A Breast Cancer Illness Narrative
A collection of artist books by Carol Pairaudeau
Diagnosis - Dark Days
Six patients reveal, in their own words and handwriting, some of the inner emotional turmoil triggered by the words "you have cancer". Six threads hold the pages of the book together. On the opposite side is a representation of the external world where the newly diagnosed patient must navigate the unfamiliar language of breast cancer. Words and phrases in different directions, sizes and type compete for the viewer's attention.
Wide Local Excision
In this small, intimate book a sequence of words describes the simple facts of the situation, whilst a series of photographs reveal the reality of my breast cancer journey.
Red Devil
Named after the syringe of red fluid which formed part of my chemotherapy drug cocktail. Developing this idea further this book contains a drinks menu listing cocktails specially selected for the chemotherapy patient. Other pages observe, with some humour, the day-to-day life of a chemotherapy recipient from what might appear on your shopping list to some 'Do's and Don'ts of Chemo'.
Party on the Platform
As we neared the end of this long, and for some, particularly difficult leg of our journey, talk turned to the day we would alight from 'the chemo train' and gather for a 'Party on the Platform'. Those finishing their journey first would wait on the platform for the others to arrive before the celebrations began. We found humour and entertainment in thinking of the most suitable songs to mark the occasion and so the party playlist was compiled. Quite fitting that when we did get to meet in person our meeting point was, in fact, a station platform!
It's Not All Black and White
Foe may of us surgery, chemotherapy and radio therapy were followed by hormone therapy and the symptoms of a chemically induced menopause - hot flashes, joint pain, brain fog, headaches... Here, the usual patient information leaflet has been replaced with an alternative 'added value' version. The possibility that this daily tablet might keep you alive for longer was weighed up against 5-10 years of challenges to everyday living, and changes to work and lifestyle. The decision was not as simple as it might seem.
Six patients reveal, in their own words and handwriting, some of the inner emotional turmoil triggered by the words "you have cancer". Six threads hold the pages of the book together. On the opposite side is a representation of the external world where the newly diagnosed patient must navigate the unfamiliar language of breast cancer. Words and phrases in different directions, sizes and type compete for the viewer's attention.
Wide Local Excision
In this small, intimate book a sequence of words describes the simple facts of the situation, whilst a series of photographs reveal the reality of my breast cancer journey.
Red Devil
Named after the syringe of red fluid which formed part of my chemotherapy drug cocktail. Developing this idea further this book contains a drinks menu listing cocktails specially selected for the chemotherapy patient. Other pages observe, with some humour, the day-to-day life of a chemotherapy recipient from what might appear on your shopping list to some 'Do's and Don'ts of Chemo'.
Party on the Platform
As we neared the end of this long, and for some, particularly difficult leg of our journey, talk turned to the day we would alight from 'the chemo train' and gather for a 'Party on the Platform'. Those finishing their journey first would wait on the platform for the others to arrive before the celebrations began. We found humour and entertainment in thinking of the most suitable songs to mark the occasion and so the party playlist was compiled. Quite fitting that when we did get to meet in person our meeting point was, in fact, a station platform!
It's Not All Black and White
Foe may of us surgery, chemotherapy and radio therapy were followed by hormone therapy and the symptoms of a chemically induced menopause - hot flashes, joint pain, brain fog, headaches... Here, the usual patient information leaflet has been replaced with an alternative 'added value' version. The possibility that this daily tablet might keep you alive for longer was weighed up against 5-10 years of challenges to everyday living, and changes to work and lifestyle. The decision was not as simple as it might seem.
