Ten Years After Cancer: Still Becoming
Thanksgiving Day, 2015. I had emergency surgery—a hemicolectomy and full hysterectomy—after nearly bleeding to death from undiagnosed late-stage colorectal cancer. I was 42, with two teenagers, a five-year-old, and a three-year-old. Cancer was the last thing on my mind. In a single moment, our entire world shifted.
It took three years to recover physically. Another three to begin healing mentally. And the last three have been about putting the pieces back together and finding meaning in it all.
Now, nearly ten years later, I’m still here. Stronger than ever.
Physically, as a sailor and Yachtmaster.
Mentally, as a soon-to-be MSc graduate in Integrative Therapy.
And wholly, as a woman who takes up space and time to move through life on her own terms.
I’m one of the lucky ones. I know that.
And I’m here to support others navigating deep change—whether it’s chosen or arrives uninvited.
With family and community, we can do hard things.
Together, we grow stronger.
Ten Years After Cancer: A Therapist’s Journey Through Healing, Purpose, and Becoming
There’s something quietly powerful about a work in progress. The uncertainty, the courage it takes to keep showing up, the trust that something meaningful is forming even when it’s hard to see.
For me, 2025 is that kind of year. A time of deeper alignment, new pathways, and reconnecting what I do with who I am. I’m in the thick of it — many things at once — and I’d like to bring you along.
This year also marks a personal milestone: ten years since surviving a late-stage cancer diagnosis. A full decade of borrowed time. To celebrate, I’m giving back. Breathing life into my own next chapter, and offering space for others who might need a safe place to rest, reflect, and begin again.
I’m weaving together the parts of my life that have always mattered:
Sailing and the sea. Women and family. Mental health and wellness. Community. Writing. Poetry. Spirituality.
Each of these is a passion. Together, they’re becoming a practice.
In January 2026, I’ll graduate with an MSc in Integrative Therapy from London Metropolitan University. I began this program to better understand how to support people on the edge of transformation — those navigating grief, burnout, reinvention, or that quiet sense of being disconnected from self.
In the meantime, I’m focusing on four key areas:
Writing my thesis, the culmination of years of both academic and personal growth.
Continuing my research into water-based integrative therapy for maternal mood disorders, which is the basis of my thesis and a future PhD.
Advancing my sailing credentials toward instructor level and pursuing the Yachtmaster Offshore Commercial Endorsement. This will allow me to offer therapeutic sailing journeys in expanded ways.
Preparing to launch my online counseling practice in 2026, bringing together therapeutic experience, sea-based healing, and support for women and families in transition.
And always, I’m writing. It’s still my morning meditation, the way I stay rooted and awake to my own experience.
Coming in 2026, you can expect:
“The Well of Time”, a reflective piece on healing, presence, and personal change
“Nurturing Growth, Healing & Connectivity Across All Stages”, a resource for families, therapists, and communities
A full library of women’s mental health, birth, and parenting support materials at LeighWilliam.com
I'm also developing a new online course series for families at different stages — from childbirth and infant massage to parenting transitions and redefining life after children leave home.
LeighWilliam.com is becoming more than a site. It’s a space for healing, connection, and shared wisdom. Whether through books, counseling, courses, or retreats by sea and shore, I’m building something grounded and generous. A place where people feel seen and supported through life’s changes.
After nearly three decades supporting others through transition, my focus remains on people standing at a crossroads. If you're feeling the pull toward something different — even if you’re not sure what it looks like yet — I’m here to walk with you as you find your way.
As a psychologist, humanitarian, writer, and sailor, I don’t offer quick fixes. I offer presence. Through soul-centered healing, somatic integration, and the quiet guidance of the natural world, I help people reconnect with their internal compass.
My path began in maternal and early childhood care and grew into leadership of PALs International, a nonprofit for women and children in crisis. Those years taught me how deeply we all need to feel that we belong — to ourselves, to each other, and to something larger.
That truth still guides my work today.
Healing isn’t linear. Sometimes it feels like drifting. Sometimes it feels like moving forward in the dark. But always, there’s a way home.
If you’re standing at a threshold, uncertain of what’s next — if you, too, are a work in progress — I see you. And if you’re ready to take that next step toward something more true, more whole, let’s talk.
With care,
Leigh
