Perfect, because finding myself at home in between chemotherapy appointments meant that I had a lot of time. Mentally, being surrounded by four walls for extensive periods was exhausting – there were only so many films I could watch and books I could read and, no matter how engrossed I appeared, my mind was never fully focused on any of them. Instead, it busied itself with worry. Signs of my treatment were everywhere from the dullness of my skin and the weakness in my legs to the endless fallout of hair and the sick bowls stationed behind every door. I couldn’t get away from myself or one more of the many side effects – it wasn’t an ideal backdrop to running a business.

But writing was something I loved. And working with small business owners as a copywriter was my dream. More than an opportunity to set the wheels in motion and get to grips with the complicated hoops of HMRC, launching my business helped me to feel well and mentally lifted me up during a hugely challenging year. Suddenly, I had a purpose, which went beyond simply being well and behaved like a boat pulling me forwards out of the grey uncertainty and towards a new and hopeful light.

Over the next eight months and six cycles of chemotherapy, wellness in all its forms, played a huge role in my recovery. The actual chemotherapy treatment itself was a miracle in getting rid of the cancer, but it also compromised my health in ways that I’m still managing today. That’s where mindset and alternative wellness therapies stepped in.

My business, my family and mindfulness sessions were a great support to my mental wellbeing. Physically, massage therapists and reiki specialists helped my body to relax, especially during the times I had to stay in hospital. Surrounded by bright lights and the noise of machines, I remember just how calming it was to close my eyes and experience a leg massage for ten minutes. For those ten minutes I was in an entirely different place and the relaxing effect lasted the whole day.

Moreover, after my treatment I received help from physiotherapists to get my mobility back on track. Nutritionists and dieticians helped me to navigate the murky waters around the new allergies I had developed as a result of the chemotherapy, while skin experts helped me to nourish my skin and scalp in preparation for new hair growth.

For me, true recovery was a 50/50 combination of medicine and mindset. The chemotherapy had done its job - now it was my turn to do the rest. And that meant conducting research into the wellness products and services that would help me on my way.

But it wasn’t always easy to find the right people. In fact, particularly when it came to nourishing my skin back to good health, it was difficult to find the products that would help my specific case, amidst the thousands of others on the market. Eventually, I did find two small business owners, who specialised in their own brand of treatment and sold their products online. Their businesses were grounded in their wild passion to help others and it was lovely to invest in them, benefit from their hard work and help them to continue growing and serving the people who, like me, were frustrated and desperately needed them most. But that’s just the thing. Not all small business owners are successfully reaching their ideal clients. And there are still many people out there searching, frantically for their own wellness cure.

According to a report by McKinsey & Company, the wellness industry is growing by 5-10% annually. As people become more and more invested in their wellbeing, there is a real need for products and services to support and solve increasingly complex wellness issues. And small business owners are rising to the challenge. But creating a product or service is only half of the job – the other half is actually going out there, reaching your ideal clients, raising awareness and then persuading them to buy. In the end, passion alone is unfortunately not enough to keep a business growing - you need sales to survive. And it’s here, in the marketing, where many businesses struggle.

While my business was founded in illness, the work I do now is focused on wellness and helping small business owners in the wellness space to connect with their ideal clients as powerfully as any established brand. I love working with passionate business owners, who have often taken the leap from uninspiring corporate jobs to pursue their true calling. They are people who want to make a difference to the lives of their ideal clients, and I really support this because I know just how powerful a difference that can be.

For me, working in wellness is about giving back to an industry that has allowed me to lead the full life I lead today. I want to help small business owners to thrive, so that their ideal clients thrive too. And I think that’s a wonderful reason to wake up every single day.