Journey-Serenity of Mind

05/11/2025

Face-to-face BRCafé.
Please come along
Anyone welcome
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11/10/2025

I NEED YOU!
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Right. Deep breath moment.
BRCAthrough™ has made it into the Top 10 finalists for the Rising Star Awards. 🤯

I’m not some big shiny brand with a team behind me. It’s just me — building something I believe needs to exist.
A space where BRCA+ doesn’t feel like a diagnosis that defines you, but a starting point for clarity, compassion and connection.

This work — and the bigger vision behind it, BRCare Connect CIC — is about creating something that fills the gaps I know too well.

Real, human support for people navigating life with a faulty BRCA+ gene. Because it’s not just about surgery or risk — it’s about identity, grief, family, and the messy bits no one prepares you for.

The judges’ scores make up 80%, and the final 20% comes down to public votes.
So if you believe this is something worth building — something the world actually needs — I’d love your vote! Xx

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https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/survey/e6l8bybZUrvBZQsz9ceu

I am the first name on page 4! Xx
Simply click through, select and submit.

🗓️ Closing Date for votes is the 7th November

It takes seconds, but it could help bring this vision to life.

Thank you for seeing the value in what I’m trying to do. 💛

Let's make this shiFt happen!!
Nicky
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I consent to Flamingo Business collecting and processing my details for the purpose of administering the Flamingo Business Awards 2025 public vote. Flamingo Business will not share your data with third parties except where necessary to run the awards. By submitting this form, you agree to receive th...

02/10/2025

If you're unsure how to check your lymph nodes, some very good tips from a lady who's been there....👇🩷💚💛

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Lx2MbDXDg/

01/10/2025

There I was, just having a go, and suddenly I’m laughing like a kid again. And you know what? That’s the bit BRCA+ will never take from me – the fun, the silliness, the spark that makes me me.

Life throws some pretty heavy stuff at us, but it doesn’t get to steal our laughter. So if you needed a little nudge today – go and do the daft, joyful thing. Dance in your kitchen, sing badly in the car, grab a hula hoop if you’ve got one! It really does make everything feel a bit lighter.

Chatting the messy shiFt, always. — Nicky xx
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This pic was taken at the BRCA+ Chat event in London 2025 😊

28/09/2025

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28/09/2025

25/09/2025

You know what Jakey’s got nailed? The art of the pause. She just sprawls out in the sunshine without a second thought — no guilt, no to-do list running through her head.

When you’re BRCA+, it feels like there’s always something hanging over you — appointments, choices, those heavy ‘what ifs.’ And because of that, it’s so easy to forget yourself and just keep powering on.

But here’s the thing: you can’t pour from an empty cup. Taking a breather isn’t selfish — it’s survival. It’s strength. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is flop on the sofa, close your eyes, and give yourself permission to rest.

So if Jakey can do it without shame, maybe we can too.💜☕

24/09/2025

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You know that “Recalculating…” moment when your sat nav suddenly thinks you’ve gone off route?
That was me after surgery.

I looked down at Gone-zo and Well-hard (yep, that’s what I call my foobs) and thought, hang on — this isn’t where I was meant to end up.
They looked different and they felt different, and my brain just couldn’t make sense of it.

Turns out there’s a proper name for that feeling: body schema disruption.
Basically, your brain holds a “map” of what your body looks and feels like. Surgery changes the body overnight, but the brain doesn’t redraw the map that quickly.

So you’re stuck with the old GPS insisting, “Turn left!” when the road ahead has been completely rerouted.

That’s why you can feel like a stranger in your own skin. It’s not you being dramatic — it’s your nervous system catching up with the changes.

What helped me was something therapists call pendulation. Think of it like dipping in and out of the tricky roads, not camping there. I’d start with something steady — like my feet on the floor or my hands round a cuppa — then, just for a moment, notice the foobs, however odd they felt. Then come back to the safe bit.

