RALEIGH ALUMNI GLOBAL CONFERENCE

“Never underestimate the impact you can have as an individual. The ripples of your actions will spread further than you can ever imagine”.

This was my closing message when addressing the Raleigh International Global Alumni conference last weekend.

Speakers from all around the world attended the event to inspire positive social change and action. Raleigh was thing no.3 on my list and without doubt one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of my life. I was extremely honoured to be the closing speaker at this wonderful event and very proud to be a Raleigh Alumni.

Definitely one for your list!

Through all of my experiences – with cancer, with my list and with my two years of travelling, the biggest lesson I have learned is that life is not about the places I’ve been, and my happiness does not come from ticking things off a list. It’s about people, and love and kindness. My greatest sense of fulfilment has come from people – volunteering, working alongside good people, doing things to help others and , above all, sharing life with those you love.

So get out there gang, and do some good. It is the best self-help medicine there is.

A VERY SAD WEEK

It is with great sadness that I write this post to let you all know that both Rowena and Ali sadly passed away this week. They were two of the most incredible and inspiring people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

They were given just a short time to live when first diagnosed but both have lived years longer than doctors predicted. In that time they showed us all that a terminal diagnosis doesn’t have to be the end of life but can be the start of a new life.

Ali and her incredible family have fundraised tirelessly for cancer research and she was the inspiration in setting up a Team 101 at this years Ascot Relay for Life.
Rowena inspired thousands of people with her television documentary about life with terminal cancer and her laugh and positive energy infected everyone who had the honour of meeting her.

I had been visiting Rowena in her hospice these past two months and it has broken my heart to see her in such pain. The only comfort we can take from their loss is knowing that they are now free from any pain and suffering.

Our love and thoughts are with the families of these amazing girls who will stay in our hearts forever.

NEW BIKE, NEW CHALLENGE

Ladies and gents, please meet the newest member of the 101 gang…..my brand spanking new bike!
I need some ideas of what to call it so please let me know of any suggestions you have? A good bike should have a name!

Those of you who have followed my adventure for the past few years will know that in 2014 I took part in a charity bike ride in the states called AngelRide. It was the first and, up to now, the only time I had ever been on a road bike.
I fell in love with cycling and Angelride turned out to be the most incredible experience of my life.
I have sworn ever since that I would get my own bike and also added a couple of cycling challenges to my list, one being to cycle from John O’Groats to Lands End, which I hope to complete next year. The other is to cycle across the USA….date still to be announced for that puppy!

I had hoped to complete John O’Groats to Lands End (the length of Britain) this year but my fitness and motivation took a bit of a knock this so I decided against it until I had adequate time to train for it. Especially when Andy, the team leader for Team 101 in the USA presents me with a map of what he thinks we should do! Yikes! We may have to modify those timings a wee bit Andy……or a lot!;). My haematology doctor may have a fit if she saw that!

Anyone who watched my interview on the BBC this week will know there are a couple of little physical issues caused by my life saving treatment as a child that make my idea of normal slightly different to that of others.

The main ones are the blood clot I have in the vein that takes blood back to my heart and the others are scarred lungs from radiotherapy and a bit of an aged heart caused by the chemo.

The good news is…. I visited Bristol Royal Infirmary last week and had myself a little MOT to see how the old lung and heart are doing.
An Echocardiogram and a lung function test showed that they are a wee bit under the normal scale but that there was nothing to worry about. It also seems that these little issues can be massively be improved upon with regular exercise! I also met my vascular surgeon on Tuesday who pretty much said go for it and then suggested doing a triathlon! 🙂 Love it!
So gang, I am going to be on an adventure of fitness and cycling for the next 9 months which I plan on sharing with you as a bit of a rehabilitation research. This will also include info on nutrition, rest and coping with fatigue…something I struggle with after exercise.

Due to my messed up circulation system I struggle to run as blood can’t get back to my heart quick enough so my leg swells up and I get dizzy, but cycling is low impact which means it’s perfect for someone with a deep blood clot like mine. I wont lie -i’m super scared of riding on roads but hopefully I’ll get over this with a bit of practice.

So hear goes, I’ll be taking her out and about for the first time this weekend so i’ll let you know how I get on.

A huge thank you to Sales Filter, insurancewith and Snow and Rock for becoming sponsors of Team 101. I can’t thank you guys enough.
The plan is to achieve something incredible, raise a lot of awareness for all things cancer and mental health related, inspire lots of people and hopefully raise a bit of cash for charity.

Let the riding and fitness extravaganza begin!

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.

