But whether you’re supporting someone with cancer or any other illness, caregiving extends far beyond that.

The person who drives an ageing parent to appointments, organises medication, prepares meals, manages bills or simply checks in every day to make sure a loved one is safe may also be a caregiver, even if they have never thought of themselves that way.

The reason for that, is that the role develops so gradually that people don’t realise that they have stepped into it, explained Hayley Francis Cann, a client services associate at Age Concern Bermuda.

“What begins as helping with groceries or transportation often evolves into managing increasingly complex responsibilities,” she said.

“Most people simply see themselves as being a devoted spouse, adult child or friend, rather than someone undertaking a caregiving role.”

As those responsibilities grow, many people find themselves struggling.

“Many caregivers are balancing employment, raising children and supporting ageing parents at the same time,” Ms Francis Cann said.

“Coordinating appointments, understanding available services and making long-term care decisions can quickly become overwhelming.”

One of the biggest concerns is that caregivers often neglect themselves while looking after everyone else.

“It happens gradually. By the time the day ends, there is often very little time or energy left for exercise, social connections, hobbies or even booking their own medical appointments,” she said.

“Self-care isn’t ignored because it isn’t important; it simply gets pushed to the bottom of an ever-growing to-do list.”

Many people also struggle because they are unsure where to find support.

“They may not know what services are available, assume they won’t qualify, or feel they should be able to manage on their own. As a result, many continue carrying an increasing load until they reach a point of exhaustion, rather than accessing support earlier when it could make the greatest difference.”

Burnout often develops slowly. Early signs include constant fatigue, difficulty sleeping, increased irritability, withdrawing from friends and activities, experiencing anxiety and feeling low.

Ms Francis Cann encouraged caregivers to seek support before reaching a crisis point.

“Even small breaks, maintaining routine medical appointments, staying connected with supportive friends and making time for activities that restore energy can make a significant difference,” she said.

“Age Concern Bermuda offers information, guidance, education seminars, community programmes and referrals that help individuals navigate the challenges associated with ageing and caregiving.”

The cancer charity Pals Bermuda provides invaluable support to cancer patients and their families. Organisations suchas Bermuda Health Council, long-term care homes daycare and respite initiatives, other local charities and faith communities also play an important role in ensuring caregivers do not feel they have to face these challenges alone.

Ms Francis Cann acknowledged that asking for help is not always easy in Bermuda.

“Cultural values such as independence, resilience and taking care of one’s own family are deeply rooted and are often a source of strength. However, these same values can sometimes make it difficult for caregivers to seek support.”

Practical help from relatives, friends and employers can make a significant difference.

“Preparing a meal, providing transportation, helping with paperwork, sitting with a loved one for a few hours or offering flexible work arrangements can reduce stress considerably. Sometimes the most valuable question we can ask a caregiver is, ‘What can I take off your plate today?’”

The post Who cares for the caregiver? appeared first on RG Magazines.

As reported in British newspaper The Guardian, the trial found that patients who underwent regulated fitness routines with a personal trainer or health coach after they completed treatment had a 37 per cent lower risk of death and a 28 per cent lower risk of recurrent or new cancers developing, compared with patients who received only health advice.

Results of the trial, which involved patients from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Canada and Israel, were presented in Chicago at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2025 annual meeting and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Asco event is the world’s largest cancer conference.

Julie Gralow, who was not involved in the study, is the chief medical officer of Asco.

She told The Guardian that the study’s findings would lead to “a major shift in understanding the importance of encouraging physical activity during and after treatment”.

The 90-minute Asco session was titled “Adjunctive Therapies in Colon Cancer: As Good as a Drug?”.

Dr Gralow said: “I would have retitled it ‘Better than a Drug’, because you don’t have all the side-effects.

“It’s the same magnitude of benefit of many drugs that get approved for this kind of magnitude of benefit – 28 per cent decreased risk of occurrence, 37 per cent decreased risk of death. Drugs get approved for less than that, and they’re expensive and they’re toxic.

“When I started three decades ago it was still the era where we’d be gentle and say, don’t overdo yourself when you’re on chemo. We’ve reversed that. I would say [exercise is] better than a drug.”

Exercise is key

The results of the trial have been endorsed by Chris Fosker, chief executive officer and medical director at Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre.

He said: “BCHC is excited to continue to see strong evidence supporting the benefits of exercise for people living with and beyond cancer.

“At BCHC, we have long encouraged physical activity as part of healthy survivorship, and this study adds important evidence showing the benefits of a structured exercise programme with coaching and support.”

Dr Fosker added: “This approach is central to BCHC’s Integrated Wellness Programme, which will help patients incorporate exercise safely and effectively into their lives.

“As the evidence grows, so too does the importance of ensuring these evidence-based support services are accessible to all who can benefit from them.”

