Inspirational speaker and cancer patient comes to Bristol for Penny Brohn workshop on March 6th
Posted on: 01 Feb 2018Sophie Sabbage, best-selling author of The Cancer Whisperer is coming to Bristol to host an uplifting talk and workshop at cancer charity, Penny Brohn’s national centre on Tuesday 6th of March 2018.
The strong lady lives by her famous words “I have cancer – cancer does not have me.”
She is a regarded author, speaker and patient activist who supports others facing the disease.
After discovering she had lung cancer in 2014, she was spurred to achieve her lifelong dream of becoming a writer.
Her best-selling book, The Cancer Whisperer, has motivated thousands worldwide to take charge of their health by listening to their illness instead of going to “war” with it (the metaphor often applied to cancer).
“I’m a wife to the love of my life, John, and mother to our daughter, who we waited many years to have. She was conceived against considerable odds and was nearly five when we received the news. To be faced with leaving her at such a young age was a source of unimaginable grief. I was told I’m going to die, but I wanted to live, to raise her. Within days of diagnosis – the survival plan began, the grasping at a future I wasn’t ready to relinquish and the instinctive need to keep it quiet for as long as possible. To hold it close.”
This was the quote that prompted Sophie to become an expert in her illness, ultimately choosing to integrate conventional and contemporary treatments:
“Exceptional patients refuse to be victims. They educate themselves and become specialists in their own care. They question the doctor because they want to understand their treatment and participate in it. They demand dignity, personhood and control, no matter what the course of the disease,” Bernie S Siegel, MD.
Sophie not only aims to highlight the mental and emotional aspects of having cancer, but also wishes to encourage people to talk about their fears. She says: “If we don’t take hold of our fear, fear will take hold of us and run the show.”
Sophie still has cancer, recently recovering from multiple brain tumours for the third time, her new book, Lifeshocks: and how to love them, will be published in June.
During the workshop, Penny Brohn medical director and Bristol GP of over 20 years, Catherine Zollman, will compare and provide a medical perspective.
The event includes:
2pm-5pm – Patient Power workshop, led by Sophie, featuring Catherine
5pm-6pm – mingle and book signing (for those not staying for the evening)
6pm-7.30pm – talk and Q&A with Sophie
7.30pm-8.15pm – book signing and sale
The workshop focuses on:
Understanding how we make it hard to take charge of the situation
Overcoming fears preventing us questioning or challenging doctors
Finding inner authority to act with clarity, confidence and purpose when creating a treatment plan
Listening to our bodies and trusting when we are unsure what to do
Catherine’s perspective on issues doctors face when advising patients wanting to claim their power
The talk will see Sophie discuss:
How she learnt to direct her treatment
Key challenges
How she overcame them, before
A Q&A and book signing
Suggested donation: workshop £25, and talk and book signing £10.
To attend or for more information, call 0303 3000 118, email info@pennybrohn.org.uk or visit the website here.
For more on Sophie and her mission, visit her website here.
Article by:
Hannah recently graduated with a degree in English with Writing. She is an avid writer, freelancer and creative. She is currently writing her first full-length novel and a collection of poetry. Always out and about in Bristol's music scene, she attends music events on a weekly basis.
