I graduated in 2009 and was working for the BBC by 2010.
In 2013, I moved down to London, where I became Senior Edit Assistant at World Media Rights working on some pretty wicked documentaries; Black Ops, Ancient Assassins and Mafia's Greatest Hits! They sold world wide and the company started producing for Netflix - check out Hitler's Circle Of Evil. I was in a good place, on paper, but something felt off.
I had this nagging anxiety that it wasn't going to work out; my career wasn't progressing as quickly as I'd hoped and I wasn't pulling in the money I wanted, but more than that, I had this growing awareness that if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, this all stops; There's no sick pay. TV shows aren't going to wait for you. The company likely won't hold your role. Working in TV is cutthroat, anxiety inducing and a constant hussle. So, I took out Life Insurance.
I was 26 when I walked into a my Bank and asked what my options were. They referred me to Scottish Widows and I took out Life Insurance. On review, a couple of years later, I switched to Smart Insurance for a better monthly cost and higher pay out. Sucks to be them because I ended up using it.
By age 30, I'd decided London wasn't for me. I was tired of the rat race and relentless competition. I moved back home to Birmingham and was starting almost from scratch in terms of building up contacts and finding gigs, but I was doing OK and probably on track to make about £25k in my first year. Less than London, but I'd almost halved my outgoings, so not bad. Ultimately, I was better off. Unfortunately, 6 months in, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
This stunned us. There's no history of Cancer in my family. There was no rhythm or reason to it and no quick fix. Since diagnosis I've half joked that if you're going to get Cancer, Breast Cancer is the best, because you can just cut it out and move on, but in reality I say this only to put my friends and family at ease. It's not nice and it's not that simple.
Because of my age, the NHS wanted to give me the best possible chance of survival so we threw everything at it; Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Surgery... Over the last 4 years I've had 4 major surgeries and many, many minor surgeries.
We did the Chemo first, tracking the size of the lump and our progress in fighting it. We hoped to avoid a mastectomy with a lumpectomy (where they only take the effected part of the Breast, rather than the whole Breast) but unfortunately, my Chemo wasn't that successful. So, I had the full Mastectomy. We followed this up with Radiotherapy to closely target the surrounding areas.
I managed to work through some of the Chemo (the Nurses thought I was INSANE pulling a night shift Data Wrangling after my very first Chemo session, which in itself took 10 hours!) and I returned to work roughly 2 weeks after my Mastectomy. Too quick, probably, but as a Freelancer it's hard to turn down work. Radiotherapy, however, required me to physically be at the Hospital every day, so couldn't work during this time.
Unfortunately, the Cancer reached my Lymphnodes. This is how Cancer then travels around the body. So, another op, to remove my Lymphnodes. Following a CT Scan, MRI and a Bone Biopsy, I was diagnosed with Secondary Breast Cancer. This, as you can imagine, is not operable. I'll receive 10 years of treatment for this on the NHS, which impacts me daily. I've also had a Breast Reconstruction, which is not the same as your average Hollywood 'Boob Job'. It's intense, involving a deep tissue and skin graft from my abdomen. It's been rough and although I'm not currently working, I do hope to go back soon.
Anyway, long story short, take out Life Insurance. I can't really emphasise it enough. Just like Car Insurance, shop around and review your Policy on occasion. You might see it as an added expense now, but you'll be so greatful to yourself later should you ever need it.
