10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
“Pink is a beautiful color, because it is one of the colors that the sun makes at twilight and in the dawns.” –C. JoyBell C.
I have always loved when my art reminds someone of a story. Thanks to those who have opened their hearts and shared their breast cancer stories. I am honored to hear stories about mothers, sisters, friends, and God Children, favorite teachers, choir members, neighbors, Aunts, and Grandmothers.
Please enjoy a celebration of pink paintings this month, in honor of breast cancer awareness. I paint for my friends and family who have fought the good fight against cancer, for their families, and for all caregivers who help along with the journey toward a healthy self (body, soul, and spirit). In my strokes of pink, are prayers of strength and healing.
paintandsimple 
Dear Juliana, Another breast cancer saga, one which I never dreamed I’d be telling because I have no family history… But in April I received word that my annual mammogram revealed a change from previous years. More imaging, including sonograms, led to the diagnosis of Stage 1 (mercifully!!) but rapidly growing breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy in May and radiation in July-August. I have chosen not to take Tamoxifen, the oral chemo recommended for 5 years after radiation, because the frequent side effects are so quality-of-life affecting. I figure the odds without it are pretty darn good….only 10-20% recurrence rate My next mammogram and sonogram will be in March/April. The most wonderful gift — and, believe it or not, there have been MANY! — in this journey, has been the image I received in prayer of “Dancing with Sister Cancer.” Even when I was a hospital chaplain, the imagery of “fighting” and “battling” didn’t resonate well with me. While it worked for some, I saw too many patients whose families insisted that they “FIGHT THIS THING!” when it took all of their energy simply to keep breathing some days. The extra measure of guilt-induced pain the patients then carried was horrible to witness… So… I chose to consider my cancer to be a loving sister, here to teach me things I needed to learn. I trusted she would stay only as long as I needed her instruction…and I acknowledged that she might have come simply to prepare me for a good death. She became my dancing partner, helping me feel the melody, rhythm and tempo needed each day — sometimes each hour — of this unexpected journey. I now wake up each day wondering what the dance will be as I am invited back out into Life Writ Large. So much more I could say, but I’m in the midst of preparing the memorial service for a dear friend whose dance did end in her passing over… I’ll be curious to see if any dance imagery appears in your work! 😉 Thank you for using your gifts in support of awareness and research. I am keenly aware that if I were 30 with young kids, I might well have had a very different reaction to my diagnosis. Cancer in general is epidemic, with the increase in breast cancer on-beyond alarming…
with love and gratitude, Jan
Jan Gough 505-303-3739 (home) 617-877-8247 (cell/work) 109 Camino Santiago Santa Fe, NM 87501
Thank you for sharing Jan, what a beautiful spirit you have. With your permission, I would like to explore “dance” with cancer instead of “fight”. I have another friend who described cancer not as something to fight with, but as an annoying roommate you have to deal with.
Really beautiful!
Sent from my iPhone
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