INSPIRING YOUR ADVENTURE EVENING AT SNOW AND ROCK

A wonderful evening at Snow and Rock’s ‘Inspiring Your Adventure’ evening in Covent Garden on Thursday. Huge thanks to Snow & Rock for giving me such an amazing forum to share so many of my adventures.

If there is anything I wanted people to take away from the evening it was this: Don’t wait for a reason to do the things you love.
We shouldn’t have to go through a bad time before deciding to live the life we want to.

Catch the interview here – Greig Trout Snow and Rock interview – Planning your Adventure

A MAGICAL EVENING WITH MACMILLAN

A truly incredible and emotional evening talking to 200 amazing Macmillan doctors and healthcare workers at the Macmillan Primary Care Conference in London.
This wonderful charity gave me counselling during my worst time with PTSD and helped me realise that I wasn’t alone in feeling the way I did after surviving cancer.

It was an honour to be there and to receive a standing ovation was beyond amazing.

I am extremely grateful that this charity exists.

101 RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

I travelled to 23 countries over two years, saw some of the most beautiful sights on the planet, and went on some incredible adventures. But without a doubt, the time I spent helping other people was the highlight of my trip.

I recently had the immense pleasure of speaking to the guys at Young Gloucestershire. This wonderful charity supports disadvantaged young people (aged 11-25) who are facing challenges in their lives. They were such a great bunch and we had an amazing time. One of the many things I spoke about during my presentation was just how rewarding it was to be able to help others.

Inspired by this message the Young Gloucestershire gang later organised an entire day of performing 101 Random Acts of Kindness as a way of helping others and spreading the word about 101 Things To Do When You Survive. Dressed in their 101 shirts and jerseys the guys wrote and gave out inspirational notes, friendship bracelets, cakes and even hid gifts for people to find.

A huge thank you to Gemma and Young Gloucestershire for asking me to visit and for putting the biggest smile on my face – and on the faces of every single person they helped during their day of kindness.

You guys are amazing and utterly inspirational.

CLARINS WOMAN OF THE YEAR

A huge and proud congratulations to my beautiful and inspirational girlfriend, Jaime, for winning the 2016 Clarins Woman of the Year award.
Jaime has helped change the lives of so many people via her charity 52 Lives and is now about to help change the lives of thousands more with her new School Kindness Project.

If you’re not following 52 Lives then please do so – 52 Lives
Like her, it is filled with kindness, hope and love and will help you believe that this world really is a very kind and generous place indeed. I am so proud of her.

I AM NOT DEFINED BY MY MEDICAL HISTORY

Last week I had the honour of speaking at the Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine in London – an amazing event that attracts nurses, doctors and health professionals from all over the continent who descend on London to hear the latest from world class speakers at the top of their medical fields (….and then me!). I have given a lot of talks over the years, but this was definitely one of the highlights of my speaking career. It was the ideal platform for me to get across a message I feel so passionately about, and one that I feel is vital for every health professional to hear – particularly those advising people on travel.

Our medical history does not define us.

When someone is going through a tough time, facing serious illness, or intensive treatment, it is really easy for health professionals or friends and family to advise against travel. After all, it is in unnecessary risk…things could go wrong. What happens if you get sick abroad? What about medication? What about insurance? There are so many reasons not to travel. But it could also be the best thing you ever do for yourself, both physically and mentally.

On paper, I am a medical nightmare (cancer twice, one kidney, half a bowel, DVT, PTSD and in remission for bowel cancer). But 5 years ago, in my anxious/insomniac/post-cancer state, I was lucky enough to have an open-minded professor who could see that travel was the best possible treatment for me. His words of encouragement gave me goosebumps when I broached the subject of travelling “Greig, i think that is a marvellous idea.”

All of the potential problems I foresaw were overcome with some planning and preparation. I stocked up on medication, I took my INR device with me to test my blood as I went, I had 6 monthly checks up at hospitals around the world and most of all I listened to my body.

