I honestly had no idea they were dangerous (Picture: Katie McVeigh) ‘But I don’t even use sunbeds that often!’ I told the nurse. I’d just been diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma – an aggressive type of skin cancer – and told my love of tanning was to blame. It was a huge shock. I honestly […]
11 Feb, 2026 | Admin | No Comments
The sign that made me realise at 21 that I had to put mum into a care home
Jenny’s mum was told the first signs of her dementia were ‘menopausal brain fog’ (Picture: Supplied) It was the shoes in the salad that indicated something was going seriously wrong for Laura Starkie. The mum of two in her 50s had been struggling with her memory, so she saw her GP who told her she […]
10 Feb, 2026 | Admin | No Comments
I told work I’d been sick – I was terrified they’d learn the truth
My younger brother (left) was dead (Picture: Sam Meekings) I was startled awake by my phone ringing in the middle of the night. At first, my groggy brain mistook it for my alarm – but it was my mum. ‘It’s Luke,’ she said – and instantly, I knew something terrible had happened. My younger brother was […]
I dwell on every single little interaction (Picture: Sybilla Hart) Driving around the winding roads near my home in East Anglia recently, I was startled when I was beeped by a fellow driver. Presumably I’d annoyed them in some way. While this is the kind of routine occurrence that most people can shrug off, as […]
8 Feb, 2026 | Admin | No Comments
‘I felt so low, I would silently hope someone would crash into my car’
For a long while, Elle gave the impression she was coping but the reality was she battling suicidal thoughts (Picture: Getty Images) From the outside, Elle Ward looked like the life and soul of the party; funny, outgoing and confident. But inside, she was crumbling. ‘I could be in the middle of a conversation, looking […]
Following a routine will help prepare you for a good night’s sleep (Picture: Getty Images) The older we get, the more we begin to cherish a proper night’s sleep and revel in being tucked up in bed nice and early with a gripping book. But achieving a good night’s sleep isn’t as easy as it […]
5 Feb, 2026 | Admin | No Comments
I nearly died after taking fake Ozempic weight loss jabs bought on Facebook
Michelle was ‘ecstatic’ at the results of legitimate Ozempic (Picture: Michelle Sword/SWNS) Michelle Sword, 47, first started taking weight loss jabs in 2020 after she put on two stone following the breakdown of her 20-year marriage. ‘They came at a time when I really needed them,’ says the mum-of-two, from Carterton, Oxfordshire. ‘I’d always been […]
After the mania came the madness (Picture: Cal Speet) When the medical team collected me from my mother’s house in January 2015, I was wearing my dead grandfather’s tasselled cowboy jacket with my bare torso exposed, a shoelace as a headband, and there was a smear of crimson blood across my forehead. The blood was fake. The out-of-hours […]
4 Feb, 2026 | Admin | No Comments
I attempted a ‘dark shower’ – I almost twisted my ankle but I’ve never slept better
Make sure to watch where you step (Picture: Getty) Better sleep, reduced anxiety, and enhanced mindfulness. These are just some of the benefits promised of a ‘dark shower’. The latest wellness trend is pretty simple: you take a shower at night, with the lights firmly off. While the concept itself is not new, with dozens […]
3 Feb, 2026 | Admin | No Comments
I was curious about my Jewish ancestry – I ended up with a cancer diagnosis
I have Jewish ancestry on my mum’s side, but I’ve never really felt Jewish (Picture: Sophie Collis) When Guy’s Hospital called asking me to come in, I already knew what was coming. Hearing that I had cancer at 31 was, of course, a shock – but there’s no way I could have predicted that, because […]