Safe → foobs → safe.

In and out. Like letting the GPS reroute slowly until it finds its bearings again.

So if you’re sitting there, map all over the place, wondering why you feel lost in your own body — please know this is a real, recognised thing. And there are gentle ways to help your brain and body find each other again.

One recalculation at a time. 💜

Chatting the messy shiFt, always. — Nicky xx
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https://brca-through.co.uk/quick-links

22/09/2025

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ShiFt Happens- BRCAthrough™ The Noise is supporting...

🎇CoppaFeel🎇
UK's only breast cancer awareness charity for young people. They are on a mission to get every 18-24 year old to check their chest ( . )( . )!

Check them out here and support if you can 👇
https://coppafeel.org/

Some stats for you:

In the UK:

🩷 1 in 7 🩷 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

🩷 Around 2500 🩷 people under the age of 40 are diagnosed with breast cancer every year

🩷 Nearly 400 🩷 men are diagnosed every year

📢 Early Detection and Prevention is key
Help us spread the word

Chatting the messy shiFt, always. — Nicky xx
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21/09/2025

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BRCA+ comes with its challenges, but I’ve been learning to see the “+” as more than just a genetic marker. For me, it’s also a reminder of the positives that have come through this journey — the strength I didn’t know I had, the connections with others walking a similar path, and the resilience that keeps me moving forward.

🩷 The phoenix symbolises that rising — even when it feels like I’ve been reduced to ashes, there is a way back.
💛 And the dandelions remind me that resilience isn’t loud or perfect. It’s quiet, persistent, and deeply rooted.

So yes, BRCA+ is part of my story… but so is Positive Resilience.

💭 If you think of the “+” in your own life — BRCA-related or not — what 'positive' could it stand for?

Chatting the messy shiFt, always. — Nicky xx
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https://brca-through.co.uk/quick-links

17/09/2025

🌳So there I was, mooching round Sewerby Hall gardens, near Bridlington, and this monkey puzzle tree stops me in my tracks. Magnificent tree! So, I am positioning myself to take this photo.

Lool at these spikes, like they are shouting “don’t you dare touch me.” And I’m stood there thinking, yep, that’s exactly how I feel some days.

But then — and this is the bit that got me — I spotted a single little raindrop clinging to one of the spikes. Can you see it?
Just sitting there, delicate as anything.
My first thought was, well, that’s me too. Spiky as hell on the outside, but carrying this tiny fragile bit I don’t always let anyone see.

There’s actually a model that explains this really well, called Internal Family Systems (IFS) by Richard Schwartz, that says we all have different “parts” inside us, a bit like voices.

Some are like the Managers 👩‍💼: those are your spikes that plan, organise, keep things under control. They’re the part of you that’s booking the hospital appointments, googling every possible outcome, and keeping everyone else calm.

Then there are the Firefighters 👩‍🚒: still spikes, but the reactive ones. They jump in when things get too much and try to numb it all down, whether that’s with scrolling, overworking, or a glass of wine too many.

And then… the little droplet💧. That’s what IFS calls the Exile. The part carrying the fear, the grief, the “why me?”. The bit you don’t always let anyone see.

What I love about this way of thinking is it shows that all of these parts are trying to help. None of them are wrong. They’re all just doing their best to protect you.
But it feels bloody exhausting when they’re all shouting at once.

So these days, instead of fighting with myself, I try this: I stop, take a breath, and go, “Right, I hear you, Manager, thanks for keeping the ship steady.” Or, “Cheers, Firefighter, I get why you’ve got me scrolling.” And then I try to let the droplet have a say too — even if it’s just whispering “I’m knackered” while I sit with a brew.

It softens the spikes. Makes me feel a bit more whole. Like maybe I don’t have to choose between being strong or being fragile. Maybe I get to be both.

Know what I mean?
Great picture though, right? Xx

Chatting the messy shiFt, always. — Nicky xx
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