Despite my plethora of ‘problems’, I also found affordable travel insurance with an amazing company called Insurancewith.com , which was set-up by a woman who had had breast cancer and struggled to get insured for a holiday during her chemo. She later set up this amazing company.

My trip was without a doubt the best medicine I could have had at what was my worst time. But, as Ive said in the past, it wasn’t even just the trip itself that made me feel better. It was the months of research, route-planning, and excited preparation that lead up to it that started to make me feel better. And Ive retrospectively discovered why this was. Our brains can’t really distinguish between reality and imagination – so even just visualising yourself doing something you enjoy can be enough to release the feel-good chemicals in your brain. So by imagining myself on these adventures, doing amazing things, I was already changing my emotional state. And as my mental health approved, my physical health soon followed. My stress-induced eczema cleared up, I started sleeping – I was rediscovering my old self again.

Now I know that obviously travel may not be possible for everyone, either physically or financially. But if it is what you really want to do, I would just encourage you to have some long chats with your doctor about the potential risks and benefits. It could be the best decision you ever make.

For further advice and information on health travel please visit nathnac.net.

BACKYARD CINEMA

If you are a bit of a movie geek like me then this is something that might well make it onto your lists!

Backyard cinema was founded by a group of friends who started off showing movies in their back garden. It has now grown into something far bigger and even more amazing.

Backyard cinema is now a roaming theatrical cinema that shows a wide selection of films in a variety of iconic, unusual and immersive locations both indoors and outdoors around London. Often creating a physical world surrounding the movie using in depth set buildings, actors and live music, each show is turned into a unique experience.

This was my first time at Backyard cinema and I wasn’t disappointed.
Sat in deck chairs, my girlfriend and I watched Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet in an old church which was decked out in the same style as the church in the actual film. There was a full choir who took over when the musical parts came on screen singing classics like Young Hearts and Everybody’s Free which was incredible. They also have a bar and snack carts to help keep away those mid movie munchies.

I’m a movie geek at the best of times but this was an amazing movie experience in a mind blowing setting. If you’re ever in need of a couple of hours of feel good escapism then this is definitely one for your lists.

FUN, SUNSHINE AND HOPE AT RELAY FOR LIFE, SHETLAND

I first experienced the wonderful spectacle that is Relay for Life when I was asked to speak at the survivors’ lunch when I was in Sydney in 2014. It turned out to be one of my most favourite days. When you consider that when in Australia I ticked things off my list such as learning to surf, watching the sunset over Uluru and singing at the Sydney Opera House, it says quite a lot about just how special this particular event was.
Relay for Life Shetland was no exception. This weekend over 1300 people took to the track in Lerwick and helped raise over £127,000 for Cancer Research UK.. This is exceptional for any event but to be raised by a small group of islands with a population of just 23,000 people makes it even more incredible.

My Shetland experience started on the plane from Edinburgh where I got chatting to a lovely woman called Margaret. Margaret is a Shetlander born and bred and we chatted the entire way to these magical islands. In true traveller style we shared our life stories before actually finding out each others names. This chance meeting which Margaret believed was fate set the tone for the entire weekend and every single person I met was so warm and welcoming.

The Shetland Relay for Life is the biggest in Europe and only happens once every two years. Since it began in 2006, it has now raised over one million pounds for Cancer Research UK.
The committee chair for Shetland Relay for Life (probably the loveliest guy you could ever hope to meet and with the best beard ever) told me that it is the strong sense of community that makes it so special. Everyone knows one another and therefore knows someone who has been touched by cancer. So they are determined to do all they can to support their friends and help beat this awful disease.
THE BIG DAY AND NIGHT

Relay day started with a day gala where games and stalls lined the track and families from local towns and villages took full advantage of the blazing sunshine and blue skies. I even had shorts and my 101 shirt on so it must have been warm! I think working in the BBQ tent kept me in my shorts on a wee bit longer.

