42 THE QUEENS COURIER • BREAST CANCER • OCTOBER 5, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
breast cancer
Metastatic breast cancer patients tell their stories through art and photography
Th is post is brought to you by Eisai Inc.
When most people think of breast cancer,
moment for me. I felt confi -
dent. I felt like art. I felt good
about what I was doing for
my community and I felt good
about myself.”
Th e 16 people living with
MBC chosen to participate in
#Th isIsMBC Serenity Project
tell their stories through the
powerful and artful combination
of body painting and
underwater photography.
Created by Ren and Keith
Dixon, a married couple who
have both lost loved ones to
metastatic breast cancer, the
storytelling begins in an interview
with Ren Dixon, the body
painting artist. Aft er discussing
their MBC experience, Ren
visually represents each person’s
experiences through the
use of vivid color and symbols
painted directly on their body. Next,
Keith Dixon captures the mood and
emotion of the patient’s personal journey
through underwater photography.
“It is important for women and men to
see that you can live a life, a fruitful and
loving life, with metastatic breast cancer,”
said project participant Sheila McGlown.
“I think #Th isIsMBC Serenity Project
brought out the boldness in me. It allowed
me to express myself and my life experiences
in a way I never thought I would be
able to and it made me proud - proud of
being a voice for young women, proud
of being a voice for African-American
women, proud of being a voice for veterans
and proud of being a voice for the
breast cancer community.”
From July 2017 to October 2018, one
patient a month will be showcased,
through images and video from the photoshoot,
on MBCinfocenter.com and
METAvivor’s Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram accounts (@metavivor). Th e
images will also be featured at an art gallery
reception in New York City and
made into a calendar. Th ese calendars
are available for free with a donation to
METAvivor, which can be made at www.
metavivor.org/store/. Donations will go
to METAvivor to support research specifically
for metastatic breast cancer.
A fundamental component of
#Th isIsMBC Serenity Project is the belief
that women and men with MBC should
live their lives as fully as possible and
take advantage of all resources available
to them. Many educational resources
and helpful information about metastatic
breast cancer exists at MBCinfocenter.
com. To support METAvivor’s ongoing
commitment to funding MBC research,
which could help those living with this
disease, consider making a contribution
at https://secure.metavivor.org/page/contribute/
thisismbc.
Courtesy BPT
WE SUPPORT
they think of the pink movement, and
oft en times, “beating” the cancer. A diagnosis
of metastatic breast cancer (MBC),
a late stage of the disease in which the
cancer has spread beyond the breast, is
diff erent. Th ere is no cure and, until
recently, the number of people living with
MBC in the United States was basically
unknown. A new study from the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates more
than 150,000 people are living with metastatic
breast cancer.
Although the MBC population is larger
than ever before, an estimated 17 percent
increase from 2000 to 2010, the
implication is positive as it means people
are living longer in spite of their diagnosis
and sheds light on the increased need
for more services and research focused
on MBC.
Th e NCI study brings attention to
a growing community of people with
MBC whose meaningful lives and stories
are largely unheard. To give voice
to those living with MBC and bring
to life the reality of living with MBC,
#Th isIsMBC Serenity Project was created
by METAvivor, an organization dedicated
to funding research focused on
the metastatic breast cancer, in partnership
with Eisai Inc. #Th isIsMBC Serenity
Project uses art to empower people with
MBC to share their experiences, educate
others about this disease and encourage
donations for more MBC research.
“Th e metastatic community really
wants to be involved in research. Th e
more people we can educate about metastatic
disease, the more money we can
raise for research that will ultimately help
us to live longer and better-quality lives,”
said Leslie Falduto, who lives with metastatic
breast cancer and participated in
the project. “Participating in #Th isIsMBC
Serenity Project was a very powerful
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