In the trial, The Guardian reported, researchers enrolled 889 colon cancer patients between 2009 and 2023, 90 per cent of whom had stage 3 disease. Patients were randomly assigned to take part in a structured exercise programme or to just receive a healthy lifestyle booklet.

Exercise group patients worked with a personal trainer twice a month for coaching sessions and supervised exercise sessions, and later did so once a month, for a total of three years.

The Guardian reported that the exercise group were coached and supported to help them achieve set exercise goals. Their weekly target was the equivalent of three to four walks of between 45 and 60 minutes, but patients could choose how they got more active.

After five years, patients in the exercise group had a 28 per cent lower risk of recurrent or new cancers than those in the other group. After eight years, the same patients also had a 37 per cent lower risk of dying than those who were only handed the healthy lifestyle booklet.

Value of personal trainers

Christopher Booth, the study’s lead author, is a medical oncologist and health services researcher at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He is a professor of Oncology and Public Health Sciences, holds the Canada Research Chair in Population Cancer Care, and has published 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts in major journals.

Dr Booth said: “After completing surgery and chemotherapy, about 30 per cent of patients with high-risk stage 2 and stage 3 colon cancer will eventually experience recurrence of their disease. As oncologists, one of the most common questions we get asked by patients is ‘what else can I do to improve my outcome?’

“These results now provide us with a clear answer: an exercise programme that includes a personal trainer will reduce the risk of recurrent or new cancer, make you feel better and help you live longer.”

Charles Swanton, a professor and cancer researcher, is the former chief clinician of Cancer Research UK, the charity that funded the UK arm of the study.

A specialist in oncology and cancer research, he is a senior group leader at London’s Francis Crick Institute, Royal Society Napier Professor in Cancer and thoracic medical oncologist at University College London Hospitals.

Professor Swanton told The Guardian: “This fascinating study captures the power of exercise to transform people’s health and boost their chances of surviving cancer after treatment. For an intervention that isn’t a drug, exercise offers remarkable benefits for patients.”

The post Exercise – better than drugs? appeared first on RG Magazines.

In the beginning, patients are often surrounded by medical professionals, family and friends offering reassurance, assistance and emotional support.

But as the initial shock of the diagnosis begins to fade, patients can feel they’re left to handle the realities of living with a long-term illness on their own.

When the initial shock fades

While many chronic conditions, such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, can limit both quality and length of life, few diagnoses carry the same sense of uncertainty and apprehension as cancer. In the past, a cancer diagnosis often meant a significantly shortened life expectancy, but thanks to advances in detection and treatment, this is no longer necessarily the case.

“Cancer was once an ominous diagnosis, but every year treatments and outcome projections improve, meaning that more and more people are living with cancer long-term,” said Colleen English DeGrilla, executive director of Pals Cancer Care in Bermuda.

This is good news, of course, but living longer with cancer brings many challenges. As time passes, those around the patient may start to assume things are getting back to normal. For the person living with cancer, however, the need for practical and emotional support may be far from over.

“It’s quite common for patients to experience a sense of emotional abandonment,” Ms English DeGrilla said.

“They don’t want to be a burden to those around them, so they suffer in silence. ‘I’m fine, but I’m really not’ is something we hear patients confide all the time.

Navigating uncertain times

“One of the biggest misconceptions about a cancer diagnosis is that you just need to adjust to some sort of a ‘new normal’,” Ms English DeGrilla said.

“There is no new normal – cancer is a journey that changes you as a person.

“Any life-threatening illness causes most people to re-evaluate their priorities in life, and your needs and priorities will continue to change the further you go.”

She said patients need to become their own advocates.

“You have to find the courage to take a risk and tell someone what you need, whether you think it’s big or small, because people often appreciate knowing how they can help.

“Let your friends and family know if you need a drive to medical appointments, help running errands, someone to collect the grocery shopping or help doing the laundry. You never know who might be more than happy to assist.”

Getting the support you need

Connecting with others who understand what you are going through at one of Pals’ group activities provides an opportunity to share experiences, exchange practical advice and gain a new perspective.

Asking for help is not a sign that you are failing and, for some, simply knowing that there is somewhere they can turn to for help can make a big difference.

“One of our patients remarked that just walking through the door of Pals is like receiving a hug,” Ms English DeGrilla said.

“We are also available to assist with wound care, psychological adjustment and financial support to help you get the treatment you need.”

While accessing the many services offered by Pals does require a doctor’s referral, Ms English DeGrilla encourages anyone who is unsure what assistance is available or where to begin to give them a call or stop by the office.

For more information, visit https://pals.bm.

The post Managing the new normal appeared first on RG Magazines.

Annual events like Relay for Life, the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk and St Baldrick’s don’t just raise millions of dollars to help ensure people can get the treatment they need – they also show how our island cares about its people.

Father-of-two Dave Stewart is one example.

Mr Stewart, 44, shaved his flowing locks at this year’s St Baldrick’s event, in support of his father, Jock Stewart, who has recently undergone cancer treatment and is now in remission.

