Joy is a participant on our Active Recovery programme and has been since 2025.

Active Recovery is a programme designed to support individuals who have undergone cancer treatment to regain confidence, fitness and strength which can be affected by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The programme was launched in 2017 and is in partnership between Derby County Community Trust and the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton Trust.

Joy’s cancer journey began when she was just 25 years old after receiving abnormal results from a routine cervical cancer screening. Joy was diagnosed and successfully treated for cervical cancer and never worried about it again, saying  “For me, when you are diagnosed with cancer, if you can catch and deal with it… then it’s over. It’s important to have regular check-ups and attend your smear tests.”

A number of years later, Joy started to experience stomach pain and would often need to lie down in the afternoons. Not thinking much of it at the time, Joy managed the symptoms when they occurred. Until in 2024, after returning from a trip to Australia, she came home to an NHS bowel cancer screening FIT kit. Joy sent this off and the test came back positive.

Joy returned to her previous mindset of not being overly concerned and received an appointment for a colonoscopy. On this, Joy said: “It’s one of those things you have to do. It’s not the most comfortable experience in the world, but you just do it.”

After her colonoscopy, Joy received the diagnosis from the doctor, “you have cancer.”

She was then booked in for a procedure to have the right side of her colon removed and was told there had been an extramural venous invasion, meaning the cancer had spread into her blood.

Chemotherapy treatment was offered to Joy, which she completed in March 2025. Joy felt the effects of the treatment, she would often be left with no energy at the end of the day, crawling up her stairs at home. Her hands and her feet began to crack and become sore, it was challenging but she tried to remain positive.

To regain her strength, Joy was invited to take part in a research trial with access to a gym. “I was going to the gym at the hospital; I had a lovely doctor who helped me use weights and took my measurements. We both got very excited when I began to make progress.”

Having previously enjoyed going to the gym, being able to be active again sparked Joy’s interest in continuing to work on her fitness levels. Whilst Joy was part of the research trial, she was made aware of the Active Recovery programme and sent her details to Lee [Physical Activity and Health Officer at DCCT]. Joy began working with Lee two weeks after she had finished chemotherapy and threw herself into it.

“I was terrified to come for the first time, but Lee was so lovely and supportive. He took me into the gym, and I began doing 3KM on the treadmill, and a few minutes on a range of different machines. I left the gym worn out, but I was determined to come back the following week.”

Joy kept repeating her workouts until she gradually began increasing the intensity, week by week. Now, fast forward to less than a year from joining the Active Recovery programme, Joy is now running on the treadmill and adding weight training into her workouts.

“I was so excited to be able to run a mile, it took me months to achieve, but I was over the moon. Lee had mentioned to me the Derby 3K Family Fun Run, coming up in March. So, I signed up and started running around the outside of Pride Park Stadium, slowly increasing my distance.”

Joy is continuing her journey within the gym, and on the Active Recovery programme. She has become a welcoming face for any new participants and has worked hard to maintain her positive mindset, despite her challenges, her sights are firmly set on the Derby 3K finish line.

To read more about Active Recovery, click the link here – https://derbycountycommunitytrust.com/what-we-do/active-recovery/.