Nine years ago, at the age of 40, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

At the time, I was fit, healthy, going to the gym three times a week and generally doing all the things you’re supposed to do to look after yourself. Cancer wasn’t really on my radar, and why would it be?

Following my diagnosis, I had a lumpectomy, with reconstruction using tissue from my thigh, followed by 30 days of radiotherapy, and thankfully came out the other side. Since then, I’ve had annual mammograms and ultrasounds to keep an eye on things.

For the next eight years, everything was absolutely fine. To be honest, after that many years of reassuring results, it’s quite easy to start thinking of those appointments as just another thing in the diary. You turn up, get checked, receive the all-clear and get on with your life.

However, this year, nine years after my original diagnosis, those routine checks picked up further lumps in the same area.

Not quite the news I was expecting!

So here we go again…

Following further investigations and a vacuum-assisted biopsy (which, incidentally, is just as unpleasant as it sounds!), I was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, or DCIS for short.

For anyone unfamiliar with it, DCIS is a non-invasive, Stage 0 form of breast cancer. Essentially, abnormal cells are contained within the milk ducts and haven’t spread into the surrounding tissue.

On its own, DCIS isn’t life-threatening, but some cases can develop into invasive breast cancer if left untreated. The tricky part is that doctors can’t reliably predict which cases will progress.

So, while it’s obviously not ideal to be hearing the word ‘cancer’ again, I’m incredibly grateful that it’s been caught early and is contained.

As this is the second time cancer has been detected in the same area within nine years, both my original surgeon and oncologist have recommended that the safest option is a mastectomy followed by DIEP flap reconstruction.

Now, for those of you who haven’t heard of a DIEP flap (I certainly hadn’t!), it’s a procedure that uses skin and fat from your lower abdomen for reconstruction following a mastectomy.

It’s a pretty major operation involving my original surgeon and two specialist plastic surgeons, who will spend a considerable number of hours putting me back together again.

I can’t say I had “Tummy Tuck” on my bingo card for 2026, but I’m choosing to look for the positives!

So why am I telling you all this?

Back in February, Derek wrote a very personal article about his experience with prostate cancer, Broken crayons can still colour.

It has gone on to become one of our most-read articles of the year, and I think that says something.

We spend so much time talking about work, clients, pensions, investments, regulation and whatever else the financial services industry throws at us, but we’re not always quite so comfortable talking about the things going on in our personal lives. Particularly, it seems to me, when it comes to cancer.

When someone tells you they’ve been diagnosed with cancer, it’s not always easy to know what to say. Do you ask how they are? Do you avoid mentioning it? Do you pretend nothing’s happening?

And I completely understand that. Equally, when you’re the person going through it, you don’t want to make other people feel uncomfortable either (how terribly British!).

But the reality is that cancer affects people of all ages, from all walks of life, regardless of how healthy they might appear. Most of us have unfortunately been affected by it in some way, whether personally or through someone we know, and I think it’s important that we acknowledge that rather than treating it as something we can’t talk about. Because we absolutely can talk about it!

You see, in actual fact, I feel incredibly lucky.

Lucky that my annual checks picked this up. Lucky that it was detected at such an early stage. Lucky to have a brilliant medical team and such a supportive group of family, friends and colleagues around me.

And I think employers have an important part to play in this too. It’s all very well encouraging people to talk openly about their health, but they also need to feel comfortable doing so, without worrying about how it might affect their working life.

Again, I’m very fortunate to have that understanding at Panacea. Being able to be open about what’s happening, juggle appointments and know that the people I work with care makes an enormous difference.

So if sharing my experience encourages even one person to go for a screening appointment they’ve been putting off, get something unusual checked or simply feel a bit more comfortable having a conversation about cancer, then it’s worth sharing.

And please, if you’re having regular checks and everything has been fine for years, don’t assume you can stop going.

I had eight years of perfectly reassuring results. It was the ninth year that mattered.

There’s another part of this experience that I wanted to share, particularly given the industry we work in.

And that’s just how much difference having the right protection in place can make. I’ve paid into private medical insurance with Vitality for a number of years, and I genuinely cannot praise them highly enough.

In the space of three weeks, I’ve had 12 medical appointments.

Yes, twelve.

And when you’re trying to navigate all of this while still working full-time, being a mum to an 11-year-old and dealing with two completely chaotic spaniels, having things organised quickly and efficiently makes an enormous difference.

One of the things I’ve particularly appreciated is having a dedicated oncology support contact at Vitality. Having someone who knows what’s happening, understands where I am in the process and can help coordinate everything is a huge weight lifted.

I’m not constantly having to explain my situation to someone new, work out who I need to speak to or spend hours chasing things up. And I can’t tell you how much easier that makes life.

Of course, private medical insurance doesn’t make a cancer diagnosis disappear, but it can take away an awful lot of the additional stress that comes with trying to organise everything.

And when you’ve already got quite enough going on, that’s worth its weight in gold.

If there’s one thing I’d like you to take away from this…

Please don’t put off getting something checked.

Don’t assume that because you’re young, fit or healthy, it couldn’t happen to you.

Check yourself regularly, and if you’re fortunate enough to have regular screening or follow-up appointments, keep going to them, even if year after year everything comes back clear.

And for me, life (fortunately) goes on…

Real life doesn’t suddenly stop because you’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.

There are still emails to answer, meetings to attend, school things to organise, an 11-year-old who needs constantly feeding and two spaniels who couldn’t care less what’s going on as long as they get their walks.

There are obviously going to be some challenging weeks ahead, particularly with the surgery and recovery, but I’m feeling positive, incredibly grateful and determined to get through it with my sense of humour intact.

I’ll keep you posted as my journey continues…

Sarah Paul, Chief Operating Officer

Panacea Adviser