Breast Cancer Survivor Turns Radiation Treatment into Visual Journey
New American Cancer Society book -Rad Art - Shares Artistic Expressions of a Patient Undergoing Radiation
ATLANTA, Nov. 9, 2012 /3BL Media/ - The American Cancer Society envisions a world with less cancer and more birthdays, but artist Sally Loughridge, Ph.D., literally takes that vision to heart in her new book Rad Art: A Journey Through Radiation Treatment, in which she uses a series of 33 oil paintings to illustrate her emotional state each day following radiation therapy.
As a coping strategy, Loughridge, a retired clinical psychologist, turned her vision of cancer cells escaping her body and her feelings of being on an emotional rollercoaster, into breathtaking art expressing the fear, sadness, vulnerability, uncertainty, and anger many cancer patients experience.
“After the initial shock of being diagnosed with breast cancer, I felt a surge of unfamiliar, uncomfortable emotions that I could not articulate easily,” said Loughridge. “When radiation was recommended after surgery, I knew that I needed a private strategy to help steady myself, in addition to the loving support of family and friends. I turned to painting, knowing that visual art, as a lifelong personal resource, could help me feel alive and vital during this harrowing time.”
In the foreword, Tony award–winning playwright, Eve Ensler, best known for The Vagina Monologues, describes Loughridge’s work as “calling up the exquisite beauty that can only be burned out of suffering.” Acknowledging that every person’s experience is unique, Loughridge hopes this resource encourages expression, sharing, and connection among cancer patients and their loved ones. “I hope Rad Art will encourage those experiencing cancer, as a patient or a loved one, to express and explore their feelings, particularly those for which they cannot find words,” Loughridge remarked. “The book can help those supporting or treating a survivor recognize the complexity and fluidity of emotions stirred by an encounter with cancer.”
A video podcast featuring author Sally Loughridge is also available on the Society's YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/82ypztkiUq8
Learn more here.
