, very caring way. We knew that we could be sensitive, but still make something powerful that could raise awareness. It got commissioned quickly – and of course time was of the essence because my whole diagnosis was moving forward rapidly.

It’s an emotional intimate look at my experience of breast cancer. It’s very focused on the impact on my family and friends. It’s personal: it’s not meant to be the definitive breast cancer documentary, we aren’t trying to answer all questions about breast cancer, it is my story. But because of my curious mind, and my grounding in television journalism, I have been asking a lot of questions along the way.

This is me, asking questions for myself, rather than for everybody who has had a breast cancer diagnosis: I have learnt that all of our breast cancers are very different. Our experiences are different, our treatments are different, the types of breast cancer women get are different.

Can you tell us about your diagnosis?

I had been watching a lump that I had discovered almost two years ago from self examination. I went to get that lump examined. The results came back as micro cysts, something worth watching, but not malignant. A consultant suggested it might be prudent to have another mammogram one year later and nothing showed up. The lump was still there, a little bigger, and painful to touch. Pain doesn’t always mean you have cancer; you really do have to be a little bit instinctive when it comes to things like breast cancer. I wanted to be absolutely sure it wasn’t something dangerous, because of the circumstances and because I have dense breasts, which make cancer harder to spot. Cancer shows up as white on a mammogram, and dense breast tissue is mainly white on a mammogram too. It has been described as looking for a snowflake when it’s snowing. Because of this, I had an ultrasound too. That’s when it was discovered. Very quickly after that I had a biopsy and cancer was confirmed.

What helped you through your journey?

I’ve always found enormous healing power and nurturing power in nature; it’s definitely been a wonderful companion for me throughout this entire experience. It was very important in my life before, and if anything, it’s even more important in my life now. Every day since my operation, even when I was feeling incredibly tired, I have been outside every day, even if that’s just sitting in the garden.

Nature has been very important, but number one is my family. I have an incredibly close, warm, loving family. I have young children, who are my motivation to help me through this. And having the loving comfort of a secure family is something I feel very, very grateful for. That, alongside my friends. I’m very fortunate.

Gina, my elder sister, has always looked out for me, and it has certainly tested her to the max during this episode in our lives.

I would say to people, lean on your friends, lean on your ‘framily’. I consider myself to be a strong, independent, positive person, but I’ve needed every ounce of love and support and care that I have had along the way. I don’t think putting a brave face on is the best thing for any of us in situations like this. I would say to anyone, take any help you have with an open heart.

If you need external support there are amazing charities out there like Maggies, Breast Cancer Now, Macmillan, Pink Ribbon Foundation…the list goes on. The charitable infrastructure in the UK is incredible.

Have you learnt anything about yourself since your diagnosis?

When you first hear the words ‘you have cancer’, you can’t help thinking about death. I have definitely felt fear, I have definitely felt vulnerable through this whole process. But with that, has come a new awareness of my emotions and my feelings and the realisation that it is OK to be vulnerable, and to give in to it a little bit. That’s something I have learnt about myself. Before my cancer diagnosis I found it hard to give in to vulnerability.

And of course, it just makes you full of gratitude. With every positive step you take you feel grateful that you are moving forward. I think it has built my resilience too. And it’s taught me that I have to take care of myself. I fully understand what that means now. When you’ve had a shock like this, it brings everything into sharp focus. Although I would have considered myself a healthy person before this diagnosis, I realise I wasn’t as healthy as I could have been and I should have been. That’s not to say I’m blaming myself – or anything that I have done – as a reason for my cancer. But I do think we can all too easily take our bodies for granted. We’re amazing machines – how we can renew, repair and regenerate. We can exercise to gain muscle, help digestion. We restore our bodies and brains overnight when we sleep, we can fight off colds, expel toxins, renew hair and nails. We truly are incredible. The body is absolutely phenomenal, but it is very easy to take all of those amazing things for granted. I realise now I wasn’t eating as healthily as I could have been, I was definitely over-indulging too often when it came to sweet and sugary things, and not really thinking about a balanced healthy nutrient rich diet. We are bombarded with ads for quick, convenient, sugary foods – that are packed with emulsifiers, colourings and preservatives – even when they have the words ‘natural’ ‘healthy’ on the packaging.

Exercise has become even more important to me now, because the well-known benefits around exercise for prevention and reoccurring of cancer are huge. It’s really motivational, you are talking big percentages, if you exercise regularly, exercise every day. Movement, exercise, yoga, walking, taking the stairs instead of taking lifts, walking to your appointments, any opportunity to move to, an opportunity to help the body function the way it can, when it’s treated with respect and given the right fuel. That’s been a big lesson for me.

You always champion fresh air, and healthy living for mind and body. What are your top tips?

I’d encourage people to get outside every day. Get to the park, get to a woodland, find the least polluted walk in your town or city and get out for a walk. Being in daylight, even on a grey, miserable rainy day, is incredibly good for you. Light is measured in lux levels, and lux levels when you are outside, even on a grey day, are thousands of times higher than they are inside with artificial light.

In the space of a generation, we have become indoor humans, and our bodies need daylight to sustain our health. When we’re in sunlight, the melatonin in our bodies decreases. This helps us wake up in the morning. In the absence of sunlight, our melatonin levels rise, making us sleepy or lethargic. Getting sunlight at the right time of day can lead to a better night’s sleep. Daylight helps the body create Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. We need these nutrients to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.

If you have mobility issues or are in a wheelchair – you can still get outside. Movement of any kind and exposure to the outdoors can really reset your body and can be incredibly good for your mental health too. If you really can’t get outside – grow something. Connect to nature somehow.

If you are tied down to a desk and looking at a screen all day, take regular breaks, even if it’s a five-minute break, look out of a window, taking your gaze off into the distance. These breaks are really important and valuable to us.

Do you have advice for anyone that has or had a condition which has changed them physically in some way?

There isn’t a silver bullet, any one thing that any of us can do, that gets rid of our worries and makes us super-human healthy human beings. I would say be aware of ‘self’ and looking after yourself. Taking time out every day. I’ve started meditating. I meditate every day now.

Focus on taking care of yourself and your family as best you can. It doesn’t have to be radical.

What are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to seeing my children grow up.

A very good friend who sadly died of breast cancer, said this about getting a cancer diagnosis: ‘Before or after a breast cancer diagnosis, there isn’t a single person on this earth who can tell you the day that you are going to die. So, treasure every moment, move forward with as much positivity as you can, take care of yourself, enjoy the things that are important to you.’ My children, who are young, are the most important, precious things in my life, so every single moment that I have with them from here on in is a moment to be treasured.

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