WE S H OUL D A L L E AT MOR E
fruit and veg
TORAL SHAH IS A NUTRITIONAL SCIENTIST AND A BREAST C ANCER SURVIVOR. SHE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT SPREADING THE WORD ON HEALTHY EATING AND THE IMPACT ON C ANCER
STRONG: Exercise helped Toral feel well again
in nutritional medicine that I found a lump in my own breast. It was an incredible shock. It made no sense to me. I knew that I might have to deal with breast cancer at some point in my life but I didn’t think I would be quite so young. I was just 29, had a healthy lifestyle and was training for a triathlon. It felt like my world was falling down around me.
Ever since I was a child I have been interested in health and science. I went to medical school, but watching my mother have chemotherapy for breast cancer made me realise that a career as an oncologist was not for me.
I had an incredible trainer who helped with the mental and physical effects of breast cancer and encouraged me to feel normal again. I finished my master’s and completed the London triathlon Olympic distance.
I watched Mum and my aunt fight the disease and side effects of treatment and I knew I wanted to prevent others going through the same thing. Understanding how cancer grows became important so I switched from medicine to studying cell biology.
The ability to exercise and complete physical challenges helped me learn to love my body once more. It made me feel strong and was an important way of coping. If I’m honest I also felt inspired watching all the fit men running around. I wanted to feel attractive again!
It was while I was doing my master’s
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