Glow boob

For the past few months, I have had the honour of documenting one courageous woman’s breast cancer journey. Courageous is an understatement if I am being completely honest.  I can’t even begin to express how she has impressed me with her positivity, courage and strength. Her willingness to bare all, is admirable.  Her ability to show her vulnerability is inspirational.  And her willingness to allow me to be me and embrace my “cra cra”, well let’s just say it blows my mind.  I often ask myself why did she choose me to be a part of her journey and why did I agree to be a part of it?  At first, I was unclear.  I was nervous that I would not do a good job documenting physical and emotional journey.  I was anxious that I couldn’t stomach it.  I was fearful that I would embarrass myself and faint during one of her blood tests (it has been known to happen).  I am the type that couldn’t even look at my own scars from surgery, so this was HUGE.  But, once I got over myself, the experience is something I will cherish forever.  It has truly changed my life.  I have witnessed tears of sadness, tears of relief, tears of joy.  I have witnessed family bonds, love between mother and daughter and husband and wife. I have sat for hours in waiting rooms, waiting for surgery status reports.  I have witnessed so much positivity that I honestly didn’t know what to do with at times.  I have learned so much about resilience, courage and the power of positive thinking.  The list goes on and on……

Prior to her final stage of reconstruction, after 500cc of saline had been injected……in case you aren’t familiar with the terminology…500cc is a lot….it’s equal to 500 mL , we had a little fun playing with a flashlight and her saline filled breast.  Who knew that if you shine a flashlight on a breast filled with saline it glows???  It was AMAZING!!!!  The image below I affectionately refer to as her “glow boob”.  To me, it resembles a heart at times, and an eye at others.  The heart shape can be representative of  all the people who have supported her throughout this journey.  The eye…well to me, it is almost as if it represents someone looking over her….protecting her…reassuring her that all will be well.  Immediately following surgery, she mentioned smelling vanilla which reminded her of her mother, whom she lost.  So in a way, this image is emblematic of her journey, her spirit, and her outlook.