Confronting Chest Cancer: A Storytelling Series
This is a visual project series using illustrative art to storytell various reproductive health narratives within the medical context. Through medical illustration and visual ethnography, the series develops stories about managing new diagnoses or medical decisions alongside the apprehension of experiencing anti-Blackness, anti-queerness, and gender dysphoria within the medical community.
Objectives:
To offer educational and conversational tools about reproductive medicine, health, and disease.
To frame the medical and personal needs of Black queer people since many times patients do not know what to expect.
To spotlight the dilemmas about physicians’ approaches to Black queer people.
To visualize the experiences with medical, technological, and surgical.
Confronting Chest Cancer
Something’s Not Right
A Black queer masculine presenting, female bodied person (late forties) is at home. Attempting to tape down in front of the mirror their breasts/chest and feels a large lump in the right side. Facial expression with concern.
Additional: Show stages of breast lump discovery. Visualizing the breast lump naked in the mirror. Show how a self-chest exam is done. Show symptoms and types of breast cancer.
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Types of Breast Cancer
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BRCA
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Triple Negative
Breaking Down a Hostile Environment
The same patient now sitting on a gynecology examination table. White cisgender female gynecologist and nurse in the room. Two sides of the page: one for the patient and other for the physician. Dialogue about what they are thinking about and actually saying.
Patient Language: Use of pronouns. Will there be a breast examination? Message about affirming inclusive care
Doctor Language: Discomfort with gender representation. The presumption is that they do not want their breasts. Establishing patient-affirming care by showing what is not affirming care.
This page spotlights the necessary comfort of being Black queer masculine presenting and their needs about their body along with fear of cancer. Social preventative measures.
Chest/Breast Health: What is Breast Cancer? What’s next?
The patient is in a radiology facility getting a mammogram and ultrasound. Correct pronouns are used by the technician. This page is mainly to educate about breast cancer and screening/evaluation procedures.
Additional: Show stages of breast cancer. Show disease process with breast cross-sectionals. What an MRI looks like and will do? Also Ultrasound. Biological and technology page. How can it be done in a way that does not feed back to gender dysphoria?