Creativity for Comfort & Peace • by Michelle Shefveland

Art saves. Yes it does. It also celebrates. And heals. Not in ways always imagined, but in beautiful ways nonetheless.

Personally Touched by Cancer
Three years ago my life was touched personally by breast cancer, which had already been prevalent in my maternal lineage. Mom, 62 years young, who had annual mammograms and took great care of her health, was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Stage 3 lobular, estrogen receptive breast cancer ... the type that can hide in your lobes, undetected for a long time and many mammograms. Her doctor didn't even feel the lump the week before in her annual exam. Therefore, during her lumpectomy surgery, the surgeon was not expecting to find her lymph nodes cancerous. However, he did ... 19 of 24 were malignant. This meant a change in expected treatment plans. The toughest regimen of chemo and radiation and a whole gamut of emotions were now going to be Mom's battle. It quickly spread to her bones (making it Stage 4 cancer) and two years later, is now in her liver. All along she has felt well and handled the surgery, chemo, radiation, and numerous other treatments with grace and a positive attitude. It is a wearing journey, though, and one that is hard to imagine if you haven't walked in its shoes.

Thankfully, she and Dad live just 30 miles away and her treatment center is nearby. Being able to be with her and Dad every step of the way has, hopefully, helped ease their tremendous burden just a touch.

Turning to Sewing & Photography
Mom has turned back to her love of sewing to help ease her mind as she goes through treatment after treatment. Now that she's retired from nursing, the journey seems even more difficult as she has more time on her hands (but with limited ability to live carefree). Sewing pretty aprons, dresses and pj's for grandkids, and purses for friends has been beautiful to watch. She sewed her own wedding dress in 1966 and most of my clothes as a child. I'm happy to see her using her creativity to bring her joy once again.

For me, I've used my love of photography and digital collage to capture Mom's journey and as therapy for my own walk with her. I've brought my little point-and-shoot (instead of my bulky DSLR) to every doctor's visit and treatment, capturing the visitors, the treatment facilities, the nurses, the laughs, and the love. This battle is worth documenting ... the process is healing, empowering. It hasn’t taken the cancer away, but it has made us even more aware of our many blessings.

For this latest spread to her liver, Mom has started her own CaringBridge site, where she’s discovered a love of writing. We share snippets of my photography and art on her site, as well as a slideshow I made of her first year’s journey. The support there has been life-giving for her (and me, too).

We will continue to fight the fight and will use our creativity to bring comfort and peace.

To learn more about Michelle Shefveland, visit her Web sites, Cottage Arts: cottagearts.net; and Click Artistry: clickartistry.com/index2.php. She can be contacted at michelle@cottagearts.net.

As her oldest and only daughter with two daughters of my own, I am faced with the realization that our family may have a genetic tendency towards this disease. It means I need to be more proactive in my own health care and pass that on to my daughters. Diet, exercise, environment, and stress management all play a factor. For all women, it is imperative to know your body and act immediately if you notice any changes. Get knowledgeable, be diligent about self breast exams, ask questions, and talk to your doctor about preventative measures if you are high risk. If under 40, ask about how accurate a mammogram is on dense tissue, common in young women. You only have one life ... take care and be aware!

Great sites for valuable information:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure
BreastCancer.org
American Cancer Society
Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Comments

[linda]

Your photography and art are beautiful...thanks for sharing your story! I am always so thankful that there is an outlet for all of us, even in hard times. Art is great to celebrate with, but can also offer so much help :)

[Alberta]

I so enjoyed reading about you and your Mothers journey and how digital scrapping has helped you through this time. We lost our 16 year old daughter 3 years ago in a single car accident. I found digital scrapbooking "accidently" they say, but I know it was the Lord leading me to it. Through this awesome avenue of creating, editing and making digital pages of Kandace I have been able to remember her beauty and grace and also share her with family and friends and been healed in the process. They say whenever your create, your feel good endorphins kick in. I know I feel good and better and have been led ever so gently by the Lord down the long, lonely road He has ask us to walk. Knowing I will see her again is what brings me hope and in the meantime I scrap.

[Mary]

I happen upon your site goggling and read your story about your mom. I am a one year breast cancer survivor and I scrap and take photos. Wish I could take better photos lol But I try lol. I love scrapping and feel I am leaving my 3 young children memories that they can have as they grew. Your work is Beautiful. My thoughts are with you and your mom. Keep fighting.
Many hugs
Mary