By Viv Grant
October is Menopause Awareness Month, and for me, it feels like the right time to share a story that is both deeply personal and, I hope, universally resonant. While my own journey began with a cancer diagnosis, the lessons I learned along the way about listening to my body, trusting my intuition, and embracing creativity as a form of healing are equally relevant for the menopause transition and the many other life stages women navigate.
When Everything Changes Overnight
Without a shadow of a doubt, my cancer diagnosis was one of the most challenging periods of my life. In an instant, everything I thought I knew about myself, my health, and my body was turned upside down.
In those first weeks, I was in a daze. Life shifted into autopilot: one doctor’s appointment after another, medical jargon I couldn’t quite take in, and decisions that felt overwhelming.
Then came surgery, followed by several nights in intensive care. It was terrifying. I couldn’t walk, it hurt to move, and eating felt impossible. Emotionally, I was at my lowest point, tears came easily and often. I felt like a stranger in my own body.
Rediscovering the Body’s Wisdom
As I slowly began to heal, I realised that my body was not my enemy. It was asking me to slow down, to pay attention, and to trust its signals. This wasn’t easy. We live in a culture that often encourages us to override our needs, push through discomfort, and silence the body’s quiet whispers until they become shouts.
Menopause, in many ways, asks us to do the same kind of listening. It’s a phase where the body speaks loudly and clearly; sometimes through hot flushes, sleepless nights, or mood shifts, but also through subtler invitations. It asks us to reconsider our pace, our priorities, and how we want to live this next chapter.
What I discovered during my recovery is that when we work in harmony with our bodies, instead of fighting against them, something remarkable happens. We begin to uncover an inner resilience, a sense of clarity, and sometimes, a completely new path forward.
The Unexpected Gift of Creativity
A week or so after surgery, with encouragement from my daughter and her friend, I picked up a paintbrush for the first time since Secondary School. I had no plans, no training, no expectations, just a blank canvas and some paints.
What happened surprised me. Painting became my therapy. Each stroke helped me process emotions I couldn’t articulate in words. For nearly three weeks, I painted every day, and what emerged was not just art, but a sense of healing, a new way of making sense of what I had been through.
Those paintings eventually became a body of work, which I gathered into a book called Learning to Walk in the Dark. For me, the title captures the essence of what it means to live through illness, recovery, menopause, or any major transition: we often don’t know exactly where we are going, but we learn to trust ourselves in the dark, one step at a time.
Lessons for Menopause
So, what does this have to do with menopause? Everything. Because menopause is another kind of turning point. It can be bewildering, exhausting, and even frightening at times. But it is also an invitation to stop ignoring our bodies, to listen more deeply, and to connect with parts of ourselves we may have set aside in the busyness of earlier years.
Here are three lessons I’ve carried from my cancer journey that I believe are especially relevant during menopause:
1. Listen to Your Body: Symptoms aren’t just inconveniences to be managed; they are messages. Whether it’s fatigue, anxiety, or hot flushes, the body is asking for attention and care.
2. Trust Your Intuition: Medical advice is essential, but so is your inner voice. You know your body better than anyone else. Tuning into intuition can guide decisions about lifestyle, treatments, and self-care.
3. Find Unexpected Sources of Renewal:For me, it was painting. For you, it might be journaling, gardening, walking, or music. Creativity and self-expression can be powerful allies in navigating change.
Stepping Into the Next Chapter
Today, I am in good health. I am regularly monitored at the Royal Marsden, and so far, there has been no recurrence of cancer. Fear has receded and been replaced with a deep sense of gratitude and a desire to use my story to encourage others.
Menopause, like cancer, can feel like a dark and uncertain path. But it can also be a threshold, an opportunity to pause, reflect, and realign. If there is one message I hope to share this October Menopause Awareness Month, it is this: your body holds wisdom. Trust it. Work with it. Honour it.
Because when we learn to walk in the dark, we discover that even the most difficult transitions can lead us to light, strength, and renewal
To find out about my new book ‘Learning to Walk in the Dark’, please click here.
