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The Day Before

Six years ago, I photographed artist, Coco Larrain, 57, at her home in Brewster, MA, the day before she had a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. This image of Coco, which was included in multiple exhibits I had about women's experiences around the world, was the catalyst for my series exploring the many faces of breast cancer on Cape Cod. Coco documented her first encounter with breast cancer years before through painting and drawing. “I’ve often done self-portraits, and documenting myself going through cancer treatments helped me get outside of what I was feeling,” she explains. "It was helpful because my focus was on the act of making art rather than on feeling sick. Also, I figured I would never be bald again so why not paint myself while I was?!" she adds, laughing. Ten years after her first cancer, Coco was once again diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy and a transdermal flap reconstruction. It took five surgeries to complete the process which involved taking skin and muscle from her back. "I photographed myself during the entire experience. One of my ideas was to make a book to help others see the process before deciding to go forward with it themselves," she recalls. "Going through breast cancer twice changed my entire attitude and made me so much more grateful to be alive and healthy,” she adds.

Filename
Coco_Larrain.jpg
Copyright
Julia Cumes
Image Size
3684x5527 / 11.0MB
Contained in galleries
Rise Above: Exploring the Many Faces of Breast Cancer on Cape Cod
Six years ago, I photographed artist, Coco Larrain, 57, at her home in Brewster, MA, the day before she had a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. This image of Coco, which was included in multiple exhibits I had about women's experiences around the world, was the catalyst for my series exploring the many faces of breast cancer on Cape Cod. Coco documented her first encounter with breast cancer years before through painting and drawing. “I’ve often done self-portraits, and documenting myself going through cancer treatments helped me get outside of what I was feeling,” she explains. "It was helpful because my focus was on the act of making art rather than on feeling sick. Also, I figured I would never be bald again so why not paint myself while I was?!" she adds, laughing. Ten years after her first cancer, Coco was once again diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy and a transdermal flap reconstruction. It took five surgeries to complete the process which involved taking skin and muscle from her back. "I photographed myself during the entire experience. One of my ideas was to make a book to help others see the process before deciding to go forward with it themselves," she recalls. "Going through breast cancer twice changed my entire attitude and made me so much more grateful to be alive and healthy,” she adds.