Young breast cancer survivors fight back in So Brave calendar
Written for the Herald Sun. View original article.
ANJ Hirst had been married just short of a year and was trying for a family when a breast cancer diagnosis put her on an emotional rollercoaster.
“In the span of three months I went from having life-changing surgery to thinking about fertility preservation to thinking about how to be a survivor, which has probably been the hardest part,” Hirst, 31, says.
“It was a whirlwind, a nightmare, a rollercoaster. It’s been a crazy time. I never thought I would be in this position as a young woman. You know, I eat well, I exercise.”
Hirst, of Beaconsfield, was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (abnormal cells inside a milk duct) in her left breast in February, 2015.
The following month she had a single mastectomy. Final biopsies from the surgery upgraded the cancer to grade 2 breast cancer and she had three months of chemotherapy.
Hirst is one of 13 young breast cancer survivors who are modelling striking body art for the So Brave calendar.
It aims to raise awareness that young women get breast cancer, too, while also raising money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to go towards research to improve diagnosis and treatment.
Anj Hirst in a Melbourne laneway for So Brave. Picture: Lauren Murphy Photography
The 2017 calendar features the women in stunning designs by Melbourne body paint artist Wendy Fantasia in iconic locations across Australia’s east coast.
Professional photographers volunteered their time for the project.
The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer are aged 50-70. But breast cancer also seriously affects younger women. About 800 women under 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer each year in Australia, the NBCF says. That’s more than two a day.
Breast cancer survivor Rachelle Panitz, 34, initiated the So Brave project after meeting Fantasia.
Having discovered a lump during her third trimester of pregnancy that was dismissed repeatedly until cancer was discovered when her child was six weeks old, Panitz is passionate about raising awareness of the complications of breast cancer for young women.
“Which is why I wanted to be involved in the calendar,” Hirst says, “to get the message out there that it happens to young women. You have to be so body aware, look out for yourself, be on top of everything.”
Hirst says the experience of taking part in the project was “pretty incredible” — body painting took about eight hours followed by a three-hour photoshoot.
“It was liberating,” she says. “I got to see my body in a different way post-cancer. I got to start reconnecting with what my body looks like now. That was pretty massive. It was a really fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Neda at Flinders St Station. Picture: Sarah Matray
Rebecca endured six rounds of chemo before posing on Brighton beach. Picture: Tamara Bush Lyrebird Hill Photography
Holly posing at the Royal Exhibition Building. Picture: Glynn Lavender Creative Photo Workshops
Pakenham mother Rebecca was just 32 when her breast cancer was discovered in 2013. Her triplets were only 18 months old. She didn’t have a family history of any type of cancer.
What was initially thought to be an irritating cyst was discovered to be stage three, triple-negative cancer. This type of cancer produces the highest fatality rates in the first five years.
Rebecca endured three surgeries, six rounds of chemo and six weeks of radiation. To avoid the recurrence of breast cancer, a year after diagnosis Rebecca had a double mastectomy, a DIEP (deep inferior epigastric perforator) flap reconstruction, in which a breast shape is rebuilt by moving skin and fatty tissue from the abdomen to the chest and two further surgeries.
While she was fortunate to have great family support, battling cancer with three toddlers was more than physically challenging.
“It was very hard to watch everyone else look after the kids while I couldn’t do anything,” Rebecca says. “I’d get up to kiss them goodnight then go back to sleep.”
The NBCF says younger women are typically diagnosed with more aggressive breast cancers than older women, have a higher risk of cancer spreading and returning, and are more likely to die from the disease than older women, regardless of the stage of cancer.
Natalie is one of 13 young breast cancer survivors features in So Brave. Picture: Amy Higg Photography
Women under 40 experience additional complications in diagnosing and treating breast cancer because of their typically pre-menopausal status, and consequential fertility and child-bearing factors.
Symptoms are often dismissed because breast cancer in younger women is relatively uncommon. Family history with breast cancer can only explain 15 per cent of cases in young women.
Younger women also often face the difficulty of having young families and being at important stages in their careers.
Fantasia was keen to get on board with the project. She has a connection with breast cancer through her mother’s battle with it at 60, but wasn’t previously aware of the additional concerns for younger women.
“It has been the most humbling and amazing experience; the highlight of my painting career,” she says.
Fantasia and her team, 13 young breast cancer survivors, 14 photographers and editors, five documentary crewmen, a graphic designer, and an enormous amount of time and passion later, the So Brave calendar was produced.
Fantasia’s usual work for competitions attempts to be edgy and have a shock factor.
The designs for this project sought to focus on the beauty of each woman’s face. Creative flairs were tailored to avoid overshadowing the individual woman.
The images seek to portray the 13 models as the strong, joyful and exuberant young women they are. Rather than featuring the typical pink of breast cancer awareness programs, bright colours and innovative designs inspired the painting.
The women are not meant to look delicate, but instead convey the strength they have had in their battles with this disease.
“Seeing and hearing from young women — who aren’t usually associated with breast cancer — and hearing and reading their stories and then seeing the wonderful transformation, this calendar has and will change people’s ideas of what a breast cancer survivor looks and feels like,” Panitz says.
Proceeds from the calendars go to the NBCF’s research. Calendars can be bought at sobrave.com.au