“It brings cancer closer to home when you see someone you love go through it,” Mr Stewart said.

“Having my hair shaved off didn’t cost me anything – and, if anything, it was good timing as it was nice to have short hair in the summer!”

Mr Stewart raised more than $11,000, thanks to generous donations including a large contribution from Renaissance Re, where his wife Renha is an employee.

The annual St Baldrick’s event – in which people shave their heads in solidarity with children affected by cancer – aims to open conversations about childhood cancer and the importance of research.

Since Bermuda’s first St Baldrick’s event in 2002, local participants have raised more than $8 million.

Most funds raised here support childhood cancer research through the St Baldrick’s Foundation, with 10 per cent granted back to Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre’s SunSmart programme, which educates children and families on sun-safe behaviour.

Across all fundraising events in 2025, $1.6 million was generated for Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre, supporting patient care, prevention programmes, equipment, infrastructure and other strategic priorities.

Deborah Titterton Narraway, chief marketing and fundraising officer, said: “Relay For Life is a major contributor, providing approximately $630,302 in community funding in 2025. But it is only one part of the picture.

“The Allshores Breast Cancer Walk, AXA XL Man on the Run 5K, Movember Bermuda, individual donors, corporate partners and other fundraising initiatives all contribute to the centre’s ability to deliver its charitable mission.”

But it doesn’t stop there. Community fundraising helps the centre invest in the services Bermuda will need tomorrow.

In 2024-2025, $265,977 was raised towards a mammography upgrade and $100,000 was donated by Allied World towards ultrasound expansion.

“These are tangible examples of community support helping to strengthen early detection and diagnostic capability on island,” Ms Titterton Narraway explained.

Participation also has an impact beyond the money raised. These events bring people together, create conversations about cancer, celebrate survivors, remember those we have lost and help keep prevention and early detection visible within our community.

Fundraising allows Bermudian organisations like Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre to put their commitment to equitable access into practice, so patients can focus on their health rather than worrying about whether they can afford a mammogram, ultrasound, breast biopsy or radiation therapy.

Together, these efforts help Bermudians access the care they need regardless of their ability to pay and send an important message to those affected by cancer: you are not facing this alone.

Help is also available to understand a diagnosis or manage an inherited cancer risk, coordinate appointments and referrals, access local and overseas treatment, connect with support services and overcome barriers to care.

When we come together to support one another, even the smallest contribution can help make a lasting difference.

To learn more regarding how you can help visit https://www.cancer.bm.

The post From fundraiser to impact appeared first on RG Magazines.

Despite its tiny size, the island has full-time oncologists and chemotherapy nurses at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, as well as a dedicated cancer care centre offering radiation treatment.

But for some, the route to the most appropriate treatment takes them off island to specialist hospitals in the United States and Canada, where they can access expertise and treatments that may not be available locally.

Leaving Bermuda for cancer care can add another layer of uncertainty to an already daunting experience.

“When you get a cancer diagnosis, it is stressful,” said oncologist Aparna Parikh, an expert in gastrointestinal cancers at Mass General Brigham in Boston, US, where many patients from Bermuda receive care.

“If you know you have the tools of a really great, world-class academic medical centre, which has the cutting-edge treatments and doctors and resources, clinical trials and therapies, and you readily have access to those teams, my hope is that the anxiety around that and the fears would be allayed some because of that access.”

Dr Parikh pointed out the importance of multidisciplinary care for cancer.

“At MGB, we really provide that care, where we are evaluating every patient with a sub-specialist from every discipline, including medical oncology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology,” she said.

“That same level of expertise and multidisciplinary care is more limited on the island.”

Cost-effective

Still, even with the knowledge that they will be in expert hands overseas, a cancer patient may feel overwhelmed at the thought of factoring in a foreign trip, both financially and logistically.

Luckily, on-island insurers can take on much of the strain.

Jai-Michael Phillips, head of Benefits, Insurance and Provider Relations at Allshores, explained that the company has an in-house travel agency which makes bookings for clients once a referral has been received.

“There’s no money out of pocket if you are booking through us,” he said.

He added that insurers can often get discounts at hotels and long-stay accommodation near hospitals, making it more cost-effective to access their help from the start.

After a patient’s stay overseas, Allshores reimburses “per diems” – a set daily allowance for food and transport – on receipt of a hotel folio.

Mr Phillips said: “No receipts are needed.”

For many cancer patients, the thought of accessing and navigating care in a much larger healthcare facility than they are used to may be daunting – and there may be privacy concerns.

Mr Phillips said Allshores had local and off-island case management teams to assist customers, all of whom work for the company, as opposed to for a third-party provider, and they must keep all information confidential.

He said where a patient receives care depends on their individual medical circumstances.

“You could have a breast cancer that 100 per cent can be done in Bermuda.

