So much of sadness

Today was rough, because there was so much sad news around… but it made me marvel at the strength of women!

A colleague was diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma yesterday, and went for a biopsy this morning.  She was amazing yesterday after she heard the news.  I probably would have been a wreck and gone home… but she carried on working as if nothing had happened.

Another colleague went to the hospital to be with her when she came out of the biopsy… to help her deal with all of it… and the reason… she is a leukemia survivor (she had it 14 years ago when her son was 7 years old).  She was telling me this afternoon about her mood swings and her feelings towards everyone including her son while she was in hospital for 6 months having treatments.  She was also saying about how her dreams and ambitions became so much clearer when she got ill, and that she still hasn’t finished what she’d planned… she lives every day to it’s full, and she has never forgotten those feelings she had when she was so ill.

Then, yet another colleague’s sister was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She has a 3 month old baby, and she’s having a mastectomy tomorrow.

So, I’m thinking… I think it’s time I put my photo plan into action.  The one I spoke about a few months ago.

My colleagues greatest fear is what she’ll look like without hair.  I’m thinking of asking her tomorrow if I can do portraits for her and her family… or do you think it’s a bad idea?  I’m not how I’d feel if someone offered that to me.

I’m also thinking of doing the same for my other colleague too.    This time, like the Think Pink Organisation does for Breast Cancer patients and survivors in the US. In fact, maybe it’s time I got hold of that friend of mine who was telling me about a local organisation that does makeovers for breast cancer patients to find out more about it.

I’m just rambling on now, but I feel helpless and like I need to do something for them.