Full - Time OU, Breast Cancer Treatment, Self-Care, and Life!
Saturday, 27 May 2023, 17:33
Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Leighah Beadle-Darcy, Monday, 9 Oct 2023, 20:09
I have been part-time at the OU since January 2022 (though technically, I have studied at the OU before in 2008/9). This Autumn, I will be going full-time. There are a couple of reasons for this which I will write about later in this blog post. I will also continue to work. In addition, I am on the adjuvant breast cancer treatment, Tamoxifen, following a diagnosis of ER and PR positive ductal carcinoma in 2019. This diagnosis convinced me even more to return to studies. I must admit, I am not new to study. I already have completed undergraduate, masters, post grad cert, plus counselling and dance therapy diplomas, and more. I love to learn and I love to push for my potential and passions.
I was very lucky to be given a fees loan for my current degree with the OU despite studying at both undergrad and post grad levels before. This is because it is the Combined STEM degree. At first, I wanted to do the Open Degree, but did not have a spare £27 000 lying around, but considered paying with OUSBA; however, this would mean increasing work, and I was already juggling home life, a business I own (or co-own since I made my intern co-owner), plus everything that goes with breast cancer (and which can change at any minute too!). To add more work, and especially work in the psychotherapy realm would not be wise. I have launched a couple of side hustles, though, on Etsy! So, given I want to make a difference to the future of breast cancer research and more, STEM seemed a good idea! It felt like a gift! However, my A levels, my undergrad and post grads were not science, apart from psychology and social sciences/life sciences, but not 'hard science', and I was aware I would be studying things I previously sucked at - like chemistry - or maybe wasn't terrible at, but definitely not above high school level. I have studied anatomy and physiology, though in relation to having been a dancer and teaching dance, and I was obsessed with anatomy and physiology, and even the physics of dance a little though I only dabbled in the physics of dance!). My inclination and talent has been towards arts and humanities, languages, and social sciences. And here I am now in my late 40s studying an undergrad in STEM. Thankfully, there is some leeway in the OU Combined STEM, and I have been able to have 120 'rogue credits' and also include psychology as this is considered a part of STEM at the OU as well as a part of Psychology.
Upon diagnosis of breast cancer, I did sign up for a breast cancer module online with Yale School of Medicine (might as well get a qualification out of such a crappy diagnosis eh?!), and this was before I knew I was going to do STEM with the OU. So maybe life was preparing me.
Being someone interested in and also working with others in personal style and wardrobe curation, I was aware that sometimes women in STEM get a bad rap as being not interested in fashion, not looking 'sexy' or polished. Of course this is poppycock! At the same time, I was proud to show that you can wear your red lipstick, your Sezane dress and still do STEM! I love to bust a stereotype or ten! Furthermore, if women choose to wear no make-up, hate dresses etc., then this is also OK! Allowing women (and any gender) to look as they choose (so long as it is not cultural appropriation or genuinely offensive to the majority) and study what they want is what I advocate!
Anyway, I started off part time - SDK100 a year, then YXM130 and L112 this past academic year as 60 'rogue credits'. I love French and so L112 felt like a hobby - well until I was being highly neurotic nearing the final assessment oral!. I cried a bit after the oral - French lights me up, as does French culture and French style. I wanted to do more French and yet I knew I also need to do some actual science stuff this year! I had already enrolled for SK298 and SK299. After my little post French oral bereft little tear shed, I signed up for L222. This would make me full time. Now, I needed to think about self-care and time management even more! I realised certain aspects of work were where I could set more boundaries and reduce some hours - I have a tendency to overgive at times, and I realised, despite setting lines there already, I was still giving above and beyond to my therapy and coaching practices. I decided to limit days and take up the offer of a couple of hours higher paid work. I have begun informing clients of some little changes already - to be fair on them and give them notice now in May, ready for October.
To be honest, going full-time at OU this coming academic year is self-caring to me - I am doing something I am passionate about, something I really want to do, and something I know I am capable of. When I do die, I want to be able to say I lived my life to the fullest of my potential. I want to make a difference and more of a difference. This also means being able to stop a bit and rest too - I am not always the best at this, but it is constant practice I put in.
I am also preparing now for October by getting ahead with some topics. I have contacted Isabella Henman who was my tutor on YXM130 regarding how to get ahead, and we have had some fun looking at brain models, books etc. So, I have been stocking up my little toy cupboard even with a kid's biology set! Isabella also teaches on SDK298 and SDK 299. In addition, I have downloaded the preparation sheet and ideas ready for L222 and I have French on TV more than English (something I began during L112).