“You could have a very complicated breast cancer that has to go off island, maybe because of co-morbidities.

“There’s so many different complications that can come up. It is all very much patient by patient.”

He stressed that such decision-making was entirely clinical.

“Every single person that gets diagnosed goes through the rigour of making sure that the best clinical journey is decided on first before insurance is engaged from a payment standpoint,” he said.

“If the doctors are saying it happens outside of Bermuda, it happens outside of Bermuda for clinical reasons, not for access reasons or capacity reasons, but for clinical reasons.

“And if they say it can happen in Bermuda, then it happens in Bermuda.”

Communication is key

Mr Phillips described how some cancer patients fail to make a claim to Allshores until after they’ve been abroad and had the treatment.

That can mean the care ends up costing more – impacting everyone’s health premiums – and, in some cases, that a customer’s plan doesn’t cover certain treatments that haven’t been approved as standard of care.

“Cancer is one of those diagnoses where there’s lots of cutting and leading-edge things happening,” he said.

“Because of that, we always want to understand what’s going on with the patient from an insurance payment perspective, because experimental and investigational and clinical trials are not covered under the plan.”

He emphasised that communication between cancer patient and insurer was key throughout.

“It needs to be understood that when people do travel off island, they are entering a much larger, much more complex clinical system at whatever hospital they go to,” Mr Phillips said.

“That’s why the overseas case management team is so critical … so that we can be there for you when you need us the most.”

Likewise, the local case management team helps once a patient is back at home.

Mr Phillips said: “When they’re coming from a very complex and high level of care off island and they come back to Bermuda, [a lot of people] don’t know how to connect the dots because our system, as small as it is, is still very disjointed.

“The flow of information for patients can be disjointed and that’s why the local care management team is so important, because they grab all of that inconsistency and they turn it into something digestible for a returning patient.”

Dr Parikh said patients should be assured that an overseas hospital would still be available to help even after they return to Bermuda.

“I always tell my patients: ‘I’m now part of your team’. And if I’m the captain of the team, we’ll always do what we need for you and co-ordinate with the local doctors if necessary.”

The post Beyond Bermuda appeared first on RG Magazines.

After all, there are many behaviours that we know will benefit us, but that we don’t always follow, such as regular exercise, eating healthily, not smoking or vaping and getting the recommended vaccines.

Dr Fosker, the CEO and medical director at Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre, said: “To really change how people behave, just telling them facts doesn’t work.”

Instead, Dr Fosker said, government policies can guide behaviour – banning smoking or restricting the availability of alcohol, for example.

More than that, people must have equitable access to healthcare and support.

Dr Fosker said: “Rather than sticking a poster on the wall or sticking something on social media, you need to create a relationship of trust and then work through how to help someone stop smoking, drinking, overeating, be a better weight, and help them exercise.

“Most of us know that you should exercise, but that’s a lot harder done than said. Studies show that you need good access to exercise, and you need controlled costs, because exercising is too expensive nowadays.”

He added: “In Bermuda, lighting the whole of the Railway Trail would probably be as impactful as buying a new mammogram machine.”

Worth the investment

Cancer prevention in Bermuda includes both self-care and medical care, as well as the creation of patient trust in the quality and breadth of the island’s healthcare system.

Self-care, or primary cancer prevention, focuses on preventing cancer from happening; the World Health Organisation estimates that between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of cancers are preventable.

Dr Fosker said encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, providing wellness programmes, and ensuring that healthy food and exercise are affordable, will result in a healthier population and reduced healthcare costs.

“You have to invest up front in those kind of programmes and really get people engaged into it rather than just assuming it’s each individual’s responsibility.

“All of that takes time and effort – and time and effort costs money. But it’s not a cost, it’s investment because the best cancer is the one that’s never diagnosed because you prevented it.”

Dr Fosker said it’s important that patients have confidence in the island’s healthcare system.

“Amazing things have happened in Bermuda in the last ten, 15 years. We’ve got some of the best breast cancer outcomes globally, and we’ve seen a reduction in prostate cancer mortality of 63 per cent over the last decade, but those are numbers that people don’t necessarily grasp onto.

“What they do grasp onto is if someone’s been on a cancer journey and sits down with them and says, ‘I’ve survived this, I’m living with it, I’m doing well, these people looked after me’.”

Secondary prevention and tertiary prevention also form part of the cancer prevention continuum.

The former incorporates the screening, early detection and timely diagnosis of cancer.

Dr Fosker said: “If you catch breast cancer at stage 1, you’ve got a 98 to 99 per cent chance you’ll be living well five years afterwards. If you catch it at stage 4, it’s only 25 per cent.

“You can live the absolutely perfect lifestyle and still get cancer. It’s really important that we have good screening programmes and that’s where secondary prevention comes in.

“Cancer can happen but if you catch it early via nationalised programmes – screening for breast, prostate, cervical, lung, skin and colon cancer – your chance of cure is so much higher.”

