*It is cancer awareness month, we hope to draw attention to the experiences of survivors*
A few years ago I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer; I must admit it threw me off-kilter. However, rather than wallow in self-pity I decided to mark my new life with a rather bold statement. I waved goodbye to a career in law and embraced the world of poetry. Having just self-published my debut book “Memories of A Poet, My Road, My Recovery”, an eclectic mix of poetry and a short story the moment I am given the diagnosis, I feel it has given me much zeal to carry on writing, well for now anyway.
So why poetry? In all honesty, I’m really not sure. I don’t think I set out in search of poetry but somehow poetry found me. My early childhood memories were rooted in all things poetry. I remember a dear neighbour reading Shakespeare’s sonnets to me and how I have always felt the soul of poetry very close. At university, I decided to dabble in poetry as you do, enamored by John Keats, yes nothing quite like a romantic poet. This time I was audacious enough to write one of my own, which surprisingly was printed by United Press London in 2010 in a titled called ‘Book of Dreams’. But it’s not until the cancer is discovered that the long-dormant seed of poetry that lay rest is allowed to resurface and which I believe acted as a catalyst to my recovery.
My approach to my cancer was neither to fight it nor to be aggressive towards it, quite the contrary. I decided to nurture it and I did this by writing poetry and keeping a journal of all my personal thoughts whilst going through the motions. I read poems to my cancer and spoke to it. I can’t begin to tell you the therapeutic nature of doing this. This made me reconnect to the Qur’an on a deeper level as it too is written in a melodious and rhythmic way. Hence, we are told of the healing power of the glorious Qur’an which I was also reciting to my cancer. At no point did I feel depressed as often is the case for some people who struggle accepting a cancer diagnosis.
Related
Islam, creativity, and Lights of the Quran: The Poets
Journals to help you get started with that idea
Connecting the Dots
As I came to terms with my cancer I noticed I was beginning to connect to childhood memories. Majority of my memories as a child were happy and often left a big smile on my face. As I started connecting to memories which were coming rather quickly and often vividly I decided that I should capture some of them if not all in poetic form of course.
That’s exactly what I did I starting writing poetry from a memory which not only kept me busy during my recovery but mentally kept me stimulated. It is very difficult to describe what it’s truly like to be diagnosed with cancer, but one thing is for sure you feel very humbled and you instantly connect with injustices. The back end of 2016 saw the total destruction of Aleppo. I remember watching a special documentary featured on the Channel 4 News, which showed a young girl in a hospital which was attacked, it had such a profound impact on me that I promised the little girl that I would write about her; the poem titled Aleppo can be found in my debut book “Memories of A Poet, My Road, My Recovery”.
No One Knew
Oh and there’s one more thing, I didn’t divulge to too many people about my diagnosis, five to be precise. I took the stance that this adversity was truly mine; I had to own it and make decisions conducive to my well-being. At the back of my mind I did feel that I would get a chance to talk about it but how and when was solely down to my Creator. Everything has an allotted time and I guess it was 2018 that I would finally get a platform to talk and share my cancer story to not just BME communities but to humanity at large, cancer is indiscriminate which is why we should reach out to all and show a caring nature no matter what the adversity.
If it wasn’t for my cancer I truly believe I may never have taken to the path of creative writing. So here’s what I want to say to my cancer; thank you for opening my eyes and showing me a new path in life!
I am a firm advocate for anybody who is going through adversity to try something creative. Let yourself immerse in whatever it is you like, whether it’s sewing, gardening, pottery, painting the list is endless. You need something to concentrate on other than the adversity and you have complete autonomy to decide what that is. Just watch your creative flair take you to new heights, nurture and heal you.
By opening up about my cancer I am hoping to encourage more BME people to talk about their adversities and also encourage them to write about them. We need to leave a positive and encouraging legacy for our children to follow and a narrative which they feel they can connect to, engage with and learn from.
I have since set up my own bespoke poetry business which can be found at www.poetrybysheenapoetrybyname.
Sheena Hussain
Author, Sheena Hussain, from Bradford has recently taken up writing as a profession. This came after her cancer diagnosis which gave her a Compelling thirst to write poetry. Her debut book released in February 2018 “Memories of a Poet, My Road My Recovery” features a collection of poetry and short story the moment she is given the diagnosis; available on Amazon. She is the owner of bespoke poetry business www.poetrybysheenapoetrybyname.com.
