breat cancer | Italian girl in London

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breat cancer, hello love, october, stellamccarthy

I think I will remember this October, for few things: a real Indian summer both in London and in Milan, my new home getting ready and the media attention that women have received during this last few weeks. I didn’t join the various hashtags campaigns that have invaded the net, but I reflected on the fact that my generation of women, strongminded, well travelled and educated, will probably need to fight against something else. It is not emancipation, the patriarchy or pay gaps – although there is still a lot that can be done. It is statistics. It is 1 out of 8. This is the ratio of women that get breast cancer. It is a lot.

October is the breast cancer awareness month. A good reminder to check your breast.

Several cosmetics companies are running a campaign, and I have certainly spotted quite few pink ribbons dotted around department stores and beauty counters.

This year I am paying a lot more attention to this, because, someone very dear to me and of my very same age, is currently affected by this illness. As I do not believe this is the place to discuss someone else’s cancer, I thought this is an opportunity to remind myself of the ethos of this blog, which I conceived as a place where I could share my tips and views about London, from an Italian perspective. So here is my tip. If you have never been to Hello Love – yes, that is its name – head there. Hello Love is a concept store full of colour and beautifully designed items and accessories, with an healthy cafe’ in it.

It is a place in busy Holborn, where you can find some tranquillity and buy postcards, scarves, bags and decorated coconuts, or a special edition bra by Stella McCarthy. The great designer lost her mother to this disease too.

This colourful and beautiful place it a destination for a cancer patient who can find support, attend alternative therapies classes and get the equivalent of several goodie bags, all free of charge. It was set up by a formidable, and probably rather well connected, young woman, who has been a great supporter of my friend through her treatments.

So – if you live in London – go and check this place. Even if you do not buy a ginger tea or a bracelet, you will understand why a place like this is such a great resource and destination for people going through the disease and the recovery. We all need to be surrounded by colours and hope, and you will find plenty of that there.