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.
X
Click to watch video

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

Get ready to squeeze a little something extra onto your lists gang.
When my friend Fifi first asked me if I wanted to spend the night at the Science museum in London I thought she was having a bit of laugh.
It turns out she wasn’t joking at all and we both got the chance to live out a childhood dream, and spend the night in an actual museum.
The Science museum in London has now started opening its doors at night in an incredible all night long science extravaganza called Astronights.
Astronights starts at 7pm and ends at 09:30 the following morning and is packed with workshops, exclusive access to galleries, a three course meal, an Imax movie showing, breakfast and best of all…. setting up camp and sleeping between the exhibits and displays in the world famous London Science museum! Both Astronights and the Science museum in general cater for those with disabilities so this is suitable for the everyone.
Have a look at the website for more details and see below for the 101 experience –
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/…/nighttime-eve…/astronights

THE 101 EXPERIENCE
Our night started with a cheeky free drink before being allocated an area of the museum to sleep in. With around 200 people there, everyone is split into groups and given an exhibition area to sleep in. Fifi and I, like kids in a candy shop were almost too excited but being responsible grown ups, we opted for the display nearest the toilet and the water station. 🙂
We laid our sleeping bags underneath a display monitor in the space section on the second floor. Amazingly, a lovely girl called Megan, who I met when I was in Nicaragua was there with her boyfriend and had set up camp right next to us. The world really is a small place after all.
We then took part in two interactive and educational workshops which were amazing, followed by the worst three course meal you could ever imagine. Great service but very bad food which was the only downside of what was an amazing night. With free reign to explore different parts of the museum we got to choose which workshops and displays we visited.
We decorated bags, checked out some other hands on work shops but my favourite part by far was a torchlight exhibition led by two actors who played inventor Thomas Eddison and the first woman to fly solo across the atlantic, Amelia Earhart. This was incredible and the actors were amazing. If you go, definitely check out this part of the night.
At a half past midnight we all grabbed our (price included) popcorn and drinks and sat back for a private showing of the new Star Wars film on the enormous Imax screen which was mind blowing. This ended at around 3:30am and then it was a compulsory few hours sleep before breakfast and access to the morning De Vinci exhibition.
Despite the evening meal, this was an incredible experience.The staff were absolutely incredible and really made this experience what it was. It’s not cheap at £180 but keep your eyes peeled for deals near the time of the event and you should be able to get cheaper tickets.
It’s fair to say it was an exhausting but incredible night. Learning whilst having fun. Best combo ever!
The best part of all though was spending this time with my gorgeous friend Fiona. She is probably the loveliest person you could ever hope to meet and one of the very first supporters of 101 Things To Do When You Survive. Fifi had a cake sale to help raise money for me when I was still in the planning stages and I will be forever grateful to her.
A huge thank you to Fifi for this amazing night at the Science Museum but most of all for all her support and friendship over the years.
I hope you guys get to do this one day.
X

WHAT’S ON YOUR LIST?

Firstly gang, a huge thank you to everyone who has bought a 101 T-Shirt or Hoodie so far. Thanks to you, we raised a remarkable £1820 for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation in memory of a beautiful little girl called Claire who sadly lost her life to this awful disease. I was absolutely overwhelmed with the response and can’t thank you enough.

As wonderful as it was raising this money for such a wonderful cause, that was the not main objective of getting the 101 T-Shirts out there.

The grand plan is to use the 101 T-Shirts as a very much unneeded excuse to get you guys out there ticking off your own ‘to do’ lists, taking cool photos with your 101 tops on and perhaps sharing your stories to help inspire others.

I have received a good few blogs and photos from some of you, which I’ll be sharing very soon, starting with the amazing Vicki Connerty who I had the pleasure of accompanying on a 10 day road trip of the mighty Scotland. As you’ll read, this is a place that should be on everyone’s lists.

Some of you sent in photos of yourselves wearing your T-Shirts which was wonderful, however the plan is to get you out there doing the things you love – it might be something on your to do list or might just be something you love doing and that makes you happy.

I, like so many, only decided to follow my dreams after recovering from cancer for the SECOND time no less. I was so fortunate to have been given a third chance at life which allowed me to really go out there and do the things I’ve always wanted to do.

We shouldn’t need any excuse to do the things that make us happy so get out there and have some fun and share your experience with us.

A new 101 T-Shirt campaign will be starting very shortly for those who haven’t got one yet but for those who have got them, please stop wearing them to sleep in and get out there and use them to have some fun!

If you’d like to share your experiences, suggestions and 101 photos then drop me a line at greig@whenyousurvive.com

Can’t wait to hear for you! Have a great weekend everyone.

