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It is almost five years to the day since I heard those utterly unforgettable words on April 16, 2020: You have breast cancer.

Sadly, I am far from alone. This morning, 37-year-old singer-songwriter and mother-of-one, Jessie J, revealed her own breast cancer diagnosis via Instagram. 

I recall my own experience so vividly. I remember screaming at the doctor that I was far too young, fit and healthy for this to be happening. Except it was happening. And to me.

I was 41. At the time, my daughter was five, my son was 11 months, and we had just gone into the first Covid lockdown.

Half a decade on, hard as I try hard to crack on with life, reading Jessie J’s news brings it all flooding back.

What is early breast cancer?

While I was told that I had triple negative breast cancer – sometimes described as a faster-growing type – I was also told, like Jessie, that it had been discovered ‘early.’

Once you’ve found out you’ve got breast cancer, it’s hard to seek solace in almost anything. Yet I was able to take at least a little comfort from medics repeatedly telling me that if you are diagnosed early (known as ‘stage 1 to 2’), the disease is often highly treatable.

Jessie herself has said she is ‘holding on’ to the word ‘early’.

The staging system is worked out based on certain factors, such as the size of the cancer, and whether it has spread to lymph nodes in the armpit. (Mine was a little bigger than 5cm overall, but very fortunately, hadn’t spread).

My story

Prior to getting diagnosed, I was in really good health. I’d been vegetarian since the age of nine, had never smoked, and did exercise most days. There was also no family history of it.

But as I have come to understand in the wake of all this, cancer does not discriminate, even when you’re a world-famous celebrity. I, and Jessie, are simply two of the unlucky ones.

I made the appointment to get myself checked out after finding a lump on my left breast while sitting in the bath a few weeks into lockdown. At the time, I remember thinking it was more just precautionary, as opposed to anything else.

At first, even the consultant wasn’t too concerned, suggesting it might just be a sporting injury. But the scans soon told a very different story.

After going through a blur of mammograms and ultrasounds – and having several biopsies taken – it was confirmed that I was going to need chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.

One of the toughest summers of my life followed. I underwent a gruelling four-month chemotherapy regime – consisting of Paclitaxel and Carboplatin – as well as an intense two-week course of daily radiotherapy.

And in the midst of all that, I had an operation known as a ‘therapeutic mammoplasty.’ While this is not as major as a mastectomy, it is more involved than a lumpectomy. It essentially involves surgeons removing the tumour, but trying to save as much of the breast as possible. 

To paraphrase the words of Jessie J in her heart-wrenchingly honest and emotional Instagram video: ‘I got to keep my nipples.’

In October 2020, I got the ‘all-clear’ (or at least the closest thing you get to an ‘all-clear’ as far as cancer is concerned – as once you’ve had this disease, you never really get to walk away).

All I can say to Jessie J – and anyone going through any version of this gruelling journey right now – is that I am forever grateful to my body for making it through all of this.

It may look a little different these days, but I am still here – working full-time, being a mum to two high-octane kids now aged nine and six, playing netball, lifting weights, sea swimming and so much more – and I have my body to thank for that. I have also learned to love my boobs all over again.

Jessie J mentioned how she had gone ‘back and forth’ on sharing her story. Having gone through this life-changing experience, I applaud her bravery and honesty.

I am always keen to share mine because by opening myself up and by being vulnerable and brutally honest, I hope I can show the solidarity Jessie speaks of, and maybe even offer a little help to others going through something similar.

I also believe that if reading my story gets even one woman to do a breast examination or schedule an appointment, then some good has come out of all I’ve been through. I can’t say it bluntly enough: Checking your boobs could save your life.

Hard as it is to write these words, catching breast cancer in its early stages really can be the difference between surviving – and not. Get a tumour removed at an early stage, and there’s a far better chance of things going well.

In April this year, I reached my fifth year since diagnosis, a not insignificant milestone in my journey, as doctors say that at this stage post treatment, the risk seems to go back down (though the increased risk does not go away completely).

