Health initiative 'rolling stone that will gather pace'

The Mortal and Strong project features interviews in a podcast hosted by Dr Liz Murray and Laura Middleton-Hughes

One hundred women have gathered to share their stories and experiences of resilience amid health problems. Some of them have cancer or autoimmune diseases, and some have experienced infertility or baby loss, but they have all come together as part of the Mortal and Strong project. Three of the 100 women explain what being involved in the project means to them.

Mortal and Strong was founded by Dr Liz Murray, a former emergency doctor of more than 10 years, who lives with lupus and stage four endometriosis.

The stories of 100 women will be showcased in an exhibition and have been captured through a variety of art forms including film, photographs and paintings.

Dr Murray said working on the Norfolk-based project had been both empowering and therapeutic.

"So much of my life was helping people and talking to people and actually I now feel like I'm helping in a different way from what I was doing before but on a bigger scale... it's nice that something positive has come of the struggles that I've been through."

'This is going to become an encyclopaedia'

Helen Wilson said the Mortal and Strong project was a "rolling stone that will gather pace"

Since Helen Wilson's Mortal and Strong podcast episode was released, she said it had allowed her to have more open conversations with her children and family about when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"When I heard about it, I really thought I need to jump on board with that... if I can help anybody in any small way with some empowerment with some information, with some positivity, at a time when things can really look bleak, there's always light somewhere."

Now 51, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction in 2015 and was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid.

"There's an awful lot of good to come out of something like this. It's something that will give and give, I think. It's a rolling stone that will gather pace because it's very valuable... I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

"I'm imagining this is going to become almost an encyclopaedia that somebody can [use]. It would have been really nice to have something I could have gone to... and gain some support from."

'Not a pity party'

Meryl Tyers Chhabra did not know how common breast cancer was until she was diagnosed and underwent treatment.

"I hope it raises awareness. I hope it shows confidence and assertiveness with who you are at this point... if it can reach out and help women care about themselves and put themselves first," she said.

The 54-year-old emphasised the importance of having a network of peers for support and said there was often a "shame" in being ill.

"It's definitely not a pity party but there is a fellowship in suffering... You're no longer alone and isolated. You have friends who can talk about it and it loses a lot of its power and fear."

'Gets people talking more'

Jo Weston hopes the project will help address topics which were once seen as taboo

"The more we do it, the more people understand," said Jo Weston, who lives with anxiety and postnatal depression.

She said her anxiety was something she had "always had" but the condition had manifested itself in a number of ways.

She said: "I'm outgoing. I'm a very positive person. I'm very confident but actually the anxiety is still there and I don't think people always recognise and see that in people who are perhaps more outgoing or extroverted."

The 34-year-old hopes the project will address issues which were once seen as taboo.

"It's been really important to me for a couple of years now to talk about maternal mental health in particular and all issues that impact mothers and women," she said.

"Anything that gets people talking more [about things] that in the past were taboo and are now much less so is important."