The creative work of Beth Gainer is featured in this summary of the DiepCFoundation educational channel interview we did together. I invited Beth to put together a presentation for the interview to share slides featuring some of the art that she hopes to have in a public space or gallery someday. The title is so inspiring and fitting: Breast Cancer, Female and Young – Art Series by Beth Gainer.
Meet Beth Gainer
Beth is a breast cancer survivor, a mother, an English professor, writer, book author, and an artist. Her creative writing and artwork speak to so many of us and has been a healing mechanism in her own Journey. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in her thirties and something she found in a self-exam. A mammogram and doctors exams had missed it. What Beth noticed upon self-exam was a slight dimpling.
When she brought it to the attention of her doctor, he recommended a diagnostic imaging which she had. They found something that Beth tells us was very difficult for them to see because she has dense breast tissue. These are important points for readers to note. It is through getting to know and understand our breast tissue that the potential to detect breast cancer early is possible.
Beth Shares her Treatment and Surgery
Beth was diagnosed and went through both chemotherapy and radiation. She was shocked by her diagnosis as many are. Prior to her diagnosis she was in good shape, eating well and exercising so it came unexpectedly when she found out she had breast cancer. After completing her treatment, she had a lot of false scares. She heard the words many hear after a mammography, “Oh they found something but it’s nothing.” Beth also had several biopsies after her treatments.
Five years after her diagnosis, her oncologist always ordered MRI’s for Beth. In one of those MRI’s, they found something in the same breast that had breast cancer. That scared her a lot. It was biopsied and fortunately was found to be scar tissue. She compared the anxiety and feeling of these multiple scares as “Russian Roulette.” Not knowing what could potentially be lurking she needed peace of mind. Because she had several biopsies in those five years after her treatment Beth made the decision to have a mastectomy.
Disfigurement from Multiple Biopsies was Essential to Beth’s Art
Beth shares with us how body image issues affect a lot of people. It took her eleven months of working with the medical community to get her DIEP flap scheduled. Like many other women, she was collaborating with her surgeons to write letter campaigns to ensure insurance issues were resolved and her DIEP flap could be covered under medical necessity. Beth tells us it turned out her healthy breast was filled with pre-cancerous cells. After these findings, her oncologist told her, “You would have had breast cancer again..”
Beth’s Call to Action for Self-Advocacy in Breast Cancer Care
The decision to move forward with DIEP flap and discovery of the pre-cancerous cells solidifies Beth’s strong belief in self-advocacy. She encourages others to speak up when you feel something doesn’t feel right to you or is becoming of such great emotional stress that you feel something needs to be done. Beth tells us doctors have medical expertise when it comes down to it, but you need to be in tune with your body.
No one knows your body the way you do.
Female, and Young with Breast Cancer and Beth’s Art Series Development
Beth recovered from her DIEP flap surgery. She returned to exercise and healthy eating. She had been taking oil painting classes for some time and included landscapes and other things. Still grappling with body image issues from her multiple lumpectomies, she felt she needed some sort of cathartic outlet to deal with this. Beth tells us she was really doing it for herself with no intention of sharing it with anyone.
Many were surprised to hear Beth enrolled in a nude figure drawing class. Through her sketch pad she focuses on the young female figure since she can relate to this being diagnosed at such a young age. After drawing the pictures in class Beth then transferred them into oil paintings. She wanted to capture the anguish, uncertainty, and all the multiple moods that happen with breast cancer.
It wasn’t until recently in the past year that Beth decided to make this a public series. Beth and I share a personal moment and how we both have interest in the wonders of the human body and how it is repurposed during DIEP flap breast reconstruction. It was the impetus of me opening DiepCFoundation and Beth’s inspiration to make her art series known to others. I am pleased to share Beth is part of the breast cancer community I am so honored to serve on the private Facebook page, DiepCJourney.
The Art Series Presentation with Beth Gainer
Please enjoy the presentation and my conversation with Beth: “Breast Cancer, Female and Young – Art series by Beth Gainer” in the video here. We encourage breast cancer survivor’s to find your creative outlet. Embrace it, and let it begin to heal you in your Journey.