Rebel Women: My Story, My Message

By Lisa Forrest

If you’d told me this story 14 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.

At 27, halfway through my first (and only) pregnancy, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. After ten rounds of chemotherapy, my daughter Eadie Piper was delivered at 34 weeks. Just perfection. Straight after her birth, I underwent a radical hysterectomy, keeping one ovary to prevent early menopause and preserve hope for another child.

By 2017, I was five years cancer-free, it was this year that my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts. Genetic testing revealed we both carried the BRCA2 gene mutation, a discovery that changed everything.

In 2020, I made the decision to undergo a prophylactic double mastectomy to reduce my risk. A year later, we tried surrogacy, but it wasn’t meant to be. My hormones were chaotic, my emotions all over the place, and my energy to keep going, gone.

Fast forward to 2024, at 40, I made one more big decision: to remove my remaining ovary, completing a preventative oophorectomy. Overnight, I entered surgical menopause.

Unlike natural menopause, which happens gradually, surgical menopause hits suddenly, the body goes from full hormone function to none in an instant. Hot flushes, sleepless nights, mood swings, brain fog. They’re real, and they’re tough. Around 1 in 8 women experience menopause before 45, many due to medical or surgical reasons.

So here I am today, navigating this wild ride called menopause. My daily Estrogel ritual has become my new norm ( I know many of you can relate!). I’ve learned that this time isn’t something to “get through” but something to move to with patience (Im trying!), education and a little self compassion. I often talk about it, I try to educate myself through podcasts and I remind myself just to be gentle on myself.

Here’s to having these conversations, supporting each other, and embracing this next chapter, with compassion, strength, and maybe a few hot flushes along the way.

Yours in good health,
Lisa x