Hi everyone, it is an honour to introduce myself as the Founder of WABI.

As a society, we need to have more conversations about the life that is still happening after receiving a diagnosis and I'll use cancer as an example. Staggeringly, 1 in 4^[1] people will develop cancer in their lifetime but yet this topic is still often tucked away. And as most diagnoses are made in the later life stages, patients who fall outside of the demographic often do not know where to turn to for support. We also have a different set of circumstances; active professionals, parents to young children, caregivers to aging parents. I truly believe that it helps to hear from another patient because after all, it takes one to know one.

And then there's the vocabulary of communication, or the lack of, within each individual's social circles. Many do not know what to say, is perceived to have said the wrong things or, keeps quiet for the fear of saying the wrong thing. None of these will help either party.

With WABI and the support of fellow patients & survivors, I hope to provide our communities the opportunity to understand patients' perspectives and therefore, building stronger support and empathy for each other.

It's not a club that anyone would want to be a part of but if this is the hand that we've been dealt with, let's make the most of it.

With love,
Andrea