Faces of Breast Cancer: A Global Community of Women

October 15, 2013 - This year more than 1.4 million women around the world will learn they have breast cancer. The disease is the biggest cancer killer of women in developed regions like North America and Europe as well as the developing world, like Africa, where many women are diagnosed at a late stage of the disease.

Behind the statistics are the faces of the women and men whose lives have been touched by the disease. Some of them have breast cancer and are undergoing treatment or are now living life after cancer. Others love someone with breast cancer or have lost someone to the disease. And some have been told they have a high genetic risk of developing breast cancer, and they live with the daily fear and worry about a future with breast cancer.

To tell the stories of the people who make up this global breast cancer community, we are asking readers of The New York Times to share their experiences with breast cancer as part of Well’s “Picture Your Life” project. So far, we have received hundreds of submissions from readers around the world, with more coming in every day.

We’ve heard from Noemi Meneguzzo of Vicenza, Italy, whose marriage ended after her 2007 cancer diagnosis, but she created a new art exhibition called “Cancer and Femininity,” now on display in Turin, Italy. “My friends came closer to me, and they are a real blessing in my life,” she wrote. “I’m living with metastasis, but I’m living, and every day I can recognize some gifts from my cancer.”

Gina of Boston received her diagnosis at age 32. “Going into the cancer center, I felt out of place, too young, too healthy,” she wrote. “It wasn’t until I was going to radiation every day and sitting in a tiny waiting room with women of all ages and varying stages of cancer that I learned to accept my cancer… Hearing their stories and sharing mine, made me feel part of a community.”

Omonike of Hong Kong was in law school and just 26 when she learned she had breast cancer. “The experience has taught me what’s important,” she said. “Enjoy life. Don’t worry about everything. Cherish your friends and family. Find something positive in everything.”

Bob in Edina, Minn., shared the story of a husband who supported his wife through breast cancer. “I remember being overwhelmed with information,” he said. “I learned that hair and scars don’t matter. My favorite response to the question ‘What do you think when you see my scar?’ was a husband who said, ‘I see life.’”

For JJ of Sydney, Australia, learning she had breast cancer while pregnant meant she had to make some hard choices. She underwent chemotherapy while pregnant, leading to a premature delivery, but her child is now thriving. “There is nothing I can do about my diagnosis except fight like hell for my family,” she wrote. “I’m due for a further prophylactic mastectomy next month. I’ve seen what cancer can do, and it’s unforgiving.”

To hear more from Noemi, Gina, Omonike, Bob and JJ — and other members of the global breast cancer community, go the Faces of Breast Cancer page. And if your life has been touched by breast cancer, we hope you will also take the time to share your story. Over the coming weeks, we will be adding hundreds of new stories as well as new features to the “Picture Your Life” project.