indivudual , empathetic , approachable

Female , 23

As i grew up i had a reasonably good childhood, i was happy, my parents were young and my younger brother was born. As i reached my teenage years i started to be focused on 'unsavoury' things such as drinking and trying drugs. When i was 13 my mum developed brest cancer and when i was 15 she died of secondary cancer. I was left in a really place, i took care of my brother and was practically rejected by my dad suffering verbal and physical abuse for minor slip ups. I then went to university to study Psychology and i now work in a residential private charity run school for deaf children in the care sector, looking after their every day needs. However, i have a big family which i have always been able to rely on and i now have a better relationship with my dad. I love working with children and young people, and i do this to help children avoid the situations and feelings i had when i was younger.

Bereavement

My mum died when i was 15 yeiars old and then my uncle when i was 18. They both died of an aggressive cancer that developed very quickly. Unfortunately the horrible memories of these situations are still with me and probably will be forever, like most people and bereavement is a life long process but when you have someone to speak to it makes it alot more bearable.

Diagnosed with a genetic mutation

As a result of my mum and uncle dying and a strong cancer link in my family, i underwent a cancer gene diagnostic test confirming i have the breast and ovarian cancer (brca2) gene. This is something that i have to live with for the rest of my life but which i have started to think about now to cope with the future.

University degree

I always wanted to go to university and the death of family members and my unattachment to my dad led me to go to university to study Psychology for which i passed my degree. I wanted to achieve this to start my career in counselling for children, young people and the bereaved as well as other areas.

Internet mentoring is a fabulous idea because anyone can use it. Some people are afraid to talk to people about their problems for many reasons such as embarrassment, they may feel that other people cant help and wont understand and some people may be more at ease because there isnt necessarily a face and that may be easier to talk to then actually going to a counsellor or such like. I would like to be a mentor because i am naturally interested in the counselling area as this is what i want to follow as my career. When i was a child and a teenager i felt i had a really hard time with a variety of things and never spoke to anyone about my problems which didnt necessarily help but i wish i had as i feel that i would have been alot more happier sooner rather than later.

Groups you have created.