Using Music to Cope with Breast Cancer
Lisa Haf Davies, a woman from Pembrokeshire, has turned to music as a means to cope with her breast cancer treatment. Diagnosed with breast cancer, Lisa began composing songs during this challenging period.
"The composing was something to escape to, and something to focus on,"she explained, especially since she was unable to work during her treatment.
She now shares her songs on an Instagram page.
Lisa has two children and expressed that she is
"looking forward to the future."
Inspiration During Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy
Speaking on the Tros Frecwast program on Tuesday morning, Lisa recounted how it all began while she was undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
"I had the idea to compose a Christmas carol for the primary school my children attend. I wanted to write a carol for them to compete in the Carol of the Season competition.
I hadn’t written any kind of music since I studied music at A Level, and I’m going to be 40 this year, so that was years and years ago,"she said.
This sparked her creativity, with Lisa adding that composing was
"something that helped me during the period I was going through treatment, a time for reflection and thinking about ideas."
"It was something to escape to and something to focus on because during treatment I had to stop working and had a lot of free time. I just wanted to pass the time, kill time, and it was nice to have something to escape to."
She mentioned that she was still undergoing treatment when she visited the school to help with the Christmas carol but really enjoyed the experience, which
"just led to opening doors and brought many other songs and ideas."
Positive Response and Continued Creativity
"After finishing treatment in December 2025, I really started to pursue some of those ideas,"Lisa said.
"I bought a piano and started an Instagram page to share some of the songs because I felt I had to do something with the ideas."
Although music played a key role in helping her cope with treatment, Lisa hopes to see more holistic treatments offered alongside chemotherapy.
Regarding her Instagram page, she shared that the
"response has been lovely."
"I started the Instagram page from scratch, and it has grown steadily. I’m quite proud now; there are nearly a thousand followers, and I receive some lovely responses. I believe people appreciate the music, and that encourages me to continue sharing more."
Looking Forward to the Future
Discussing her health, Lisa said,
"I have finished treatment and feel really positive. I’m in a good place emotionally regarding my mental health as well, and I’m looking forward to the future."
Lisa also spoke about her treatment experience with her sister, Mari Grug, and her cousin, Elan, on the podcast Lleisiau Cymru: 1 mewn 2. The three discuss the surreal experience of undergoing cancer treatment simultaneously and compare their experiences.
You can listen to the podcast here.
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