In Her Own Words: Archive of a Breast Cancer Survivor by Adriene Hughes

I was fortunate to be asked to write the forward for this book, which was originally published in 2006 and is now online as a PDF that be downloaded for free at the following link: http://issuu.com/adrienehughes/docs/book

[Warning: This journal is a true representation of Ms. Hughes’s journey; therefore, some of the images are graphic and contain nudity.]

Archive of a Breast Cancer Survivor is a book documenting Adriene Hughes’ own journey as a woman diagnosed with breast cancer. The book begins with being informed over the telephone that she had a tumor that needed to be removed and then coming full circle to calling herself a survivor. This work originally began as a photoblog and web journal of her experience with breast cancer. She is a gifted artist who works in various mediums: writing, painting, dance and photography. She drew upon each of these talents in her daily struggle for normalcy and rolled them into the journal. After hearing from others and discovering how powerful her work was she decided to publish it as a book. The book is personal, raw yet heartfelt in being descriptive of what a woman experiences in her journey against breast cancer. Archive of a Breast Cancer Survivor is a must read for any woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Excerpt from the book:

“The archive you are about to read is a documentation of the process of survivorship. Taking photographs and journaling my thoughts allowed me to step back and observe myself during the journey to recovery. Sometimes the expression of cancer became too difficult to comprehend, if not for myself, definitely for those who loved and cared for me. Documenting those thoughts and feelings allowed me a place to exist without being embedded in the difficulty of the disease. By having a cyber-home in which to journal my experiences, I found that I wrote not only for myself, but for others as well.”

Copies of the book have been given to our own breast cancer patients over the years and they have benefitted immensely to know that they “are not alone” in their battle with breast cancer. Now that the book is available as a free download, the number of women who will be able to relate to and possibly be comforted by the work will increase exponentially. The link to this book should be shared with anyone who has been touched by breast cancer including their family and friends.

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