‘I beat cancer twice – now I’m a bodybuilder!’
After life-saving surgery left her unable to have children, Lucy Scroggs was determined to take back control – and made herself stronger than ever
Standing on the stage and flexing her muscles is when Lucy Scroggs feels most powerful – and proud of how far she’s come.
Just three years ago, she had been diagnosed with cancer for the second time in her life – and felt broken.
Personal trainer Lucy, 44, who lives in Aylesbury and is currently single, says, “To hear you have cancer once is hard. But the second time was devastating. I lost faith in my body – I felt as though it had let me down. “Training for bodybuilding competitions was my way of taking back control of my life, and now I feel better and stronger than ever.”
Lucy was first diagnosed with cervical cancer in May 2007, when she was just 31. She remembers, “A smear test in 2004 showed I had abnormal cells, so I had to have six monthly tests. Then in 2007, more abnormal cells showed up – and, after more tests, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I sat with my mum and sobbed. Life as I knew it was over. I was suddenly fighting for my life.”
Doctors decided to treat
Lucy’s cancer surgically, cutting away the infected parts of her cervix. But they couldn’t get rid of it all, so she ended up having a hysterectomy to remove her womb, including her fallopian tubes, three months after diagnosis. A month later, she was given the all-clear.
MAKING THE MOST
She remembers, “I was delighted that I was going to survive, but knowing I wouldn’t be able to have children was horrendous. I lost friendships as I couldn’t be around friends when they had a new baby. It was tough.”
Despite finding it hard to come to terms with losing her fertility, Lucy was determined to make the most of life.
A year after her diagnosis, she did a sky-dive, went on a holiday to Ibiza with her best friend, took up running and boxing, and learned to ski. She says, “I had a motto – ‘because I can’. I felt that, because I’d survived cancer, I could and should do anything.”
For the next ten years,
Lucy threw herself into work as a director of a facilities management company and worked and partied hard.
Then, in 2017, Lucy was diagnosed with skin cancer.
She says, “Two, what looked like spots, appeared on my forehead – just above my eyebrows. I went to the doctor and I was diagnosed with cancer again.
LOSS OF CONTROL
“It was frightening. The thing with cancer is you feel a loss of control. There is something going on in your body and there is nothing you can do – except to have faith in your doctor.”
A couple of weeks later, she had the cancer removed surgically. Fortunately, she didn’t need chemotherapy. But it left her determined to take back control and set herself some new goals – and that’s when she decided to become a competitive bodybuilder.
Lucy says, “Before my first
cancer diagnosis, I wasn’t in great shape. I was 11st 7lbs, which was overweight for my 5ft 4 height, and a size 14. I loved going to the gym and would go most days, but I also loved eating – and would have huge bags of popcorn and lots of takeaways like pizza and curries.
“Then I started weightlifting and loved it. After the diagnosis, I was determined to be stronger. I needed a goal and I wanted to feel powerful again, so I turned to bodybuilding.
“I’d seen other people in the gym and felt inspired by them.
I started to watch videos and saw someone competing in the Miss Universe competition and decided that was my aim.”
DRIVEN & DETERMINED
Lucy started training for three hours a day, getting up at 5am to do cardiovascular exercise before heading to the gym to do at least an hour and a half of weight training.
She says, “After eight weeks, I started to really notice my body shape changing. My fat started going and my muscles emerged.
“I felt so driven and determined. I desperately wanted to enter competitions, so worked hard towards it.
“In 2018, I competed in four competitions. Last year, I competed in two. I won
Miss UK trained figure in
2018 and reached the finals of Miss Universe in 2019, which was an incredible feeling. It was what I’d aimed to do when I was feeling at rock bottom and there I was.”
But Lucy says preparing for competitions is tough. She says, “You have to eat six meals a day of just protein and vegetables, as you have to rid your body of fat and water. It takes a lot of dedication.
“But I’ve loved seeing my muscles develop and grow. Now I weigh 11st 7lbs again, but most of that is pure muscle.
“I have loved being the one that chooses what happens to my body. Cancer made me lose control but now I feel so strong and happy.”
And last November, Lucy quit the corporate world and set up her own business as a personal trainer.
She says, “Exercise has seen me through my turmoil and now I want to help other women. I want them to feel as strong as I do – physically and mentally.”
EXERCISE HAS SEEN ME THROUGH MY TURMOIL – NOW I WANT TO HELP OTHER WOMEN
● Follow Lucy’s journey on Instagram @redfragglerock and her personal training account @becauseicanfitness