I have had a ball this last academic year with some 'rogue credits' and have been very blessed having Isabella for YXM130 and Sabine Zeze for L112. They are also both women my own age, so that has been extra nice in terms of feeling connected as a woman in my 40s. They have both been a delight to have as tutors. It is so important to have tutors you feel you can talk to and who are encouraging. They have also both been stars when I have had a couple of horrific deaths of both darling pet and close human during this academic year, plus some breast cancer procedures and medical trial stuff to navigate. They have helped me not over-push, and also have respected that I did not want to stop fully for a while.
So, navigating such things as above - I know there will be other students in similar positions, and here is what I would advise:
Start preparing now, not close to the start of the course.
Declutter your home, desk, wardrobe even, so the space feels organised and ready. Feeling good in your skin with your wardrobe too can really help!
Make your prep and your study fun!
Set boundaries both with others and with yourself.
Find something that lights you up - for me it is my pet rats.
Exercise regularly - I do ballet 4 days a week for half an hour or so, and Pilates and weights twice a week for half an hour or so, plus I walk for a certain amount of time a week within NHS guidelines. This is also good with the Tamoxifen (it can cause blood clots, though the benefits outweigh the risks and it is not common that blood clots occur) and the exercise helps with bone density as I navigate midlife.
Batch cook - unless of course cooking is how you unwind or what lights you up. For me, I do not enjoy cooking and I am not that good at it, so a weekly batch cook saves a lot of time and stress. OK, and yes, even though I have a certificate in Nutrition, I do eat some rubbish at times too! I was literally eating biscuits and cake with cups of tea revising from revision cards all day of my French oral last week! Of course, I then made up for the sugar overload and just grabbing snacks with getting back on track after the oral. It is OK to have a day of neurotic chaos here and there whilst navigating finals! Though, of course, good nutrition is better for the brain!
Get a copy of the Eisenhower Matrix and print it off a few times or set it on a device - this helps with prioritising into Urgent and Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent and Important, and Not Urgent and Not Important. The latter can definitely be ditched! Scrolling through phones can be the worst culprit in that quadrant!
Reach out if you are struggling with managing time or life is getting overwhelming. Your tutors are always happy, as are student services, to help you make decisions, time manage, and more. Asking for help can be hard (I can be really bad at it!), but people want to help, and there is no shame in asking for help.
And don't forget to stop and breathe and notice the little things in life often!
I hope this has been of help to other students, and I intend to keep this blog going at intervals as I navigate this next academic year.
Full - Time OU, Breast Cancer Treatment, Self-Care, and Life!
I have been part-time at the OU since January 2022 (though technically, I have studied at the OU before in 2008/9). This Autumn, I will be going full-time. There are a couple of reasons for this which I will write about later in this blog post. I will also continue to work. In addition, I am on the adjuvant breast cancer treatment, Tamoxifen, following a diagnosis of ER and PR positive ductal carcinoma in 2019. This diagnosis convinced me even more to return to studies. I must admit, I am not new to study. I already have completed undergraduate, masters, post grad cert, plus counselling and dance therapy diplomas, and more. I love to learn and I love to push for my potential and passions.
I was very lucky to be given a fees loan for my current degree with the OU despite studying at both undergrad and post grad levels before. This is because it is the Combined STEM degree. At first, I wanted to do the Open Degree, but did not have a spare £27 000 lying around, but considered paying with OUSBA; however, this would mean increasing work, and I was already juggling home life, a business I own (or co-own since I made my intern co-owner), plus everything that goes with breast cancer (and which can change at any minute too!). To add more work, and especially work in the psychotherapy realm would not be wise. I have launched a couple of side hustles, though, on Etsy! So, given I want to make a difference to the future of breast cancer research and more, STEM seemed a good idea! It felt like a gift! However, my A levels, my undergrad and post grads were not science, apart from psychology and social sciences/life sciences, but not 'hard science', and I was aware I would be studying things I previously sucked at - like chemistry - or maybe wasn't terrible at, but definitely not above high school level. I have studied anatomy and physiology, though in relation to having been a dancer and teaching dance, and I was obsessed with anatomy and physiology, and even the physics of dance a little though I only dabbled in the physics of dance!). My inclination and talent has been towards arts and humanities, languages, and social sciences. And here I am now in my late 40s studying an undergrad in STEM. Thankfully, there is some leeway in the OU Combined STEM, and I have been able to have 120 'rogue credits' and also include psychology as this is considered a part of STEM at the OU as well as a part of Psychology.
Upon diagnosis of breast cancer, I did sign up for a breast cancer module online with Yale School of Medicine (might as well get a qualification out of such a crappy diagnosis eh?!), and this was before I knew I was going to do STEM with the OU. So maybe life was preparing me.
