An extract from Christine Hamill‘s B is for Breast Cancer has featured in a Red magazine article entitled ‘What I Wish I’d Known About Breast Cancer’.

The extract, headed ‘I wish I’d known… how to talk to family and friends’, reads:

“I tried to handle my diagnosis alone until a nurse said, ‘By keeping this cancer quiet, you’re depriving yourself of support and help.’ She was right. It’s emotionally draining to tell individual friends and family members the same distressing news over and over, so a good idea is to invite friends over (separately your family) and tell them as a group. Family and friends are significantly impacted, so telling them together means they can support each other and mobilise themselves as a group to help out.”

B is for Breast Cancer is out now. Grab your copy here or, better, via your local bookshop or Bookshop.org.