Breast Cancer Awareness Body Painting Project

My name is Melanie, and I am a breast cancer Survivor. I was 35 when I found a lump in my breast. Several months after I found the lump I lost my breast. Breast cancer awareness is so important. Breast cancer does not run in my family, and I had never had a mammogram. If I hadn't done a self-exam, the cancer would have gone undetected until it might have been too late. After surviving cancer, I felt very strongly that I had to make breast cancer awareness my mission.

I started to network and got involved with a wonderful project - the Breast Cancer Awareness Body Painting Project (BCABPP). Cindy Papale, author and Survivor, teamed up with a photographer (Michael Colanero) and an amazing artist (Keegan Hitchcock) in Fort Lauderdale, FL to design and create body-painting images to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer causes. The images are going into a book and a calendar. Any profits made from the images will go to the Kristy Lasch Miracle Foundation which helps women under the age of 30 with medical-related expenses who are battling breast cancer. http://www.cafepress.com/BCABPP

Breast cancer Survivors from all over the country have been driving and flying into Fort Lauderdale to participate in this amazing project. I was a "Painted Survivor" as well. My image is called "Stardust." This experience was transcendental for me... it gave me a newfound strength; it transformed me in a way that is difficult to express into words. When I was going through breast cancer, I felt like the disease was stealing bits of me every day. As Keegan painted this amazing cosmic landscape onto me, I began to watch my scarred body turn into a thing of beauty. And as Michael was shooting the photos I began to realize that cancer didn't steal my beauty, and that it could never tarnish my soul. I will be forever grateful to Keegan and Michael for allowing me to participate in this amazing project.

Michael has posted quite a few videos of us on You Tube (just type BCABPP in the search box to find us). They are the time elapsed videos of several Survivors (myself included) getting painted by Keegan. And PBS's ArtStreet will be airing a segment on the BCABPP next week in South Florida. We Survivors have been watching each other's videos and posting comments amid teary eyes. None of us have ever met in person outside of cyber space. It is my dream to gather all of us Painted Survivors and Michael & Keegan together so we can all meet, and so we can all thank Michael and Keegan in person for this amazing gift of the heart they have given us. It is my hope that one of the national networks will pick it up. I would love for us to go on national TV – we are a group of STRONG WARRIOR WOMEN who have battled the breast cancer beast and WON!! Help us spread hope!

I would love to do whatever I can to give this project wings and lots of exposure!! It is a little scary when I think that I've really put myself out there (literally). When you think about it, it really is a risk. But ... if my image or video can give at least one woman the strength to keep fighting breast cancer another day... or if it can show just one woman that breast cancer cannot steal her beauty or her dignity ... and that there is ALWAYS hope ... then it was WORTH the risk.

Brightest blessings,

Melanie Joy "Stardust"