I’ve been affected by cancer way too many times in my young life. I remember the first person…a young boy that lived two doors from us when I was a about 12 years old and he only 14 or 15. Back then the treatment was elementary and harsh and Bethesda Naval Hospital was the only place for the best care. Fast forward to adulthood and remembering when my sister-in-law at 35 was diagnosed with breast cancer and then a few months later my Aunt. Both so young and both fighting for their lives. My sister-in-law had a young son all too young to really understand why mommie wasn’t well or had to stay in the hospital for so long. My sister-in-law is now many years into remission (or cure) and just celebrated a milestone birthday (I won’t mention the number here cause I can’t even say my own age out loud!) but she’s still diligent about her check-ups…

Today I want to share…share the work of portrait photographer Sue Bryce and videographer Hailey Bartholomew who tell the story of a woman who is living with stage 4 cancer. But this isn’t a sad story or a story about cancer, it’s a story of love and hope and inspiration. It’s a story of gratitude, giving and sharing… Sue takes Jill to be photographed in Paris and creates the most stunning images. Hailey documents it… If you ever had a loved one touched by cancer then I’m sure you can relate. Jill’s story is that as a young woman, she wasn’t educated on breast cancer, she ignored the signs… if we can reach one person to go and get an exam an mamo or even self-exam, then good….

I’m sharing this video because 1) the imagery and video are just stunning and 2)  this is one of the reason’s I do what I do… creating lasting memories…