Caring for Cancer, the Real Journey

I was married to my best friend for 12 years before he was given the diagnosis of stage 4 gastroesophageal cancer in 2018. He passed away in 2019 after a life-changing journey.

This is my uncensored real-life journey of caring for someone with cancer and how I coped with the emotions and expectations surrounding bereavement and grief.

It is written using real thoughts and feelings and based on factual events. It provides a raw insight into the pure emotions experienced on a day-to-day basis and how, ultimately, I used those experiences to forge my way through bereavement and onto an inspirational journey of finding hope, encouragement and a renewed lust for life.

In my journey, I sadly lost the love of my life but I also gained a new outlook on my future by finding a way to create a ‘new normal’ despite my life changing. If you are going through a similar situation, I hope this book will show you that you are not alone and that the thoughts and feelings you go through are very real. I also hope it shows that despite the darkest of days, it is possible to remember the ones we lose with courage and a determination to turn something so difficult into a life of purpose and hope.

This book offers a real-life insight into the cancer experience from the carer’s perspective. However you read this book, whether you be a carer yourself, a family member, a friend or a medical professional, it can offer a profoundly inspiring and unique insight.

Born in Alnwick, Northumberland in 1977, Joanne Goodwin-Worton has lived in Staffordshire most of her life surrounded by her family and friends. Jo is an extremely proud mother to two grown-up sons, Lewis and Oliver.

Jo married her late-husband in 2008 but it was in 2018 that her life changed irreversibly when he was diagnosed with Upper Gastro-Oesophageal Cancer. What followed was an extraordinary and brave leap of faith into a new way of living, including a new career, going back to university to complete a degree and ultimately finding love again.

Jo’s journey showcases her tenacity and stoicism for life and her commitment to living life to the fullest and ultimately using her experience to help people who become a carer of a loved one with cancer and/or experience bereavement.

Jo was married to her best friend for twelve years before he was given the diagnosis of stage four Gastro-Oesophageal Cancer in 2018. He passed away in 2019 after a life-changing journey including his diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

This is Jo’s uncensored real-life journey as a carer through the cancer pathway and how she coped with the emotions and expectations from his diagnosis to her bereavement and grief.