‘Out the Other Side: Stories of Breast Cancer Survival’

Roche supported by the Marie Keating Foundation'

Introduction:

‘Out the Other Side: Stories of Breast Cancer Survival’ is a collection of individual stories of women who have survived breast cancer, which is designed to offer hope and support to other survivors or women living with the disease in Ireland.

Context:

This year, over 2800 women in Ireland will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer and almost 700 women will die from the disease. But thanks to new developments in clinical treatment, more and more women are now surviving breast cancer, with almost 28,000 Irish survivors.

But surviving breast cancer doesn’t mean the end of the journey, and for many, what happens after breast cancer is a passage in itself. Most cancer survivors will attest that the road of survivorship is not always paved with gold and the prospect of rebuilding your life after something as significant as cancer can be daunting. But with the right support and information, the experience can provide a renewed sense of life and purpose, enabling people to cherish special life moments that at one point may not have seemed possible.

About the Campaign:

Developed by Roche and Edelman, in association with the Marie Keating Foundation, the ‘Out the Other Side’ campaign aims to shine a light on stories of survivorship through words and images. All of the women featured are living proof that it is possible not only to come out the other side of a breast cancer diagnosis, but to thrive and grow after it. Breast cancer stories are often rooted in the diagnosis and treatment. But for the purpose of this campaign, we wanted to get to the heart of what surviving breast cancer means and what surviving breast cancer has enabled and encouraged people to do.

Each story comprises three elements: a shared personal experience of surviving breast cancer; a photograph of each survivor as they are today; and a

photograph shared by these women that they feel represents their ‘survivorship milestone’, essentially, what surviving breast cancer has meant for each

of these women.

They are stories of elation and anti-climax that are happy and sad, funny and irreverent, and filled with confusion, guilt and gratitude. But they are all real. Because just like breast cancer, we know that no survivor’s journey is the same.

The location:

Just as breast cancer is prevalent and present in our everyday lives – our family members, friends, colleagues, people we pass in the street have all been affected by it – we felt that the campaign should live in and among us in the same way. As such, the campaign is being exhibited from 12-30 October in St Stephen’s Green Park, in Dublin City Centre. This is a very prominent and public place, and the perfect location for everything the campaign stands for.

The stories:

To help pull the stories together, we enlisted the help of Irish journalist Dawn O’Shea. Dawn is a journalist who has worked in health writing for most of her career. In 2014 she was presented with the Award for Excellence in Lung Cancer Journalism by the Irish Cancer Society and the Global Lung Cancer Coalition, and has documented countless patient stories through the course of her career. While the stories and words are those of the participants themselves, Dawn helped these brave women to articulate their very moving stories of survival.

The photography:

It was really important that the people involved in this campaign could relate to the reality of a cancer diagnosis and what it means to come through the other side. Gerry Andrews is a photographer from Limerick who lost his wife June to breast cancer 11 years ago. His four sisters-in-law have since been diagnosed and treated, and all are still in remission. Gerry himself is currently being treated for a rare form of blood cancer but is doing well and

continues to have a very positive outlook. Gerry has won numerous national and international awards for his photography and his work has been displayed in over fifty countries worldwide, some of which you can see here: http://www.gerryandrews.com/.

The ‘survivorship milestone’ snapshot:

As the focus of the campaign is about what survivorship means to each of the participants, we asked each of them to give us a photograph that represents their survivorship milestone – the event or moment that encapsulates what surviving breast cancer has meant for them. This can be a significant life event like holding your first grandchild, walking your daughter up the aisle, celebrating a significant birthday or changing your career. Or it can be an everyday realisation like the importance of getting everyone around the table for family lunch once a week, taking up a new hobby or taking a few moments away from work once a day to look after yourself. Essentially, it’s what surviving breast cancer has meant for them.

The results:

The whole project has been a huge success, and the feedback from the Marie Keating Foundation and the participants themselves has been

outstanding:

‘Yesterday was a moment in time for me, my husband and my parents. Uplifting, moving and hugely impactful. The dignity that has been afforded to

the installation is something to behold.’

‘Thank you so much everyone for an absolutely amazing day. The exhibition is a credit to you and I am very proud to be a part of it.’

‘Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this amazing event , all my friends have been to see it and think it’s fantastic , my Facebook page is

covered in pictures of my friends with my picture it is amazing. Cannot wait to go see it myself with my family on Sat.’

‘Hi, thank you so much for letting me be part of an inspiring exhibition. I was able to share the moment with my two Children, Mum and sister, which

meant a lot. I was able to meet some amazing ladies’

‘Thanks again for an absolutely amazing day- it was so full of emotion and we were all so proud to be a part of it!’

Media Coverage:

The project attracted significant national media coverage including feature pieces in The Sun, The Mirror, the Irish Examiner, Evoke.ie, and landed

photos in the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the Examiner, and the Irish Daily Star.

Snapshots of the campaign:

You can watch a short video snapshot that encapsulates the project here: http://go.roche.com/otos.