The wealth of positive feedback for the App from others going through similar diagnosis and recovery, is fuelling Freyja’s drive to reach out to others.
Freyja said: “I wanted everything I knew as easy access to everyone…within arms’ reach, wherever you are. So I created an ‘unloseable’ library: Wholesome World.”
In 2014, Freyja, at 27, lost her husband to cancer and then by a cruel twist of fate, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour just one year later.
Freyja said: ”Research for my diagnosis was difficult. Despite everything that had happened with the treatment of my husband who passed away from cancer, despite my Biological Sciences & Law degrees, and despite my brother being a neuroscientist, with all of these elements, understanding my own situation was almost impossible.”
Wholesome World was born out of this nightmare situation. “Having struggled to get back to a normal life, I created the app to give people the reassurance that they’re not alone.”
Initially Freyja started experiencing ‘blips’ of fatigue in 2015, episodes like a “head-rush, when you’ve not eaten enough and have no energy.” Devastatingly, they were early symptoms of a brain tumour.
Freyja said: “These blips became more frequent and longer that year. I wasn’t completely blanking out, but afterwards I couldn’t remember what was going on in my head, despite trying to concentrate through the episode.”
Freyja was diagnosed with an oligodendroglioma, grade 3/4 brain tumour and underwent surgery to remove it in March 2016.
Freyja says: “I hope that it helps at least one person be happier and healthier. Every single person is different, I hope that Wholesome World can be useful.”
Freyja hopes the continued success of Wholesome World will inspire a key change in lifestyle for others facing similar diagnosis, treatments and recovery.
“I want to pass on the information I used and have researched since my own diagnosis to anyone else who might be stuck, not knowing where or how to move forwards.
“I hope it resonates with a lot of people. The recipe and nutrition content is key, a main driver of Wholesome World but it’s also about the healthcare aspects and up-to-date links to scientific information; it’s part of the inclusive approach of the whole App.
“I want Wholesome World to help people understand their diagnosis and explore more options, to be a resource for everyone going through their own experience.”