Photo sent courtesy of the beautiful Sean, Lisa, Annabelle and Holly who took this whilst enjoying the beautiful view at Princess Bay in Wellington, New Zealand.
Annabelle is off to University this week so the gang have spent some valuable family time together before she goes.
I had the immense honour of spending Christmas with this beautiful family when I was in New Zealand and they made it one of the most special christmas’ ever. New friends and family were made for life.
Love this photo so much. Thank you so much guys. Good luck Annabelle! X

HAPPY WORLD CANCER DAY

I’m not going to lie when I say I hate the word cancer. It fills me with thoughts of suffering, pain and worst of all fear. Considering I’ve had 29 years to get used to it since first being diagnosed at age 7, hearing that word hasn’t gotten any easier.

But when I think about one of the many reasons I shared my story in the first place, I am reminded of that wonderful little thing called hope. I shared my story to show others that cancer can be beaten and that there is a joy filled and fulfilling life after cancer.

Survival rates of cancer are on the increase gang. More people are surviving than ever before. Thanks to new research, new treatments, improved surgical techniques, early diagnosis, better nutrition, psychological support and more hopeful and inspiring success stories to boost people’s inner belief, we are beating cancer into the ground.

I sit here today on World Cancer Day as a two time survivor with some of my bowel missing, one kidney, a blocked main vein and a few mental scars but all things considered, I am in pretty good health. Even when in remission for bowel cancer I managed to travel around the world for two years. The body is an amazing thing.

I know people who have incurable cancer who are still here years after their diagnosis and living life to the full. They show others that there is also life during cancer.

Cancer isn’t the guaranteed death sentence it once was once thought to be and when I think of current survival rates and what I’ve been through personally it fills me with hope and optimism for the future. There is still a lot of work to do especially on the likes brain and pancreatic cancer but we are on the right track.

This blog was all about doing fun things and enjoying life again. Not just for people affected by cancer but for everyone.

Today on World Cancer Day I treated myself to one of my favourite things in life….having a coffee in a coffee shop. It’s a simple thing but one I am very grateful that I can still do and enjoy. I also took time to remember the friends I have lost to this awful disease. I promise you all to live the best life I possibly can.

I hope you all managed to pick up a unity band from CRUK, Anthony Nolan, Breast Cancer Care or Movember and I hope you are having a great day today doing something that you enjoy in life.

Love and thoughts to all those who are currently fighting this awful disease. Keep fighting and never stop believing.

I woke up to this wonderful message today which I think sums up what today is all about. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this Kate. You made my day.

‘Hello you wonderful guy. I just wanted to send a message and say that I am thinking of you, more so today than on other days.. I am thinking of your past struggles and how you have seriously kicked c’s behind. You are strong, a fighter, a giver, a hope-carrier…and i am damn proud to know you.

I am also thinking of Vicky and Row…may Vicky find her direction and may Row stay strong-willed and strong-minded but above all positive, goodness knows she has enough reason not to.

For all of those you and I know and/or have heard of, who have fought and won, or fought so bravely but sadly lost…you are all amazing and in my thoughts.

All of you are so amazing and you Greig, you have made me a little less frightened of what might be one day, a little stronger-minded with regards to fighting. Life is for the living. I hope you hold your head up high, stick your middle finger up at C, take a huge deep breath and have a great day.

With love and bear hugs. xxxx’

Breast cancer awareness

My amazing friend Vicki Connerty has written this wonderful article for a well known website in Australia.

Entitled ‘Hair is overrated’: A pragmatists guide to breast cancer. It is a very honest and inspiring account of Vicki’s current fight with Breast Cancer.

It is a beautiful piece of writing and one every one on the planet should read and be made aware of.

Please read, like, share and tell others about its wonderful content.
Well done Vicki. This is wonderful and I am in no doubt will help 1000’s of men and women around the world.

http://www.debriefdaily.com/health/diagnosed-with-cancer/

My most favourite thing so far

As my trip draws to a close I’ve had many people ask me what the best thing on my list has been.

My answer without hesitation is Thing #60 – Angelride.

At the end of 2013 I was invited to take part in this ride by an amazing guy called Andy Heaps. Andy had seen my story and challenged me to take part in a bike ride in the states. Angelride is a 140 mile bike ride across the state of Connecticut which raises money for a camp for seriously ill children. Andy wrote to me at a time when my story was getting a lot of press around the world and as a result I was getting a lot of emails which made it difficult to reply to them all. Andy’s email just blew me away and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. He spoke with such passion about this amazing event and its cause that I knew I just had to do it. I agreed to do this year but I suddenly realised I would be in Asia and probably wouldn’t have the funds to do it then so I cut my trip short in South America and flew up from Brazil to the states with three weeks to go before the 2014 Angelride.

