When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I knew—deep down—that it had been caused by stress. I understood I would need to care for my body through treatment, but I also knew I had to take charge of my emotional health. I needed to learn how to let go of stress, how to shift my thoughts, and how to release the unresolved emotions I had been carrying for years.

So I began studying. I explored many techniques—looking for ways to heal myself emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Fear, anxiety, uncertainty—all of it felt overwhelming in those early days. But two practices stood out—quietly yet powerfully. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and meditation became my anchors.

They didn’t erase the challenges. But they gave me something more powerful: a way to meet those challenges with steadiness and self-compassion. These tools became anchors. And eventually, they became gateways to deeper emotional healing.

Here’s how they supported me—and how they might support you too.

How EFT Helped Me Calm Fear Before Every Scan

The night before my first PET scan—the one that checks to see if the cancer has spread—I attended an EFT Tapping workshop. I didn’t know much about it at the time, but I was willing to try anything that might help ease the fear that had gripped me.

Although I didn’t fully understand its potential at the time, that experience gave me my first glimpse into how powerful EFT could be. After that, I used EFT Tapping regularly—before scans, during appointments, and throughout treatment.

EFT Tapping involves gently tapping on specific acupressure points while tuning into a negative emotion that you want to release. What surprised me most was how quickly it calmed my nervous system. The spinning thoughts slowed. My body relaxed. And I felt just a little safer in my skin.

A few years later, I discovered Gary Craig’s Official EFT—which includes Gold Standard EFT Tapping (the original EFT Tapping protocol, revised and updated by Gary himself) and Optimal EFT (the latest advancement in EFT introduced by Gary in 2014). With Official EFT, my healing deepened as I realised just how much could be released—unresolved emotions from the past, thought patterns, and long-held limiting beliefs stuck in my subconscious, out of my awareness but always playing a role.

My experience with Official EFT inspired me to become certified as a Gary Craig Certified Official EFT Master, so I could support others with the same depth and integrity.

With the right support, EFT can:

• Gently release fear, guilt, or grief that’s been stored in the body

• Help resolve the emotional charge of past experiences or memories

• Support your nervous system to return to a state of balance

Even when I wasn’t ready to explore deeper emotions, just using it to calm my fear was a lifeline.

How Meditation Trained My Mind to Come Back to the Present

I also began meditating around that time, starting with guided meditations—simple, soothing recordings that gave my mind a place to rest. As I experienced the benefits firsthand, I felt called to share this practice with others. I became a certified meditation teacher through the Chopra Centre, where I trained in Primordial Sound Meditation. I later learned Transcendental Meditation, which follows a similar approach of silently repeating a mantra.

Over time, I also explored other forms of meditation that involved focusing on the breath, a candle, or a single point of awareness. Each of these practices helped me return to the present moment.

In every meditation, I would gently notice when my mind wandered—and guide it back to my mantra, my breath, or whatever I had chosen to focus on. That simple act, repeated again and again, became a powerful form of mental training.

And that skill began to show up in everyday life:

• When a fearful thought came, I didn’t have to chase it.

• When anxiety rose, I had a practice to return to.

• I began to live with more presence, and less reactivity.

Meditation didn’t make my fear disappear—but it gave me space between the fear and my response. And in that space, I found calm.

You Don’t Have to Master These Tools All at Once

If you’re curious about EFT or meditation, know this: you don’t have to get it perfect. You don’t have to meditate for 30 minutes a day or tap away all your fear in one session. These tools are gentle companions, not demands.

You can begin by:

• Exploring a short guided meditation (even 5 minutes)

• Trying a few rounds of tapping 

• Simply sitting quietly with your breath and asking, What do I need right now?

These small actions can be the start of something deeply healing.

A Closing Word

What supported me most wasn’t just the tools themselves—it was the sense of empowerment they gave me. EFT and meditation reminded me that I wasn’t powerless in the face of fear. I had ways to soothe my body, calm my thoughts, and reconnect with something steady inside myself.

And so do you.

These practices are part of what I now share inside the Breast Cancer Empowerment Programme, woven gently into a trauma-informed, heart-led approach to healing.

But even now, years later, I return to them. Not because I’m still afraid—but because they bring me home.