“Take My Hair But Not My Humour”

An Exeter mum is supporting FORCE from the proceeds of a bestselling book about her cancer journey.

In Take My Hair But Not My Humour (One Mum’s Journey Seeing Off Breast Cancer), Emma Davies tells her remarkable story.

It’s a Bridget Jones style diary of her cancer experience that combines information and practical advice with dark humour plus “a few sweary bits!”

The book chronicles the highs and lows and all the bits in between.

You can get it via lightboxblogger.co.uk and £2 from every sale will be coming to FORCE. Good luck Emma and thanks for your support.

You can follow her on Facebook or Instagram

Our friends at Devon Live have taken up Emma’s story. You can read Anita Merritt’s feature below or go to the Devon Live website.

Exeter mum is an Amazon bestseller with her very honest ‘C bomb’ diary

A breast cancer survivor who posted a job vacancy for ‘chemo sitters’ while undergoing treatment has become an Amazon number one bestseller after publishing a Bridget Jones style diary book about her health battle.

Just two months after celebrating her birthday and having begun working her way through a ‘40 things at 40′ bucket list, Emma Davies was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The mum-of-two, of Exeter, who had only been back at work for six months following maternity leave, woke up one morning in June 2019, and found a lump out of the blue.

Two weeks later she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer which Emma describes as ‘the scariest day of my life’.

It accounts for about 10 to 15 per cent of all breast cancers, and differs from other types of invasive breast cancer in that they grow and spread faster, have limited treatment options, and a worse prognosis.

It is considered an aggressive cancer because it grows quickly, is more likely to have spread at the time it’s found and is more likely to come back after treatment than other types of breast cancer.

It meant it was straight in with 16 rounds of chemotherapy, or ‘the poisoning’ as Emma, who is renowned for her dark humour, refers to it. Emma decided the cancer could take her hair, but it wasn’t taking her humour.

She recalled: “I immediately sent a text message to my friends and family dropping the ‘C bomb’, but making it clear it was business as usual, and not to mind their P’s and Q’s, and continue to engage with me through humour.

“When my phone started lighting up like a Christmas Tree, I started using my WhatsApp groups and created a new work one ‘ED fan club’ in an attempt to manage my phone. This evolved into mini blog updates where I started a hair sweepstake, and kept everybody up to date with my funny tales.

“Once I even put out a job vacancy ad for ‘chemo sitters’. Before the night was out, all my treatment slots were filled with friends and family willing to get creative in ways to pass the time.

“I was always looking for positives in those crazy times. My ‘chemo sitters’ were fab, each trying to outdo the one the week before. Games, snacks, crafting, bingo, a full set of gel nails with all the kit plugged in were just some of the highlights.

“My husband Darren and our two children Toby and Chloe were the reason I kept looking for the positives and never entertained the idea that the treatment wouldn’t work. Toby was five, and Chloe one, when I was diagnosed.”

In January of this year, Emma had a lumpectomy, ‘the chop’, and by the end of that month was told she was cancer free.

However, she still required five rounds of radiotherapy, ‘the frying’, just as Covid lockdown was kicking off.

Emma’s regular ‘cancer comms’ prompted people to encourage her to write a book which she has now self-published titled Take My Hair (But Not My Humour): One mum’s journey seeing off Breast cancer.

Emma said: “The book came about because I was journaling for myself. I found it cathartic to get it all out of my head. I realised through my story I could reach out and help others.

“It’s always been a dream to write a book, and ironically cancer gave me both the time and the topic.

“It’s a chronological journey of one year in my life; a mum to two young kids seeing off cancer on her terms using her silly and quirky sense of humour to get her through.

“Plot spoiler; I am currently cancer free and in remission, and I have returned back to work. I’m now a lawyer by day, and author by night!”

The book was self-published on October 1, and became an e-book number one Amazon bestseller by the following day. 

Emma is donating £2 from every paperback sold to Exeter-based Force cancer charity due to the support they provided to her and her mum.

She is keeping the ebooks at £1.99 on Amazon for the duration of October in support of breast cancer awareness month.

To read Emma’s blog click here

To buy an ebook click here. Paperbacks are available on Amazon, but Emma has special edition copies with photos available for the same price directly from her or by emailing emma@lightboxblogger.co.uk