Glamour Article on Body Confidence - SU2C Photoshoot

Body confidence and I have never gone hand in hand. I grew up constantly worried what people thought, uncomfortable in my own skin, constantly trying to change it and avoiding so many clothes and activities because I never thought my body was ‘good enough.’ Even as I reached my mid-twenties my biggest concerns have always been my body. So to couple my self conscious inner workings with a cancer diagnosis, I struggled.

My name is Georgie, I’m 27 and in 2018 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I discovered a rather unusual lump on the side of my neck whilst at work, it didn’t hurt or bother me in any way (aside from the fact it was about the size of a plum), and after some wise words from colleagues I made a GP appointment. He was quick thinking and went through the symptoms for Lymphoma. Lump in neck, check, severe itching, check, flu like symptoms, weight loss, night sweats, fatigue, check! I was fast tracked through so many different tests it would make you dizzy and was diagnosed 2 weeks later with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My newly found hitchhiker had made its home in so many places that I went in for my first chemotherapy the day after being diagnosed!

During my 6 months of chemotherapy I watched my hair fall out followed swiftly by my eyebrows & lashes, had so many new scars I could play dot to dot and each week I continually gained weight thanks to the medication. It got to the point where I no longer recognised myself in the mirror, I couldn’t see ‘me’ and for a long time I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror without bursting into tears. Cancer had stolen my identity. The body I already wasn’t the biggest fan of was morphing into my worst nightmare and there was nothing I could do about it. 

One of the hardest parts ironically was reaching remission. Nothing snapped back to the way it was before. I had spent years disliking my body and now I would give anything to have it back! 

Slowly the sprouts started to grow, I started exercising and I was fuelling my body with everything healthy but I didn’t gain any body confidence, it had only evolved into more unhappiness that my body let me down and I still looked ‘different.’ 

Unfortunately a few months later I relapsed and it took having cancer a 2nd time for me to start appreciating my body and to realise how much it was doing for me. My body needed me on its side not against it, after all this is my home. This doesn’t happen overnight so when I got the call to do the photoshoot with Alex Cameron for Stand Up To Cancer my initial reaction was ‘no chance, no one would want to see me in the nud!’ Then I had a moment of clarity, this is about  celebrating my body, appreciating the skin I’m in and seeing beauty and strength I possess.

Never in a million years did I ever think I would have the confidence to do this but I stripped off, got snapped and its the best thing I have ever done. I don’t like to give cancer the credit for anything but it was the catalyst to why I’m now confident in my own skin. It has taught me life is too short to be negative about my body, I want to see the beauty in it instead.

My advice to anyone going through something similar is to try to get into a habit of giving yourself positive affirmations. Thank your body for being your home, thank it for carrying you, thank it for all the work it is doing - say it out loud if you need to.  Don’t compare yourself to others, you’re on a totally different journey. Smile, seriously, look in the mirror and smile - you are beautiful.