Last October, I went for my annual check up. I wasn't worried. I felt fine. Then they found two lumps in my left breast, and one had already become invasive.
Breast cancer isn't a stranger to my family. I lost my mum to it. So when I heard the word "cancer", I wasn't just thinking about me. I was thinking about her. Because of my family history, I chose to have a mastectomy and remove my left breast. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one for me.
Today, I'm cancer free. I'm here because it was caught early.
The painting that knew before I did
I began this painting before I knew what was coming. It had been forming in my mind long before my diagnosis, which feels both ironic and deeply meaningful in hindsight. I finished it just before going into hospital for surgery.
While something was taken, nothing essential was lost. This painting holds presence, not absence. A reminder that the body may change, but the self remains. As I heal and navigate what has happened, knowing I will be okay because of early detection, this work stands as a quiet reminder to every woman of how important regular check ups are.
Giving back
$20 from every print sold of What Was Taken, She Remains will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to fund breast cancer research. My mum didn't get the outcome I did. Research is how we change that for the next woman.
Shop the fine art print | Shop the canvas print
Please, book your check up
If you take one thing from this, let it be this: book your check up. Even if you feel fine. Especially if breast cancer runs in your family. Then send this to a friend and ask her to book hers too.
She remains, and so does hope.
With love,
Shazzy x
