Nicole's Story

"As soon as you step on that boat, your worries all go away."

Nicole helming one of the Trust's yachts with green hills and blue seas behind her

I was really anxious before coming along, given this is the first trip I've been on now I'm quite a few years out of treatment for stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma. I just didn't know what to expect. And I am terrible with seasickness, so I was very anxious about that as well, but I was fine. I had my bands and I had my medicine, so I barely felt it.

I didn't feel like I needed the charity's support, but I know I needed it now. It was really nice to meet up with people who have been out of treatment for a few years, because you're speaking to people who are in their careers and things like that. That was really interesting to see, we've got lives now that isn't just hospitals.

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Nicole on the bow with one of her crewmates

Refreshing

One thing I was really amazed at is not a single one of us openly spoke about treatment or about what we had or where we were treated. I found that so refreshing. It was different, it was about rediscovering skills and socialising with people who have been through what you've been through.

There was common ground, you knew about it. But it wasn't like 'hi, this is my name, this is what I had,' which is what a lot of other things have been. I thought that was very refreshing.

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I feel much more relaxed. It's like, you always get uptight and you always worry about things. You try get yourself out of that rut, but I think you really need a refresher like this for a change in things from our normal lives.

Just thinking about what's around you, taking it in. As soon as you step on that boat, your worries all go away.

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