To mark this five-year anniversary, I did a host of fundraising events, including a ‘Mighty Hike’ along the Cornish coast in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, raising almost £3,000.

And, on April 16 itself, I went to the beach – here, where I live, in beautiful north Devon – with my husband and children, and watched the waves lap against the shore. I also hugged them all hard. Very, very hard.

I hope and wish that Jessie J will get to do the same.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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Sleep can sometimes be a complicated beast, as according to the NHS, around one in every three Brits struggles with insomnia.

But there is one unique trick doing the rounds on TikTok that’s allegedly helping countless people doze off– and it’s called the ‘cricket feet’ or ‘cricketing’ method.

With over 50 million views and 265,000 searches this month alone, it’s a self-soothing technique that involves rubbing the feet together gently and repetitively as you’re trying to fall asleep. Sometimes, it’s even done subconsciously.

When @notyouraveragethrpst asked her followers ‘who else is laying in bed just “cricketing” their feet?’ many were surprised to hear that it was a common thing.

‘Didn’t know it had a name,’ @ezeee1717 shared, adding that they’ve ‘been doing it [their] whole life.’

Another, @lindsaybatista, said they thought they were the ‘only one’ who did it, while @maureensqueo commented that they ‘often’ used it as a coping mechanism when when they’re ‘having a lot of anxiety.’

Does the ‘cricket feet’ method help you get to sleep?

As adult sleep consultant and The Sleep Works founder Maryanne Taylor tells Metro, while there isn’t a huge amount of direct research on the links between ‘cricket feet’ and sleep, it does tap into ‘self-soothing behaviours that can help calm the nervous system.’

‘Gentle, repetitive movements like this can signal safety to the brain, especially during wind-down time,’ she explains. ‘They activate the parasympathetic nervous system (your calm setting), which helps the body relax enough to fall asleep.’

Maryanne’s top tip for ensuring a good night’s sleep is a ‘calm nervous system, but she says that a peaceful, uninterrupted slumber isn’t just shaped by nighttime routines – it also comes down to ‘habits, thoughts, and behaviours’ throughout the day.

And if the brain has been in ‘go mode’ all day long with little to no opportunity to slow down, it’s ultimately ‘not surprising that it struggles to wind down at bedtime.’

‘Building in micro resets during the day to give the brain a chance to process and decompress, together with a wind-down routine that genuinely soothes the mind, rather than just ticking boxes, can be hugely helpful,’ Maryanne says.

Are ‘cricket feet’ more common for neurodivergent people?

Neurodivergent people have also long been sharing that they enjoy ‘cricketing’ as a stimming behaviour – a self-stimulatory repeated movement for either sensory stimulation, or to ‘keep calm and express joy,’ according to the National Autistic Society.

TikToker @_joossiiee included ‘cricket feet’ in a list of their ‘neurodivergent sleep habits that are completely satisfying,’ alongside ‘aggressive face rubs’ and ‘the cave,’ which involves burrowing under the duvet, burrito-style.

Meanwhile, @florishwithvicki described it as a ‘top tier stim.’

This checks out, too, as Maryanne says that research does support ‘cricketing’ as a self-soothing behaviour for neurodivergent people.

This is because those with ADHD or autism in particular have a ‘natural need for repetitive movement or sensory input for emotional comfort,’ which in turn helps to ‘calm their brain and regulate their nervous system.’

But ‘cricket feet’ aside, Maryanne has another self-soothing sleep system to recommend: the pre-bed ‘brain dump.’

‘Before bed, write down three things you don’t need to think about until tomorrow,’ she explains, noting that this technique helps ‘relieve the build-up of mental pressure that impacts as soon as you lie down in bed.’

In her view, the brain wants to ‘hold onto everything it thinks is important,’ so processing it on a piece of paper ‘gives you permission to let go for the night.’

Likewise, she suggests dimming the lights earlier than you normally would – at least an hour before bed, as softer lighting helps the brain to ‘transition’ into sleep mode, as well as supports natural melatonin production (AKA, the sleep hormone).

Ready to sleep like a baby tonight? Sweet dreams.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.