June Grant

Being in one of the most exciting places in the world, New York City, in 2002 was memorable, but not for the usual thrills of a visit to the ‘Big Apple’. I discovered a lump in my breast and instantly dismissed it as something inconsequential. Having no family history of breast cancer placated my concerns and I continued my trip to Miami and then returned to New Zealand still in the realm of ‘this can’t happen to me’.

Reality hit with a vengeance after a mammogram and biopsy proved that I did indeed have breast cancer - chilling words that every woman dreads to hear - and the turmoil of emotions that accompany the bad news began with not knowing the eventual outcome until after surgery, or after chemotherapy, or after radiotherapy. A living nightmare! Every aspect of breast cancer treatment is a shock; surgery removing the cancer and part of a breast; lymph nodes removed from under the arm too to determine if the cancer has travelled; recovery with tubes to remove accumulating fluids; then, when that has healed a chemotherapy regime to blast any residual cancer still in residence; and finally, when all your hair, energy and self esteem have gone, six weeks of radiotherapy to conquer any rogue cancer cell still floating around in the breast.

My message is that breast cancer is one of the survivable cancers, especially if diagnosed early. Mammograms can find cancer cells the size of pinheads and if found at that early stage, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are not necessary.

This series of paintings is a visual reminder of the journey, and a legacy for my family to keep had I not survived the experience.

The first blue painting with the Art Deco Chrysler Building as my tiara is about the discovery. I employ images from my ancestral heritage to describe important symbols and these are in each painting, the petroglyphs (rock drawings), the spiritual guardian figures (manaia), and personal family symbols that have meaning for me. The second terracotta painting is about the surgery and the importance of my ancestors is evident with symbols denoting genealogy and the feather talking visually about values and treasures. The third painting is purple and describes a feeling of spirituality and the feelings of undergoing chemotherapy, the whalebone weapon I am holding is to fight the good fight and defeat the enemy (cancer).

The last painting describes fire and the radiotherapy treatment, burning the cancer cells out of my system, and the personal symbols that give me strength to continue.

I am alive and well today, thankful for a new lease on life and especially grateful to amazing doctors, surgeons, radiologists and nurses, and particularly modern technology that allow us to live longer, and I for one am really happy about that!