Tertiary prevention focuses on advances in treatment, survivorship and ongoing care that helps patients achieve the best possible outcomes after a cancer diagnosis.

Local treatment

BCHC has made great progress in ensuring that patients can receive treatment in Bermuda: for example, adding a radiation unit in 2017.

Dr Fosker said: “That changed us fundamentally in terms of how we can treat cancer. Having a radiation unit here has doubled the number of people who choose to have radiation.

“For those with HIP or Future Care, the number of people who choose radiation has quadrupled. For those who need palliative radiation, for symptom control, access has increased six-fold.

“We saw how quickly people would trust care in Bermuda when it was done here and done well. Within a year of opening the radiation unit, 98 per cent of people who were recommended radiation chose to have it here because they could trust what we do because of our clinical affiliation with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“People want to be around their family and friends and that is more important sometimes than the name on the door or what the doctor says.”

Human touch

Dr Fosker said cancer patients need good support to feel “normal” again. For care providers, that includes talking to patients about next steps, and how to recover from the tiredness associated with treatment.

“The primary focus is often treatment, but getting psychological support and financial, family, physical and nutritional support, should be a normal part of treatment.

“The impact of investing in a psychologist, a nutritionist and a reflexologist is equal to that of investing in new equipment in terms of your return on investment and in terms of how the patient will feel.

“That word ‘trust’ is such a key element to it. It’s acknowledging that cancer care doesn’t stop when treatment stops.”

He added: “We can’t turn around how cancer behaves, but we can reduce that family and emotional burden, the stress of it, the worry of it, and the impact of it on our society by making sure we’re doing the primary, secondary, tertiary prevention as that whole continuum so that everything that you have to fear, we can help you with here at Bermuda Cancer and Health.”

BCHC, which never asks a patient for a co-pay, recently received a $3 million pledge from Allshores that is an investment by the company in the island by empowering BCHC.

Dr Fosker said: “While it may seem that an endless pot of gold is required to get cancer care right, with any donation, we will find a way of making sure that it’s invested back into the community, because there’s so much to do.”

The post More than the basics appeared first on RG Magazines.

Mr Furbert’s wish was granted in July 2024, through a generous gift from a family friend, a few weeks after he learnt his cancer was terminal.

Attending Hamilton’s historic victory at Silverstone became a lifetime highlight for Mr Furbert. For his children, it was a reminder that even amid great sadness, beautiful memories can still shine through.

Daughter Danielle Furbert said: “After we got the news that the treatments were no longer working, our friend asked me, ‘What does your dad like? I just feel like I want to do something nice for him.

“I told him my dad was a huge F1 fan. And he said, ‘What if my wife and I sponsor you going to one of the F1 races?’

“It was just so generous, beyond anything I had ever been offered. The whole event was just incredible, and we were able to get some lovely memories from it. It was truly a blessing.

“I still look at the videos and pictures I took from that. I asked my dad, when Lewis Hamilton won, how did he feel? He said, ‘Oh, I feel great.’ He was pretty mellow with his answer, but you could tell he was still excited. He was just thrilled to be with his kids and to have this moment.”

Emotional journey

Mr Furbert, a property manager and accountant, was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 2021. Ms Furbert recalled a sense of unfairness given that the non-smoker had already overcome throat cancer.

But Mr Furbert didn’t allow the disease to define him. He continued playing golf, even on days he received chemotherapy, and he remained the life and soul of the party.

“We could walk into a movie theatre, and he’d be like, ‘Good morning, everybody’ to the crowd. It was incredible to witness, someone who had such an amazing character and way about him, and the impact he had on people.”

He went through about eight different chemotherapies, but the cancer eventually spread across his body.

“Without saying the words between us as a family initially, it was becoming clearer this was likely something he wasn’t going to beat. He was just trying to, at this point, have some quality of life.

“The final blow came in May 2024 where we were told that there wasn’t much more they could do. My dad was tired of treatments. So, I remember saying to him, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to just try one more?’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t want to do any more.’ And I left it there. I didn’t push. And for me, that was difficult.”

Ms Furbert, 36, juggled caregiving responsibilities with her professional life in the reinsurance industry.

It was a journey of love – but exhausting and, at times, frustrating and emotionally painful.

“You, in a way, lose yourself in caring for this person,” she said.

“I would do it all over again if I had to, but you do become a little bit of a background character in your own life. This person and what they need becomes the most important thing.

“There is an isolating nature of being a caregiver. You’re not losing who you are, but your life is on pause. There are a lot of things that you give up.”

She is grateful that she could spend so much quality time with her father.

But she added: “It was very challenging to try to balance my own life and what he was going through. There were times when the impact of the treatments was very difficult on him, his patience could wear thin, so he would have moments of just being a little bit abrupt. He was a wonderful person, but he was human.”

