|
For this project, I interviewed and photographed a diverse group of 100 survivors of many different cancers, ages 2 through 99, for whom a diagnosis of cancer has turned into a positive force in their lives. The idea behind this book is to broadly demonstrate how survival, any survival really, can lead to a changed and often better life. Each one of these people has become an inspiration, yet their stories remain within a small circle of family and friends.
Beyond Cancer is an effort to expand on the meanings and implications of the word, “cancer.” Think about what Lance Armstrong has accomplished. Beyond Cancer is 100 Lance Armstrongs: 100 people who have found inspiration within the context of a terrible ordeal. The message of this project, with the text and photographs each reinforcing each other, is high on hope and inspiration, and long on heart.
This is a book of transformations. The stories, as well as the photographic portraits, are not just about cancer: for survivors, they are about hope and inspiration; for others they are about education; and for me they are about the struggle to find meaning in what I thought was a death sentence.
Cancer is still being diagnosed in about 1.4 million Americans each year, while there are over 10 million people alive today who have survived a diagnosis. Beyond Cancer will be an inspirational resource for those who are diagnosed with cancer as well as for the people in their lives who are affected by that diagnosis, including family members, friends and caregivers. Beyond Cancer will loudly declare that there is hope, and that a diagnosis of any cancer can be an impetus for positive change.
This is an idea that is gaining ascendance among cancer survivors, but has not spread to the popular culture. Every oncologist and survivor I have spoken with feels it is an idea whose time has come. Many express a genuine need for a book like this. The culture of cancer is changing, and this is an effort to add substance to the change.
In conclusion, I would like to share two quotes from just two participants of Beyond Cancer: after likening a diagnosis to being hurled into the middle of a storm, one man said, "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." Another said that for him survival is “not just about hope, it's about thriving.”
|
