Iwona wins global award amid cancer battle

A mum who refused to let a cancer diagnosis stop her from following her dreams has won a global award for her achievements supporting others’ wellbeing.

Iwona King-Dugdale, a theatre learning and development facilitator at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, was named Student of the Year by the Complementary Medical Association. She completed a wellness and resilience coaching skills diploma alongside her work for the NHS, and while undergoing indefinite treatment for a rare blood cancer.

Her journey began a few years ago while supporting NHS staff and students, and mentoring internationally educated nurses adjusting to life in the UK. Iwona noticed the toll stress and burnout were having on staff, and worked with colleagues to transform a storeroom into a wellbeing and prayer room for theatre teams.

She worked with colleague Jan Svajka and the League of Friends of K&C on the project, and later to introduce an innovative energy pod, a space for theatre staff to recharge and decompress.

But halfway through her diploma, a level 5 integrated diploma in holistic life, wellness and coaching skills with Wellness Professionals at Work, the 51 year old began feeling unusually tired. She initially dismissed it and other symptoms as perimenopause, but tests revealed it was a rare blood cancer needing indefinite chemotherapy.

Iwona said: “When the doctor told me, I thought they had the wrong notes.

“I even said, ‘I don’t have time for that!’

“But the diagnosis forced me to act. If I don’t look after myself, my time will be limited and I still have many things to achieve.”

Iwona leaned into the resilience skills she was learning.

She said: “There are days when I think it’s not fair, feel low, frustrated, and almost like grieving for the person I used to be.

“I am continuously learning to train my mind and embrace the new me. If I can inspire someone or help someone feel they’re not alone, and there are ways to move forward, that’s what I want to do.”

Tutor Jo Permaul nominated Iwona for the award, praising her unwavering commitment to wellbeing even in the face of personal adversity. Out of 800 global nominees, she was shortlisted and then announced as the winner at the global CMA conference last month.

Iwona is now using her experience to empower future operating department practitioners and nurses.

She said: “If we support staff holistically, our patients will benefit too. Happier, looked after staff give better quality care.

“Learning resilience has been a gift. It allows me to help people in different ways.

“I want to keep making workplaces better place and helping others become strong, compassionate professionals who look after themselves in holistic way to allow them to give even more enhanced quality care to others.”

Iwona also married this year, and her husband runs a holistic health and complementary medicine clinic, including yoga classes and breathwork.

She said: “When we were dating and I found out about the diagnosis, I told him, ‘Run as fast as you can and while you can’.

“Instead, his love is stronger than cancer! Marrying him was clearly the best and most effective wellness plan I ever signed up for.”

For more information on complementary medicine and the NHS visit https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/complementary-and-alternative-medicine/