At 7pm the relayers arrived and I quickly transformed from summer gear into my winter gear and survivors shirt before giving a speech to over 100 Shetland cancer survivors. I also had the pleasure of meeting Wilma who was celebrating 50 years of being all clear. Wilma told me that when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 50 years ago there was no chemotherapy so she had to have a radical mastectomy and radiotherapy. Such a lovely and amazing woman who said she was so grateful to still be here.

Seeing over 1300 people then take to the track has to be one of the most incredible sights I’ve ever seen. People dressed in viking costumes and fancy dress all there to walk through the night in their relay teams and show cancer that hope is well and truly etched in the Shetland psyche.

In-between the amazing performance from the choir I then had the honour of giving a speech to the 1300 wonderful relayers at the beautiful and poignant Candle of Hope Ceremony. I spoke about my experience with cancer and the power of hope.
This ceremony is a way of celebrating those who have survived this awful disease and to remember those we have lost. I hope I did it justice. Relayers then walked around the track which is lined with beautifully decorated candle bags which are dedicated to those we have lost and to those still fighting. It is an incredible and emotional sight to see and once again a reminder of just how fortunate I am to still be here.

Relayers walked through the night taking it turns to hit the track before the closing ceremony at 07:30am where the committee unveiled the mind blowing fundraising total.

Meeting Martin and his wonderful fellow committee members who all devote their own time to making this event happen was pure joy for me. My trip around the world was so special because of the people I met along the way rather than things I ticked off my list. In Shetland I was once again blown away by just how kind and generous people are.
Everything you see in these photos from food to tents and chairs were all donated by local companies meaning that all money raised went to Cancer Research UK in the fight against cancer.

Huge congratulations to Martin and the Shetland Committee for their truly remarkable achievement and thank you for asking me to be part of something so special. Special thanks to Simon, Louise and Michelle from Cancer Research UK who helped make this all possible.

I’ve met a fair few people from CRUK now and I can safely say that they have the most incredible people working for them.

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I am still looking for more team members for Team 101 for the Ascot Relay for Life on July 16th so please get in touch if you fancy having the most wonderful hope filled weekend.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MY SURVIVAL STORY

A wonderfully produced video and interview about 101 Things To Do When You Survive from the inspiring guys at My Survival Story.
MY SURVIVAL STORY
Earlier this year I was interviewed by two very inspiring people from Switzerland.
Martin, a fellow cancer survivor and his fiancé Katarina are on a global mission to seek out other cancer survivors and share their stories as a way of inspiring others. They’ve called this project My Survival Story.
I am incredibly honoured to be part of this project and we would love to know what you think of this video. If you know anyone who may benefit from hearing about my experiences with cancer and PTSD then please feel free to pass this on.
You can follow their incredible journey and see more videos here :-
www.mysurvivalstory.org
Good luck guys. I absolutely love what you are doing.
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Click to watch video

A WHISTLE STOP TRIP TO BERLIN

A whistle stop trip to Berlin and the chance to spread the 101 message of hope! Love it! Mainland Europe…you’re on my list!;)
Next stop and another amazing place to add to my list – The Shetland Islands for possibly the most northerly Relay for Life in the world – 28th-29th May! Hope you can make it!
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THE EAST HERTS CRUK VENETIAN MASQUERADE BALL

On Saturday the 14th May I had the immense honour of co hosting and presenting at the CRUK Venetian Masquerade Ball in London.
Huge congratulations to the East Herts CRUK committee for putting on such a spectacular and memorable event. The night was packed with performances from legends galore from Ray Lewis from the Drifters to watching superstar actor Ray Winstone host the best and funniest live auctions ever.

My inspirational co-host, Rowena Kincaid and I were overwhelmed by the reception we received when sharing our stories and to receive standing ovations was

Myself and my family and friends were so honoured to be there and the amount of money raised for the ground breaking work of Cancer Research UK was absolutely mind blowing. Over 60K and counting!
Raising money by having fun! Love it!

All profits will be going to the revolutionary Francis Crick Institute which is about to make history and help the world beat this awful disease.

Hope to see you all there next year!