Kelly Crump x Ann Summers

Inspirational model, influencer, cancer and health coach Kelly Crump has gained a sizeable following by opening up about her experience with Stage 4 breast cancer.

She strives to normalise cancer terminology, spread awareness of the illness, and counsel patients on how to get well and carry on with their lives following diagnosis and treatment.

How has Cancer changed your perspective on life?

I knew that when I was initially diagnosed that cancer was going to change my life, but I was ignorant as to the extent of the change. For me cancer has changed how I view everything! Before cancer I felt I had plenty of time to achieve my goals, to go places I wanted to visit, to spend time with friends and family. Now I have a sense of urgency because my entire life change in the instant I found a lump in my breast five years ago this month. Time is now short and limited so you have to prioritise the things that matter most to you.

After such a dramatic life changing event happens you also start to realise that you were worrying about things in life that actually do not matter. Cancer really can put life in perspective because all of a sudden you are worried about your actual life, living and surviving. So, you worry less about the little things that maybe you used to make a big deal out of.

Lastly it has made me more confident believe it or not and I stopped worrying about what others might think of me. I now see my body as something that works hard day in and day out to keep me alive versus seeing the “imperfections” it has. I do try to take care of what I eat, how much I sleep, and I move my body daily to feel the best that I can. I no longer criticise myself for having cellulite, stretch marks, loose skin ...whatever. I now see that I have a gift in my body and who I am so I no longer take that for granted.

It’s amazing how much you speak about and help others whilst dealing with your diagnoses - do ever find it hard to talk about what you’re going through?

Believe it or not, no I have no issues talking about it! I think part of this comes from already being an open-book kind of person and being American. I actually did not speak about it much in the beginning when I was initially diagnosed because well, I did not think people wanted to hear about it. I had actually at one point made a separate Instagram page for “cancer” and then had my “normal” page. One day someone said to me “Oh yeah I follow your sad page too.”. It was then that I decided to incorporate talking openly about the cancer in a “normal” life setting. When I then asked people what they wanted to hear or see more about in my life there was an overwhelming response of “we want to know more about the cancer”. So, I gave them what they wanted and then my profile just took off from there! It was unexpected.

What can be hard though is when I am really not feeling well and to get online just takes so much energy that sometimes I just can’t do it. I am trying to be better about it but I find not having energy harder than speaking about tough subjects.

How do you make yourself feel better and get into that positive mindset on the lower days?

The first thing you have to try to remind yourself is that most likely when you feel bad it is not permanent. Next you have to see whether you really need to rest and just give yourself a day and accept you will be on the couch or can this be a day where you can push thru? If it is a “push thru” day I first caffeinate, eat something healthy to give me some energy, meditate and then get outside and go for a walk. These are my go-tos! Then if I am still feeling ok, I try to tackle one thing a day that needs to get done.

If I am still a bit low I always try to put on some music I love or watch a comedy film. I also then try to think about things that I am grateful for and small moments in the day which have brought me joy.

Have you found people around you have treated you differently since the diagnosis?

Not necessarily, no. Honestly, I think the reason for that is because a lot of people do not feel comfortable talking about cancer or bringing it up. For me most have acted the same towards me which is good and bad. I am very open about everything so for me I can find it hard when people ignore the fact I have cancer in the sense they say things like “ Oh I haven’t seen you for awhile! So how are things going? What have you been up to?”. I then feel a bit awkward because I know they know and are just asking cheery questions and do not want the real answers, but that is ok.

More than anything people have been kind. Even if someone did treat me differently then it is no big deal. Everyone handles things in life differently and if someone is being rude or mean or different it is because they have issues in themselves, it has nothing to do with you. Always remember that.