Today, I went to Imperial College London (next to the Science
Museum on Exhibition Road,) to see a photography exhibition, called ‘The People Who Are Keeping Me Alive.’ The
photographer is a lady called Rina Dave, who I met whilst working as a
freelance promo producer at Viasat. She has stage four breast cancer. A large,
dedicated and utterly committed team of professionals, all performing an
equally vital task are required to care for a cancer patient – be it surgeon,
contrast scan technician or ward manager. Rina has captured images of ‘her
heroes’ but not how you would expect to find them.
A person who has cancer does not become a mere patient, or
statistic. They are still human beings, with character and personality, a past,
present and with the help of the medical staff around them, a decent future.
They are people who happen to have cancer. The carers likewise, are more than a
job title. They exist beyond the hospital wards and operating theatres. They
have lives of their own.
When taking in the image of a big, bald, bearded, amiable
looking man, wearing an apron and holding a box of fruit and veg in one hand,
with a large knife in the other, you see a friendly guy, who likes his food,
rather than a doctor whose job it is to prescribe necessary but unpleasant
drugs to cancer patients. When you see the portrait of a woman wearing a
headdress of long and exotic feathers, you don’t see a breast cancer nurse but
rather, you wonder what the story is behind the fancy, feather-laden head wear.
The contrast scan technician in his karate gear makes me think of Hong Kong
Phooey and as for the Chinese herbalist juggling a balloon – I would love to
know what that’s all about.
Rina, by expressing herself as the vivacious person she is, has
thrown off the tag of cancer patient to reveal the lives of her team of carers
– beyond their day to day. The pictures are warm, engaging, inspiring,
uplifting and fun. They illustrate the humanity that exists behind cancer – and
any other serious illness for that matter – from the person who has contracted
the disease, to those who care for her. The important thing to remember is that
whatever they do, whatever their story may be – people are people.
