A little bit of cabaret magic: Cabaret Vs Cancer

There are some things in life that arrive at exactly the right moment. For Diva Hollywood, Cabaret Vs Cancer was one of those things.

I’ve known about Cabaret Vs Cancer and the incredible work they do for around 10 years, and as someone who has spent most of my life performing, cabaret has always been much more than entertainment. 

It’s community. It’s laughter when perhaps you don’t feel much like laughing. It’s people coming together and saying, “We’re here. We’re going to get through this together.”

The other side of the stage

So, when I found myself on the other side of the stage, becoming a cancer patient out of the blue, Cabaret Vs Cancer suddenly meant something very different. I went from being Diva Hollywood performer, host, cabaret whip cracker and all-round lover of a bit of sparkle to operations, tumour sizes, navigating chemotherapy, radiotherapy, appointments, exhaustion, losing my hair, constant nose bleeds and all the strange emotions that come with cancer treatment.

Support boxes from Cabaret Vs Cancer

And then, at two very hard points of my journey, two incredibly beautiful boxes arrived.

Cabaret vs Cancer sent me one box full of thoughtful things to help me through chemotherapy and another for radiotherapy. They weren’t simply boxes of “stuff”. They felt like somebody had stopped for a moment and thought about what I might really need.

There were practical things, comforting things and little treats, the sort of things that made very difficult days for me feel a huge amount easier. When you’re going through treatment, those acts of kindness can become enormous.

Cancer can make your world very small. Suddenly your life is measured in appointments, treatments, blood tests, PICC line cleaning, remembering to take so many different drugs and trying to keep your head above water every day. Having somebody outside that medical world send you something simply because they want to make things a little better can be incredibly powerful.

Then, they came up with a beautiful range of performer brooches (available to buy at the Cabaret Vs Cancer online shop!).

Wonderful little pieces of jewellery were created, each with their own personality, celebrating so many wonderful performers, and one of them was named after me…

The Diva brooch

Honestly, I cried when I saw it. It reminded me of the Diva I was, with blonde hair tied up in a bun, meeting Rose Thorn all those years ago, when I was first starting out.

Diva Hollywood, for me, has always been about transforming difficult things into something theatrical, funny and unexpected.

She was born out of a very difficult period in my own life, and somehow, she became a character who allowed me to keep performing, keep laughing and keep being visible.

Now there is a little Diva brooch that carries some of that spirit too, for anyone to wear close to their heart and feel glamorous.

I love the idea that someone can wear a tiny Diva on their coat or bag and take a little piece of that cabaret resilience with them.

Because that is what I think Cabaret Vs Cancer does so beautifully. It doesn’t pretend that cancer is glamorous. It isn’t. They understand that people still need joy while they are going through it.

They still need laughter, they still need connection, and they still need to feel like themselves.

And sometimes… they need something completely ridiculous and fabulous to remind them that they are still them underneath all the hospital appointments and treatments.

A wonderfully strange, glittery, slightly bonkers cabaret family!

Looking back over 10 years, what strikes me most is how much Cabaret vs Cancer has become part of the wider cabaret family. It takes something that can feel frightening and isolating and creates a community around it.

For me personally, receiving those boxes was a reminder that I wasn’t just a patient.

I was Dorrie the patient — but I was still Diva Hollywood, still creative, still an artist. Most of all, I was still part of a wonderfully strange, glittery, slightly bonkers cabaret family.

The Diva brooch feels like a perfect little symbol of that. A reminder that even in the hardest chapters of our lives, there can still be colour, humour, kindness, friendship and perhaps just a little bit of sparkle.

And if you ask me what Cabaret Vs Cancer has meant to me after all these years, I think the answer is quite simple:

It reminded me that cancer may become part of my story, but I have a wonderful family of performers who will fight for me, stomp, clap and shout when I finally ring that bell.

So, put on your brightest lipstick, pin on your Diva brooch, straighten your crown and face the world full on.

And that, to me, is the cabaret way of surviving.

Learn more about the cancer support charities Cabaret Vs Cancer raises money for, and find out how you can get involved as a volunteer.