Navigating those moments was difficult.

“As a caregiver, you have to find ways to make time for yourself,” she said. “What that looked like for me was, at times, travelling off island to get a break, massages, time with friends and family, alone time and journaling. As strong as you might think you are, it would affect anybody for a while in the beginning.

“Cancer started to consume my life and my dad’s life. That word was almost said every single day.

“The impact on him at the end, his body deteriorating, not being able to eat, eventually not being able to talk: how quickly that happened, it was very difficult to witness. And I was bathing my dad. I was trying to give him water and feed him if he could eat.”

Support network

Mr Furbert also benefited from the support of his mother, Eloise Furbert, who recently turned 100, son Kyle Furbert, 34, and the charity PALS. This network was crucial to Ms Furbert, too.

“You have to reach out to your support network and have those conversations where you talk about how difficult it is,” she said.

“I almost didn’t do that enough at times. I just kept swallowing the difficulty and just parking it somewhere, and it’s going to come out in some ways.”

He passed in January 2025, aged 73, on Ms Furbert’s birthday.

A year later, Ms Furbert decided to turn the anniversary into something positive at one of his favourite restaurants, the Barracuda Grill in Hamilton.

“I gathered some of my closest friends to celebrate his life,” she said.

“That day, yes, it was the day I lost my father, but it was also the day he gave life to his best friend. He was my best friend. It was a moving and celebratory day and filled with happiness.

“It dawned on me how much he was loved by so many other people. It wasn’t just me or his immediate family, it was people in the community, and his own friends, and people he grew up with.”

The celebration centred on the good parts about Mr Furbert’s life, and who he really was as a person.

“He focused on what was in his control and made time for what brought him joy.

“His children were the light of his life, and we were there by his side until the very end; we loved each other deeply. His memory lives on in what he instilled in us.”

The post Cherish the good times appeared first on RG Magazines.

Cancer had taken her mother and aunts, so she understood the importance of keeping a close watch on her own wellbeing.

As such, the diagnosis she received in 2014 came as a surprise: stage 3 aggressive breast cancer.

“It was shocking. And it was shocking because I thought I was doing all the right things,” Mrs Furbert said.

Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre was a huge source of support as she underwent surgery in Bermuda and spent several weeks being treated at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

Her Christian faith was equally important in helping Mrs Furbert, 76, come to terms with what lay ahead.

“I was devastated, but with the word of God, because of my belief, it helped me get through it.”

Her family, friends and church community rallied around her. One friend in Baltimore, Vanessa Moore, visited her at Johns Hopkins every single day.

“She spent those whole six to eight weeks with me out there in the hospital,” Mrs Furbert said. “Literally coming every day just to be my friend, just to be there for me.”

Another close friend, Janet Smith, was also by her side. Mrs Furbert finds it particularly poignant that Ms Smith has since died.

“She was there fighting with me for my life, and she’s already gone herself. So we just never know what we have in store in our lives.”

Loving care

Mrs Furbert remembers how kindly she was treated whenever she walked through the doors of Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre on Point Finger Road.

“I just know how much they just poured out and cared for me. They didn’t [treat me as if] I was just another person in there. They worked with me and talked with me and cared,” she said.

“And that was what I got — they cared about everybody that came in there, and they wanted to help. They wanted to do what they could do, and I’m grateful for that.”

She said the organisation is focused on ensuring everyone receives the care they need, regardless of their financial circumstances.

“They never turned me away. They just wanted to be sure that they could do the best they could for me.”

Although some days were difficult, Mrs Furbert was determined not to lose hope. She believes her optimism and positive mindset helped her through.

“The mind plays a part in your illness as well. I believe that if you’re down and you lose hope, that draws your body [down] too,” she said.

“Even though there were some hard days along the way I just kept praising God and my friends were praying too. I’m just truly thankful that I’m here today.”

Last month, more than a decade after her diagnosis, Mrs Furbert returned to the centre.

The staff she had known were not there, but she wanted the people now doing the work to know what it had meant to her.

“I just went in and I thanked them again because of what they did back in 2014,” she said. “I think thanking is very important, and I wanted to encourage them, to let them know that they [are appreciated].”

Paying it forward

Cancer also left Mrs Furbert with a greater awareness of the uncertainty of the future.

“It changed my life to a point. In a way it made me realise how life can be short, it can be long. You don’t know each day,” she said.

“It’s devastating when you get a scenario like that and you’re not sure what’s going on and how you’re going to do it, but it has made me a stronger individual.”

For someone who had already spent much of her life caring for others, that experience reinforced something that came naturally.

Mrs Furbert and her husband Alan raised 11 children between them. She has two biological children, her husband had two sons who came to live with them after they married, and together they fostered another seven.

That instinct to care for others continued long after their children became adults.

“I tend to help people,” she said. “I go to senior’s homes. I spend time with my neighbours who are seniors, even older than me, just to know that someone cares and that someone is there for them. Not everybody has somebody.”

