i OF THE BEHOLDER

Through my years as a breast cancer survivor, I’ve spoken with countless women in various stages of diagnosis and recovery.  All of us are concerned with an aspect of having breast cancer that is not easily discussed.  How do we as women in a society obsessed with the female form deal with the loss of something that identifies us as women? How do we deal with our sexuality if we no longer have breasts? How has cancer changed our sense of self?

In order to deal with the loss of our breasts, we need to take the discussion to a deeper, more intimate level. My photographs portray female breast cancer survivors who are dealing with their sexuality and self-image in their own unique and personal way.  The women fall into various stages in the cycle of grief or acceptance, embarrassment or pride.  They experience the disease differently from one another and are moving through the healing process at their own pace.  No judgments are made.  There is no right or wrong.  Like the roller coaster that is cancer, their feelings change with circumstance.

Each of the women in this exhibit has mustered the courage to allow you, the viewer,  to see not only her body, but a part of her that she usually keeps hidden.  For some participants, being photographed in this way has been a natural extension of the work they are already doing.  For others, it marks the beginning.