October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I wanted to tell this inspiring story. I’ve been connected to Louise for some time on social media. I noticed recently from her posts that she was changing rapidly and wanted to understand what caused this transformation.
I contacted Louise and she kindly agreed to talk to me about it. I was interested to find out what had motivated Louise to change and asked her why she had become a mature student.
Breast cancer diagnosis: a dark episode
To start with, she told me about a hard time in her life. She said: “I had the darkest day of my life in 2022, a culmination of emotions and bad relationship choices. In 2021 I’d been diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy with several subsequent operations. I’m glad of these as I escaped radiotherapy and chemotherapy, so I feel very fortunate, though I’m unsure if I’ll ever feel happy with how I look now.
“Back on 27 March 2022, the darkest thoughts came, and to be honest I wanted out. I didn’t want to be alive.
“I’d often wondered why I had chosen to have kids, because I found motherhood so difficult. In that moment, I realised that maybe I had my boys so they would keep me here. I couldn’t be the person who destroyed their life by taking my own. I promised myself that I was going to change, that everything was going to change.”
Louise took specific actions to change her circumstances and outlook after her breast cancer journey. In 2023 she paid for a mental strength course with a company called ‘The Natural Edge’ run by former SAS soldiers. Louise recounted that they pushed her to step way outside of her comfort zone, which she has consistently applied ever since. As a result, in the same year Louise trekked across 50km of the Sahara Desert in 40-degree heat for charity.
Enrolling in a BSc degree as a mature student
As part of her transformation after her breast cancer diagnosis, Louise enrolled at De Montfort University, Leicester, at the age of 43 after a comment from her older son.
She told me: “I had to keep saying to him and his brother: ‘No, we can’t do this, no we can’t buy that’ because I was on a tight budget. In frustration he said: ‘Well, get a better job, then!’ Whilst initially thinking wow, you’re brave, I also thought, damn, I can’t just do that but you’re right! I couldn’t do it because I didn’t feel I had enough skills or knowledge.
“I chose to take on a phenomenal amount of student loan debt that comes with my decision. I’m studying a BSc in Health and Wellbeing in Society, covering the history of public health, how the NHS came to be and why humans do or don’t do the things they do or don’t do.
“We discuss the politics of health and since doing this course I’ve come to realise that avoiding politics as I’ve so far done is wrong; my whole life needs to change. Politics affects our whole life from the second we are conceived. Decisions made by Westminster have an effect on everything.”
Redundancy leads to new NHS England role
Another dark moment was in summer 2024, when her job was made redundant by her employer, Loros Hospice, due to lack of funds. This was a significant blow. As a Wellbeing Co-ordinator, Louise was organising fulfilling events, such as a Hospice Community South Asian Heritage celebration, later being invited to Parliament to celebrate the national equivalent.
The sadness didn’t last long, as Louise landed a freelance job within a week. She now delivers training for NHS England, specifically the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Autism and Learning Disabilities. She calls herself a “budding entrepreneur,” as she plans to launch training courses in neurodiversity when she finishes her degree. She said:
“I love it. I share key messages and have insightful conversations every time I deliver the training. To top it off, our area team won an award at the Great British Care Awards in November.”
Her political vision advocates for grassroots change
Louise has also become involved in political activism as part of her transformation. She said: “I’ve met and work with exceptionally intelligent and skilled people; we are all discussing a new way for UK politics. We want to bridge what we perceive as an enormous gap between government and the people living in cities, towns and villages all over the UK.”
Louise describes a form of politics that chooses policy by listening to grassroots input, rather than mandating policies and asking others to sign up: “We want to embrace new policies that cover all aspects of politics. We’re neither left nor right-wing; we want to give everyone a better chance to move forward in our lives. We want to incorporate ideas from those with lived experience and combine traditional British values with modern technology and innovation. We are at the very early stages.
“The Government are in place to be advocates for the people of the UK. I haven’t felt that successive governments have been doing this for a while and I’ve just gone along with it. Now however, I feel that it’s time for change. We need progress in our country and I believe it’s coming.”
An agent for change, looking for like-minded people
She has no regrets: “My life is busy, absolutely; I get exhausted and drained, but imagine if I’d taken that fateful decision in 2022? None of this would have happened. I wouldn’t currently be part of an initiative that I believe has real potential to change our lives in the UK. I don’t want to sit around when I can help create the change I want to see.”
Louise is reflective on the need to expand and to grow the circle of like-minded believers: “This initiative lives or dies by the quality of people who get involved with it. We need really good people, and ‘really good’ doesn’t mean hyper-qualified with loads of experience in politics. We are looking for people who don’t usually get involved in politics, but have life experience, common sense, and determination to transform their town/city/country for the better. I encourage people who are interested to contact me @Lowiseowl on social media.”
Life after breast cancer: redefining resilience and politics
Talking to Louise feels like being with a force of nature. She muses: “I feel like I have crammed a decade of living into two years.” Her energy and enthusiasm are palpable. Louise clearly loves what’s she’s doing; her inspiring story of growth and transformation after breast cancer isn’t decelerating.
Her political ambitions (with her colleagues) are at a very early stage; it’s a daunting task to launch a new kind of politics in the current political landscape. I come away uplifted by Louise’s passion for life, for her studies, her activism and the change she wants to be. I’m honoured to know her, and I’m backing Team Louise.
Learn more about breast cancer and support the work of these organisations: Breast Cancer Now, Macmillan Cancer Support, Breast Cancer UK