He rightly said in his email that the camp Angelride raises money for is everything 101 Things To Do When You Survive is about. It was about fun, inspiring others and letting people know that they are not alone. The Hole in the Wall Gang camp provides a safe place for seriously ill children to go, have fun and be with other children who are going through the same thing as them.

Although, we do need a few blasts of treatment now and then I truly believe that fun and laughter are the best medicine. The mind is the most powerful tool we have so we need to take care of it by remembering what life really is about.
Tests have shown that these kids leave camp with a higher count of disease fighting white blood cells than when they arrive. That’s how powerful these experiences are.

I was fortunate enough to be a volunteer at the camp in the week that children with sickle cell disease were there. I got to see first hand just how much the Hole In The Wall Gang camp does for these kids and it was so lovely to see that it was worth every exhausting second I spent on that bike.

This place is pretty much a hospital disguised as an adventure camp.

Angelride was originally set up to help with the medical costs for one of Lynn’s friends daughters called Angel. Angel not only got better but has just become a nurse. She is an amazing girl.
With Angel all better the Angelride now raises money specifically for the hospital outreach programme of the Hole in Wall Gang camp where they take the fun to kids in hospital who are too sick to go to camp.

A visit from one of these guys will definitely put a smile on any child’s face no matter what they are going through. I have seen first hand what a life of fear can to do a persons health both inside and out and it’s not good. $50 (£25) of your money will ensure a sick child gets a visit from the Hole In Wall Gang.

So why was this my favourite thing?

Anyone who has had chemo will tell you there are a good few moments where you wonder if you’ll ever get your energy back. If you’ll ever be ‘normal’ again. I’ve struggled my whole life with any type of physical excursion so to ride 140 miles over two days with one weeks training was one of the biggest things I’ve ever achieved.
I honestly felt invincible afterwards and in the locker room I asked my big bro to capture that moment with that photo of me with my top off. Although I don’t really have the body to pull off a pose like that I can honesty say at the time I felt like I was strongest person in the world. I was so proud and for days afterwards I felt the best I’ve ever felt.

Although the ride itself was extremely difficult I had the motivation of not only the unwell children I was raising money for but I also had my big brother riding next to me and my beautiful mum waiting for me at the end. It had been a year since I had last seen them both so this was extra special.
Best of all though we’re the people I met whilst I was there. I had flown up from South America to a place where I knew no one at all. I was given a place to stay, food, equipment, the biggest hugs you’ve ever heard of and a bike!

On the ride itself I peddled every inch of the way. A rule my brother and I said I would keep to but even if I had walked up the hills it wouldn’t have mattered. It took me 10 and half hours to complete the first day and I rode into camp with the 24 strong motor support crew behind me beeping their horns and a couple of hundred people to cheer me on at the end. I was exhausted physically but it was my emotions that broke down first and I fell into the arms of lovely Lynn who is organiser of Angelride. They are some of the most wonderful and generous people I have ever met.
Thanks to you guys I managed to raise a total of $5000 for the Hole in the Wall camp and next year I’ll aim to raise even more when I use Angelride as the start of my challenge to cycle across the USA unsupported. (Mum and dad…. I’ll explain more to you about this when I speak to you….I haven’t actually told them about that yet!;)

Team 101

I can’t make this year’s Angelride as I will still be away but Andy will be there and has created ‘Team 101’ which he and a team of 6 other legends have modified to make it even more challenging. So instead of 140 miles, Team 101 (complete with team 101 kit will cycle 110 miles through the night from upstate New York to Connecticut where Team 101 will meet the rest of the Angel Riders at the Hole In the Wall Gang camp where they will complete the last day together. In total they will cover an overall distance of 250 miles. They have called this modified ride ‘Hills of Hope’. Love it!

It’s an amazing feat and one I hope will inspire others.

Last year I was used as an example of someone who has a few health issues and who had never ridden a bike before giving the ride a shot. This year has again been a very severe winter and as a result many people have not registered for the ride because they feel they haven’t trained enough.

Video of my angelride experience

I made this video for my fellow Angel Riders to hopefully inspire others to register for the ride and to show people what a wonderful cause the Hole in the Wall Gang camp is. In this video I explain why the ride meant so much, along with footage of the ride, my big finish, some of the amazing people I met but more importantly you’ll see footage from the Hole In the Wall Gang camp. This is what it’s all about:-

Sponsorship

As I can’t make this year’s ride I promised Team 101 that I’d help them fundraise for this wonderful cause. I would be so grateful if you could sponsor the guys to complete this incredible challenge. I can promise you the money goes directly to providing a very sick child with an unforgettable experience.
You can sponsor them here and also read the reason why they chose the name Team 101.

https://www.crowdrise.com/andy-angelride2015

Thank you so much gang and good luck to Team 101 and all the other legends taking part in Angelride this year.