“Cancer Stories: A Chronicle of Personal Journeys” was an ongoing series meant to bring an understanding of the universality of cancer. It ran every third Saturday in the Independent.
“Cancer Stories” was conceived by Independent photojournalist Scott Kingsley and senior writer George Ayoub. Kingsley and Ayoub explored the effect of cancer on individuals and families by letting the subjects write about their experiences in their own words.
Each submission was carefully edited by Ayoub, and each subject was photographed by Kingsley with inspiration taken from portions of the text, thus creating a cohesive unit. A few writers submitted fairly polished stories. One young survivor of colon cancer simply told his story to Ayoub, who then crafted it into a written piece, paying close attention to voice.
Most stores have fallen somewhere in between.
The range of story subjects has been dramatic – from a toddler to retired men and women. The writers have included survivors and those left behind.
Cancer has taken two of the writers since their stories were told. Mothers have written about their children, children about parents and spouses about spouses. The essays have covered stories of survival, perserverance, loss, hope, joy, and sadness.
We invite you to tell us your own stories of survival, hope or loss. Now you can share your stories and they will be included here on our site.