Her own experience of needing other people only deepened that commitment.

“I’ve learned that even when I’m in pain, go to someone else who’s in pain because they need to know your story.”

Now in remission, Mrs Furbert is grateful to be able to live an active life.

“I can walk just like a 20-year-old, I can move about,” she said. “I’m just grateful that I’m here now and can continue to help others.”

When she hears that someone has cancer or is struggling, she will visit if she can, offer help and pray with them. Her cancer journey, she said, “just grew me to love even more and to care for others.”

Mrs Furbert believes cancer touches a significant number of families in Bermuda and that the island’s small size makes the work of organisations such as Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre particularly important.

“Cancer, for some reason, is a high situation in Bermuda and we’re such a small island. I’m just thankful for the part that they played in my journey.”

She hopes people and businesses able to support Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre will recognise the difference that support can make, particularly for people who may not have the network around them that she did.

“Many people don’t know where to go. This is an important aspect of lives being saved throughout Bermuda, lives being helped throughout Bermuda. Lives being given the chance, the opportunity to get help.”

More than a decade after her diagnosis, Mrs Furbert says the experience reinforced a lesson she now tries to put into practice every day.

“We have to realise that we’re here for a purpose, for a time. We don’t know what our time is, but we should use it wisely, use it in loving and caring for others.

“And that’s what I do.”

The post Strength after cancer appeared first on RG Magazines.

Just two years ago, Mr Lindo was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. What followed was a battle he didn’t think he’d be fighting for at least another 30 years.

For a 23-year-old, a year of chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, hospital stays and emotional highs and lows that push you to your physical and mental limits is the last thing on the itinerary. The thing is, cancer doesn’t care about your life plan, so you have to pivot. Mr Lindo did pivot, and he’s here to tell his story because of that very will to fight.

Today, as a cancer survivor, he is willing to talk openly about the experience – not because it was easy, but because he hopes his story will encourage other men to listen to their bodies, seek medical attention, and refuse to let fear stop them from getting help.

His journey began after returning from a boys’ trip to England.

Back at work, Mr Lindo noticed something unusual in the bathroom. Initially, he did not know what to make of it. But when it continued happening and then became worse over the following month or so, he spoke to his mother.

Her response was straightforward: it was time to see a doctor.

Tests followed, including a colonoscopy. Then came the conversation that changed everything.

Mr Lindo remembers sitting with his surgeon and being told he had cancer.

“At 23, you know, I was speechless,” he recalled. “Imagine what a 23-year-old who thinks he is fit and healthy would feel when he’s told he has cancer. It was breath-taking.”

Fight the fear

There were no words – even now, Mr Lindo stumbles over words to describe how speechless he was on getting that news from his doctor two years ago.

The treatment plan was extensive. It meant spending much of the next year in and out of hospital for chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

The diagnosis brought fear, particularly because Mr Lindo had already watched his father go through cancer and succumb to it in 2012.

“I was scared,” he said. “Once I started losing weight, and people were consistently telling me how I was losing weight, and I wasn’t using the bathroom – you just keep losing weight. There was definitely fear in the beginning.”

But fear was not going to have the final word.

One of the people who helped change Mr Lindo’s outlook was his oncologist, Dr Michael Hawking, who quickly helped ease his sense of panic.

“Once everybody hears cancer, it’s kind of like they look at you like you’re halfway gone,” he said. “But he was like, ‘Colon cancer? That’s easy. We got that.’ That first meeting really eased my mind.”

Mr Lindo began chemotherapy, but his first treatment brought an allergic reaction, adding another layer of anxiety to an already overwhelming situation. But he stuck to the wicket.

He completed six sessions of chemotherapy and then six weeks of radiation. Staff at Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre became an important part of his support system. He remembers the nurses’ smiles and encouragement, and the way they helped make a difficult experience feel a little more manageable.

“Those ladies over there were amazing,” he said. “They were always checking on me.”

Toll on the body

Radiation was followed by surgery to remove the tumour. For a young man eager to get back to normal, the physical recovery proved humbling.

Mr Lindo recalls thinking he would be able to get up and get on with things shortly after surgery. Instead, his body told him to rest.

“I was 24, thinking I could get up and go do things,” he said. “But that surgery sat me down!”

The operation also meant temporarily living with a colostomy bag – something he had never imagined confronting at his age.

“I’m 24 with a poop bag,” he said. “It really just brought me down to earth. I thought I was supposed to have this stuff, maybe 30 years later, not now.”

There were further surgeries and another six rounds of chemotherapy. The treatment took a toll on his entire body. He recalls walking around with a chemotherapy pump and feeling as though the drugs affected everything from his energy and appetite to his sense of taste and smell.

“It was tough, you know, it would just throw your whole body off,” he says. “You just don’t want to be around anything.”

Yet throughout the year, Mr Lindo kept moving forward.

