Breast Cancer Paper Doll

I was strangely pleased that my little one was so young at the time of my diagnosis. I didn't want her to remember the twelve months of hell we were about to go through. I didn't want her to have vivid memories of me being bald, bruised, sick, and tired. I have hope that someday I'll tell her about it in the form of a story: "A long, long time ago (like sixty years ago) Mommy slayed a monster."

Some moms (or children) aren't so lucky.

I was recently lurking over at the YSC message board and came across a post titled "Paper Doll." The author wrote that she had just finished the doll and wanted feedback. I checked it out. I'm happy to give my opinion from behind the safety of my computer! What I found was a genius tool to help parents communicate to children the changes in store to mom's body after a breast cancer diagnosis.

Since all breast cancer surgeries are different she has included a variety of depictions: women with breasts and without, scarring from a mastectomy, a lumpectomy, port insertion, the stages of reconstruction, and so on. She also includes the necessary accouterments: drains, wigs, head scarves, chemo equipment, and radiation mapping.

The artist is Julia Grim and her Breast Cancer Paper Doll can be found at www.cancervacation.com. I have to warn you that Julia, also a survivor, has some very interesting, but graphic, photographs on her site. She had her mastectomy surgery photographed from beginning to end. The Paper Doll drawings can be directly accessed by clicking here.

Check out Julia's website and give this struggling artist and survivor some love!