Uplift Magazine

A New Dawn for Breast Cancer

By: Sarah Barnes, 06.03.2008 | Comments (3)

From today the Renaissance photography exhibition opens to the public. The London based exhibition is the brainchild of Fiona Gifford, a keen photographer, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in her ealy 30s. Having recovered from the cancer with a renewed positivity and vitality, she was keen to raise awareness about breast cancer in younger women through the creative medium of photography. Her idea was to hold a photography competition, with the resulting exhibition raising money for Breast Cancer Care and The Lavender Trust.

Each year, 8000 women under the age of 50 are diagnosed with breast cancer and The Lavender Trust, a part of Breast Cancer Care, is the only fund in the UK dedicated to addressing the particular needs and concerns of these women. The exhibition comes as one of the events during Lavender week, the Lavender Trust’s annual fundraising and awareness campaign, which is extra special this year because the trust is celebrating ten years since it’s launch. Christina McGill, head of communications at Breast Cancer Care, is excited about the exhibition; “What’s especially valuable for us about this event is that it is something so positive to come out of such a difficult experience. Fiona was very keen for the competition to be a celebration of life and love in the face of adversity, and it is fantastic to see this expressed in so many different ways in the photographs which were entered.”

Over 300 entries were judged by photographers Eamonn McCabe, Mary McCartney, and singer songwriter KT Tunstall. The resulting exhibition is made up of the work by first and second place winners, John Burton and Peter Blandford respectively, as well as those who received commendations and those selected by the judges. Although all the photographs are fantastic, I was keen to talk to one of the exhibiting artists who produces work that is not only in the spirit of Renaissance, but also deals directly with the subject of breast cancer.

Over 44,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year, making it the most common cancer among women in the UK. Agata Cardoso was touched by this illness when her mother was diagnosed in 2004. “The whole experience was quite frightening for me,” Cardoso says, “So it must have been hell for my mum. Having gone through that experience and supporting my mum, I started to really re-evaluate my life and my priorities. I wanted to take a portrait of my mum, after her mastectomy, as the new phase of her life, as a survivor. I sat her at the table and I knew this would be a powerful image.”

Cardoso was pleased with the image that she had created of her mother, but she didn’t want to stop there. “I decided that I wanted to make a series of these portraits, I wanted to meet and photograph other women who had gone through that same experience.” Women like Maggi Gamble, who found a lump on self examination at the age of 41. After visiting a GP, she was quickly given a mastectomy in 2002. “My son was 8 at the time,” Gamble says, “and my main concerns were in how it would affect him. Luckily we had recently watched Star Wars where Luke had his arm cut off, so I was able to discuss it with him in terms of how you can live with parts of your body missing!” Since 2002 Gamble has done some volunteer work for Breast Cancer Care, whom she had turned to when she had needed information on treatments before her mastectomy. She is now a full time BA student of Design Crafts. “My life has taken a completely different path to the one that I had imagined. I feel incredibly lucky that I have been able to discover the creative side of myself.”

Another of Cardoso’s sitters who has unleashed a creative side since recovering from cancer is Tracey Sturgeon, who has also starred in a charity calendar wearing nothing but a lick of body paint and a pair of knickers. Sturgeon had discovered a lump in her left breast whilst bathing on New Years Eve 2001. “I felt disbelief; at 41 I thought I was too young,” Sturgeon admits, “Now I know different.”

“Breast cancer is relatively uncommon among younger women,” Christina McGill acknowledges “Eighty per cent of cases of breast cancer in the UK are in women over 50. But every woman should be breast aware throughout her adult life. You should know how your breasts look and feel normally so that you can pick up any changes quickly and report them to your GP.” Tracey Sturgeon had not expected to undergo chemotherapy, but the cancer had unfortunately spread to the lymth glands by the time she was diagnosed. “Chemotherapy made me feel sick, food tasted like I was chewing on wood and my hair got very thin. Yes, I didn’t need to shave my underarms or legs but there was one one stubborn, thick facial hair that just kept on growing. Hilarious! It was a talking point to share with others on chemo who had lost every single hair on their body!”

Sturgeon has gone on to give talks on breast cancer to various groups, including school assemblies, and has also raised £2,800 for charity by doing a sponsored 60km walk. “I would never have contemplated any of this in my pre cancer days,” Sturgeon says, thinking back to her public speaking and topless modelling, “I have increased in confidence, met some fantastic people, had a laugh and made my point that we are still the same people, even though we have lost a breast.”

This feeling of positivity is something that Agata Cardoso wanted to convey through her images. “Making this work has made me understand cancer and that a woman can survive it and live a happy and long life. That it can certainly make you stronger.” Cardoso also hopes that the viewer will see the women portrayed in her photographs as symbols of beauty, strength and courage. “I explore and embrace the beauty and intrigue in diversity. Although these women have had breast cancer and some have had to sacrifice their breasts to it, they should not be made to feel that they are any less of a woman because of it.”

Maggi Gamble thinks Cardoso’s ongoing breast cancer portraiture work is incredibly valuable because of it’s honesty. “Her photography is presenting a different view to the breast cancer debate,” she enthuses, “Too often all that is presented in magazines are stories about women who no longer feel complete, or a ‘whole woman’. Such stories perpetuate the illusion that a woman can be defined by her breasts, and do little to assist women in dealing with this situation.” In contrast to the media image of breast cancer that we usually see, Gamble had decided not to have a breast implant put in place of the breast she had removed. “I have no negative feelings about myself, physically or mentally, following my mastectomy. In a way it has made me feel a stronger, more valuable person. I chose not to have reconstruction because I didn’t feel that I needed reconstructing or ‘fixing’. I don’t wear a prosthesis because I feel comfortable with how I am.”

Gamble and Sturgeon’s stories of their breast cancer are really positive, but for more stories to have happy endings like these organizations such The Lavender Trust need our support. Being diagnosed with breast cancer as a younger woman can be very isolating since it can be hard to meet people of a similar age who also have breast cancer. An uncertain future, early menopause, and caring for children are just some of the issues which younger women may have to face. The Lavender Trust was set up to fund specialist services for this age group, such as free publications, workshops and telephone support.

Agata Cardoso is looking forward to her photography having a wide audience, and broadening a few minds, through the Renaissance exhibition. Her dream is to one day reach out to an even wider audience by publishing the portraits in a book. But for now, Cardoso is just happy to be involved in such an honourable exhibition; “I feel proud that I’m helping raise money for a breast cancer charity.”

The Renaissance exhibition is open to the public until the 9th of March.

You can also see more of Agata Cardoso’s photography at the ‘Baby, do you hear me?’ exhibition until the 29th of March.