He worked when he could, sometimes working for a week and taking the following week off. He celebrated each stage of treatment as a small victory: chemotherapy completed, radiation completed, surgery completed, then back to chemotherapy. Mr Lindo took it one step at a time.

“Chemo? Done. Check. Radiation? Six weeks. Thug it out. Surgery? Get home. Second round of chemo. Thug it out.”

That phrase – “Thug it out” – became a family mantra.

For Mr Lindo, his motivation was also deeply personal. His father had experienced the same cancer. His father did not survive it.

“I had a chip on my shoulder from the beginning,” he said. “We had the same cancer in the same spot! It took one, but it didn’t take the other. So, that’s what I did it for, I wanted to beat this for both of us.”

His mother was another source of strength. When he told her about his diagnosis, she did not allow him to retreat into fear.

“She said, ‘All right. You know what you’ve got to do.’” For Mr Lindo, that meant trusting the doctors, trusting the treatment plan and confronting each stage as it came.

That support – from his mother, family, friends and healthcare workers – became one of the most important lessons of his experience.

Positive lesson

Cancer is not a reason to give up. It is a reason to pay attention. Mr Lindo urges men not to let pride or ego prevent them from seeking help. If something feels wrong, talk to a doctor.

“Don’t be hard-headed,” he said. “Don’t let your ego outweigh what’s going on. Your body sends you messages. Once your body sends those messages, don’t hesitate to go to the doctor.”

Following treatment, Mr Lindo received follow-up testing and was told everything looked good. He remains grateful – to his doctors, the nurses and staff who cared for him, his friends, his family and especially his mother.

For men who may be tempted to hide their fears, his message is direct: speak up, get checked and embrace the support around you.

“Make sure you have good soldiers around you,” he said. “Good people will definitely help you through the battle – because it is a battle.”

Mr Lindo wants other people facing cancer to understand that a diagnosis does not mean the end of the story. He knows the fear. He knows the exhaustion. He knows the uncertainty that can come with hearing the word ‘cancer’. But he also knows what it means to keep going.

“To anybody that’s going through cancer right now, I would like to just send you a hug,” he said. “We take it day by day. Step by step. We’ve just got to thug it out.”

The post Thug it out! appeared first on RG Magazines.

In Bermuda, where renovations aren’t always practical and moving isn’t always affordable, making the most of every square foot can make a surprising difference.

The good news is that creating more space often has less to do with buying a bigger home than using the one you already have more cleverly.

Ikea, the multinational home furnishing brand famous for designing and selling ready-to-assemble furniture, suggests looking upwards.

Using walls for storage can open up the space dramatically, particularly in kitchens and other compact rooms.

Cupboards themselves can often hold more than you think. Shelf risers create a second level for plates, mugs or pantry items, while stackable containers make better use of the full height of a shelf. In deeper cupboards, pull-out baskets can also make items stored at the back easier to reach.

Floating shelves, pegboards and wall hooks can all free up cupboards while keeping everyday items within easy reach. Tall bookcases and shelving units also make use of space that often goes unnoticed.

The furniture itself should also work harder.

Better Homes & Gardens magazine recommends choosing pieces that serve more than one purpose. A storage ottoman, for example, provides somewhere to sit while concealing belongings inside, while coffee tables with hidden compartments provide extra storage without taking up additional floor space.

Beds can also provide valuable storage. Built-in drawers are one option. Good Housekeeping magazine recommends using the space beneath a bed for things that are not needed every day — bulky bedding, out-of-season clothes, luggage and less frequently worn shoes.

Boxes on wheels make belongings easier to retrieve, while vacuum storage bags can reduce the amount of room taken up by bulky items.

Other unused spaces are worth considering too.

Better Homes & Gardens suggests attaching organisers to the inside of closet doors to hold smaller items. The tops of wardrobes can accommodate luggage or things used only occasionally, while hooks can turn otherwise empty walls or the backs of doors into useful storage.

Apartment Therapy, a home decor and lifestyle website that teaches readers how to organise and beautify their homes, suggests looking for storage that disappears when not in use. A wall-mounted drying rack, for example, can fold flat against the wall rather than permanently occupying valuable floor space.

Hooks near the front door can provide a home for keys, bags and coats, while drawer dividers can bring order to kitchens, bathrooms and desks. Good Housekeeping recommends baskets to make better use of awkward spaces, including the area beneath a bathroom sink.

Better Homes & Gardens recommends regularly removing things that are no longer used, while Good Housekeepingalso puts decluttering at the heart of organising a small space.

A cupboard full of gadgets that haven’t been used in years or clothes that no longer fit takes up valuable room, no matter how neatly everything is organised.

The aim isn’t necessarily to fill every available corner with storage. Leaving some surfaces clear and avoiding too much furniture can also make a small room feel less crowded.

The post Making space appeared first on RG Magazines.