West Chester resident’s project helps breast cancer survivors

The CDC states that besides a few rare forms of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, no matter what race or ethnicity.

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West Chester resident Joules Evans, a breast cancer survivor, is Isis’ assistant. She said the photographer’s work, which was displayed in Hyde Park’s Miller Gallery last week, sends a powerful message to breast cancer survivors.

“It is a body image project that grew out of a very personal, powerful experience,” Evans shared.

She added that Isis was a boudoir photographer in New York several years ago when she met a woman who had signed up to do a shoot. The woman said she didn’t feel beautiful, but felt “mutilated” after undergoing a mastectomy.

“After she shared that, she started to relax a little bit and eventually had this very transformative experience and it was a very emotional moment for both of them,” Evans said. “She just allowed herself to be photographed and felt very empowered.”

Another woman wanted Isis to photograph her, and said the experience allowed her to “drop 12 years of shame,” that she had been feeling after undergoing a mastectomy.

Isis’ show in Cincinnati displayed 30 silks, unveiling many images for the first time, including the photo of Champagne Joy, a well-known cancer activist who died March 27 in her fight against metastatic breast cancer.

“The silks truly create a presence that honors the very women who have braved their scars in front of my camera,” Isis said.

Dr. Elyse Lower, professor of medicine at the UC College of Medicine and director of the UC Cancer Institute’s Breast Cancer Center, said Isis’ work is something that means a lot to the local and national community, as well as, for patients, survivors and their families.

“This is an internationally-recognized exhibit,” she said. “These stunning images are helping empower patients and survivors across the globe, and we are thrilled to be able to share them with our patients, former patients, their families and supporters and just the community as a whole.”