Breast Cancer awareness month runs in October and we have teamed up with Richmond-based psychotherapist and cancer counsellor Karin Sieger to do just that: raise awareness and increase understanding of the disease.

In this first piece Karin explains why it should matter to you.

Because cancer is becoming more common, and in the UK breast cancer is the most common cancer of all. If you don't get it, you might know someone who does. If so, what to do and how to cope?

In the UK, 1,000 people are diagnosed with a type of cancer every day; that's one person every 2 minutes. People born since 1960 will have at least a one-in-two chance of getting cancer over their lifetime. That means all of us have a high chance of being affected by cancer - either by developing the illness directly or knowing someone else who has.

Breast cancer is the most common kind of cancer, followed by prostate, lung and bowel cancer.

You might already be part of the statistics or know someone who is. Both apply to me: I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and then again in 2018. I also have relatives and friends with cancer or who have died of cancer.

I am Karin Sieger, a BACP registered and accredited psychotherapist based in Richmond.

Supporting people affected by chronic, life-changing and life-shortening illnesses like cancer is an area I specialise in - locally and globally. I also write on the topic and have a podcast Cancer and You.

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When I was first diagnosed I knew very little about cancer or breast cancer specifically. Like most I thought it was about finding lumps (which I did), losing our hair (which I did first time around) and possibly having a mastectomy (I tick that, too). During my first treatment I also suffered from significant side effects, could not work for a year, and generally did not feel part of the wider society, lost self-confidence and anxiety was all consuming.

Then, I did not know that men can develop breast cancer, too (1 in every 100 cases in the UK) and that the illness can spread to other parts of the body (eg lung, liver, brain, bones).

I have learnt many things about this illness and treatment options. Most of all I have come to appreciate the impact of cancer on our emotional and mental health.

I have become a firm believer in that when ill knowing what to expect mentally and how to cope can make a great difference to our wellbeing.

In a series of 3 articles exclusively written for Richmond Nub News I will share some of my insights with you:

• "You have breast cancer." How to cope with a diagnosis (and rediagnosis)
• Remission! Why coping with cancer does not end with treatment
• Coping when someone else is diagnosed with breast cancer. Top tips for family and friends.

We would be delighted if you would like to write for us. Just click the Nub It button on our homepage, add your copy and photos and we'll take it from there.