About me...


I am a journalist, podcast host and author of the novel, Single Bald Female. Aside from food writing, I run the podcast Life in Food with Laura Price, where I interview a different guest each episode about food plus one other aspect of their life, for example Food and Cancer with Kris Hallenga, Food and Fertility with Kat Brown and Food and Heartbreak with Jessie Stephens. I'm a keen swimmer and I live in London with my partner, Mark, his three kids and our dog and two cats.


I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time in 2012 when I was 29 years old. I'd found the lump several months earlier and had been told it was most likely nothing, and that I didn't need to worry. Fortunately by the time it was diagnosed, it was still treatable, and I was able to have surgery, followed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment (tamoxifen). I spent the next decade with a new lease of life, chasing my dreams, travelling the world, working hard but also having amazing experiences as I knew life was short. I wrote my first novel, Single Bald Female, a fictional story inspired by my own cancer diagnosis and dating experiences, and in April 2022 it was published by Pan Macmillan. Sadly, just a few months after the book was published, I found out the cancer had spread to my bones and was now incurable, or stage four breast cancer. In January 2023 I had a major operation to remove my sternum bone and I am taking a combination of drugs that have so far blitzed the cancer away. Life is different now, and I spend a huge amount of time in and out of hospitals, but I'm determined to write my next book and keep travelling and enjoying incredible experiences. I write about my cancer and other topics in my newsletter, Doughnuts for Breakfast.


Becoming an author...


I've always been a writer, and have written a private diary ever since I was a kid. When I graduated from university, I got a job as a financial journalist and lived in South America reporting on company news. I loved my job but I also craved the opportunity to write more creatively. When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2012, I started writing about my personal experiences in my own blog, The Big Scary 'C' Word, and in a separate blog for the Huffington Post. The feedback I got from those blogs was incredible, and one particular post, about dating after cancer, went viral. Several people had encouraged me to write a book, and in 2016 I started writing my novel, Single Bald Female. Although it was inspired by my own experiences, it's very much a fictional story about a friendship that begins in a cancer hospital. The main character, Jess, is diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time as breaking up with her partner, which leads her to start dating with a bald head. While it may sound like a dating story, it's also about friendship, family, love and survival.


Having my first book published...



Holding my first hardback book in my hands was the most incredible feeling! Then seeing it on the shelves of Waterstones, Foyles and other book shops was just amazing too. One of the best parts is seeing five-star reviews from complete strangers, and receiving private messages on Instagram from people who found the book and loved it, or said it helped them somehow. It is not just a book for people who have had breast cancer, but for anyone - it also covers the experience of falling behind when it feels like all your friends are moving on around you, so it's ideal for any woman in her 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond. It was devastating receiving my stage four cancer diagnosis a few months after the book's publication, but at the same time I'm so happy I got to experience the unbridled joy of seeing it out in the world before getting the worst news ever. I see my book as my legacy - something that will live forever, after I'm gone - and that's a great feeling.


Advice to someone recently diagnosed, going through or just finishing treatment...


Try to take each day at a time and avoid Google as much as possible. Cancer is such a huge thing to deal with - aside from the fear and the side effects of treatment, there's also a huge financial burden and often a large amount of very stressful admin. You can't deal with all that at once, so you have to focus on one thing at a time. Breathe deeply, write a list of all the things you need to get through, and remember to be kind to yourself and give yourself time to grieve and rest. If you're struggling to do that, imagine you're talking to a friend - would you put pressure on your friend to keep working or to be more productive, or would you tell them to focus on having treatment and getting better? Treat yourself how you'd treat a friend, and always be kind to yourself.



Single Bald Female is available in paperback in book shops and online. You can follow Laura on Instagram @LauraPriceWrites, listen to her podcast, Life in Food, or subscribe to her newsletter, Doughnuts for Breakfast.