Being someone interested in and also working with others in personal style and wardrobe curation, I was aware that sometimes women in STEM get a bad rap as being not interested in fashion, not looking 'sexy' or polished. Of course this is poppycock! At the same time, I was proud to show that you can wear your red lipstick, your Sezane dress and still do STEM! I love to bust a stereotype or ten! Furthermore, if women choose to wear no make-up, hate dresses etc., then this is also OK! Allowing women (and any gender) to look as they choose (so long as it is not cultural appropriation or genuinely offensive to the majority) and study what they want is what I advocate!
Anyway, I started off part time - SDK100 a year, then YXM130 and L112 this past academic year as 60 'rogue credits'. I love French and so L112 felt like a hobby - well until I was being highly neurotic nearing the final assessment oral!. I cried a bit after the oral - French lights me up, as does French culture and French style. I wanted to do more French and yet I knew I also need to do some actual science stuff this year! I had already enrolled for SK298 and SK299. After my little post French oral bereft little tear shed, I signed up for L222. This would make me full time. Now, I needed to think about self-care and time management even more! I realised certain aspects of work were where I could set more boundaries and reduce some hours - I have a tendency to overgive at times, and I realised, despite setting lines there already, I was still giving above and beyond to my therapy and coaching practices. I decided to limit days and take up the offer of a couple of hours higher paid work. I have begun informing clients of some little changes already - to be fair on them and give them notice now in May, ready for October.
To be honest, going full-time at OU this coming academic year is self-caring to me - I am doing something I am passionate about, something I really want to do, and something I know I am capable of. When I do die, I want to be able to say I lived my life to the fullest of my potential. I want to make a difference and more of a difference. This also means being able to stop a bit and rest too - I am not always the best at this, but it is constant practice I put in.
I am also preparing now for October by getting ahead with some topics. I have contacted Isabella Henman who was my tutor on YXM130 regarding how to get ahead, and we have had some fun looking at brain models, books etc. So, I have been stocking up my little toy cupboard even with a kid's biology set! Isabella also teaches on SDK298 and SDK 299. In addition, I have downloaded the preparation sheet and ideas ready for L222 and I have French on TV more than English (something I began during L112).
I have had a ball this last academic year with some 'rogue credits' and have been very blessed having Isabella for YXM130 and Sabine Zeze for L112. They are also both women my own age, so that has been extra nice in terms of feeling connected as a woman in my 40s. They have both been a delight to have as tutors. It is so important to have tutors you feel you can talk to and who are encouraging. They have also both been stars when I have had a couple of horrific deaths of both darling pet and close human during this academic year, plus some breast cancer procedures and medical trial stuff to navigate. They have helped me not over-push, and also have respected that I did not want to stop fully for a while.
So, navigating such things as above - I know there will be other students in similar positions, and here is what I would advise:
Start preparing now, not close to the start of the course.
Declutter your home, desk, wardrobe even, so the space feels organised and ready. Feeling good in your skin with your wardrobe too can really help!
Make your prep and your study fun!
Set boundaries both with others and with yourself.
Find something that lights you up - for me it is my pet rats.
Exercise regularly - I do ballet 4 days a week for half an hour or so, and Pilates and weights twice a week for half an hour or so, plus I walk for a certain amount of time a week within NHS guidelines. This is also good with the Tamoxifen (it can cause blood clots, though the benefits outweigh the risks and it is not common that blood clots occur) and the exercise helps with bone density as I navigate midlife.
Batch cook - unless of course cooking is how you unwind or what lights you up. For me, I do not enjoy cooking and I am not that good at it, so a weekly batch cook saves a lot of time and stress. OK, and yes, even though I have a certificate in Nutrition, I do eat some rubbish at times too! I was literally eating biscuits and cake with cups of tea revising from revision cards all day of my French oral last week! Of course, I then made up for the sugar overload and just grabbing snacks with getting back on track after the oral. It is OK to have a day of neurotic chaos here and there whilst navigating finals! Though, of course, good nutrition is better for the brain!
Get a copy of the Eisenhower Matrix and print it off a few times or set it on a device - this helps with prioritising into Urgent and Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent and Important, and Not Urgent and Not Important. The latter can definitely be ditched! Scrolling through phones can be the worst culprit in that quadrant!
Reach out if you are struggling with managing time or life is getting overwhelming. Your tutors are always happy, as are student services, to help you make decisions, time manage, and more. Asking for help can be hard (I can be really bad at it!), but people want to help, and there is no shame in asking for help.
And don't forget to stop and breathe and notice the little things in life often!
I hope this has been of help to other students, and I intend to keep this blog going at intervals as I navigate this next academic year.