Australian mother bares scars from her battle with cancer….Only to lose more than 100 Facebook friends who found images offensive
Many people have heard of breast cancer but few know how it actually feels when someone suffers from it. It takes immense mental and physical strength for one to fight a battle against breast cancer and emerge victorious. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and its important for people of all ages to know more about it.
In an attempt to make her friends realize that anyone can suffer from breast cancer and that it does not discriminate between age, gender, or race, mother of four, Beth Whaanga of Brisbane, Australia posted graphic pictures of herself showing her breast cancer surgery scars. Her efforts were not appreciated by many, more than 100 friends who found the pictures offensive removed her from their friends list.
She underwent a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and doctors found she had the BRCA2 gene. She tackled the ravages of her cancer surgery head-on but refused to hide her scarred body later.
Angelina Jolie recently had a double mastectomy after it was discovered that she carried the gene which predisposes women to breast cancer to prevent the risk of gene-related breast cancer.
Unlike many women Beth refused to hide her scarred her body and instead teamed up with friend and photographer Nadia Masot to photograph her body and help people understand the devastating effects of the surgery. She gave a message through pictures that a person might appear normal clothed but the real story may be hidden under the clothing.
Mrs. Whaanga said that she does not agree with posting pictures like this but it was done for a good cause and with good intentions, anyone who does not want to view them has the option to leave the page. She also says understanding cancer and knowing ways to prevent it is a better option than to ignore it, thinking you will never be affected by it. She is very positive and says after the surgery she feels she will live longer. She has great respect for everyone fighting breast cancer and hopes that other people will join her in this cause of educating people about cancer.
Despite knowing her pictures had been reported to Facebook, she refused to remove them and hopes to turn them into an exhibition and coffee table book.
Not giving heed to the controversy surrounding her pictures, she says she always knew her pictures would be controversial and she is okay with the fact that some people might not be comfortable with them. She emphasizes the project’s message is the for people to be more vigilant and responsible for their own bodies.
While the controversy regarding these pictures might not end soon, it gives an important message to everyone to not ignore the possibility of being affected by disease as they do not discriminate between age or gender, ignorance is never a good option.
