_________
Please look at Angelo Merendino‘s online photo-essay, which chronicles his wife’s fight with breast cancer:
The Battle We Didn’t Choose: My Wife’s Fight With Breast Cancer
—Peter.
_________
Please look at Angelo Merendino‘s online photo-essay, which chronicles his wife’s fight with breast cancer:
The Battle We Didn’t Choose: My Wife’s Fight With Breast Cancer
—Peter.
Prosophos 
Boom! Another one (very emotional massage)! I already had a very bad week… A friend’s nerve control illness is progressing, wondering if he will still be able to pick up his children. A student lost his uncly, aged 40 with three young children, a colleague of my wife lost his mother yesterday. My mother passed away 13th of march two years ago. Another person’s father in law in my close neighborhood got prostate cancer (spread to the bones)…
Makes you wonder Peter… Life’s little moments are almost infinity small, before you know it time’s up.
Enjoy every nanosecond!
Regards, Jeffrey
I try to remind myself of this every day… that our time is short – and often shorter than we think. Thank you Jeffrey.
Mon Très Cher Peter,
Our friend Jason shared this link on facebook … I discovered “this treasure” yesterday, and I’m still back … so many emotions going through my body today …
I cried watching the images by doing this man … And I still cry! Starting to photograph his wife, the couple should have this hope of healing … What strength, what courage and especially what hindsight, it was necessary to have to orchestrate these images … Precision in the framing and composition spooky … So true! And it is true …
The image of his wife on the bed with the priest … I’m so upsets.
Photography that is also … And above it! Bring to life the truth … Never cheat!
I have been thinking about you Peter! … You know why. I cried.
I must tell you something today that I did not mention this before … (Respect for your story).
But 5 years ago, I was 35, they diagnosed cancer healthy, my mother …
She lived alone, and the blow was very hard to collect … Miraculously, she is alive today … A few weeks ago, we spoke of healing!
This period of our life was very hard course …
But I wanted all this is not without consequences …
My life has been very complicated, I did a lot of crap …
And as I said, that the photograph had saved my life, I tell you true … The picture of my mother you have posted on your wonderful site (strength and weakness) was taken while she was still in his “disease” …
I’m sorry about all this, because we’ve all our own problems, but if I tell it today, on your website, Peter, there’s a reason!
It is imperative to find a way in which one progresses positively … Not collapse and bounce as much as possible …
I pay a great tribute, and that those who have suffered and are still suffering from this type of situation …
I send strength and courage … I say thank you to this man, whose courage was enormous, photographing his wife like that!
I say thank you Peter! and thank you again!
Your friend,
Hugues.
PS: the music has always been very important in my life …
As the picture, it is emotions that we want to convey …
So I do not know if the lyrics suit these images …
But the voice of the artist, and the melody of this song, do I cry again …
Listening to : Singer: Asaf Avidan & The Mojos
Title : Latist Sin
The last notes of the song … But I want to live again …
Dear Hugues,
You are correct, I know of this experience first hand. His images brought back many memories for me… some I had partially buried some time ago.
I found the link to his site via the Toronto Star (one of our local newspapers), so I’m guessing many have been affected by his images.
That image of your mother, to which you refer, I always suspected a great deal of pain behind her expression, and now I know why. Now I also understand why your attitude towards life is so well… balanced.
My dear Hugues, your images speak directly to my heart. I can tell who you are, and what you think, when I view them.
Thank you for your vulnerability,
Peter.
PS. I’ll check out the song you mention.
One never knows how life can challenge us…
Indeed.
Heart wrenching images. I can feel the optimism and hope in the pictures, but heartbreakingly, their wishes did not come true. My wife lost her battle with cancer a few weeks before Christmas this past December, leaving me a single parent of three young boys. I have a similar portfolio of images – full of hope and desire that maybe _this_ treatment will be the one. Maybe these adjunctive treatments will help. Maybe we will fall into the percentage of those who survive this god awful disease.
Alas, it was not meant to be.
Like you, Peter, I try and capture those precious fleeting moments of joy, sorrow and spontaneity. Children grow so quickly. Whereas I was once capturing those images to share with my wife when she could not go on that hike, play at the beach or attend the first baseball game, I now find myself trying to capture those moments to remind myself that we _can_ find small bursts of happiness amidst our ever present loss.
Dear Paul,
Your wounds are so raw and fresh… my goodness, just this Christmas….
My heart goes out to you and your children. I’ve learned that there’s not much to say in these circumstances. I hope you have people around you that are helping you cope – one day at a time.
Finding those “small bursts of happiness” is exactly what I’ve focused on. I’m glad you’re trying to do the same. May you find many.
—Peter.
Simon, Darwin, and Nigel look like very beautiful children, Paul. I hope you’re finally able to get that Christmas card out, next year.
Incredibly courageous.
Simply incredible.
Angelo baring his soul and love, by sharing the journey of he and Jen is incredibly courageous. As courageous as Jen, going through her journey (Angelo may not agree). This is his way of making people acutely aware of life and its harsh realities and a reminder…”cherish it….”.
Paul I am very sorry to hear about your wife’s passing. By the looks of your photo’s I can see those three little people will remind you that the next day will be a bit better than the past ones, since December.
Hugues my mother passed away from cancer 4 years ago. Now my father lives on his own. He too has survived three bouts. I feel your pain in this regard and so very happy that she is on a road to recovery.
I have taken on board the attitude that there is some upside from cancer, as absurd as it sounds. I appreciate this may sound a little odd particularly to Peter and Paul and not everyone would agree. Of course in the moment, there is no upside. It is born out of adjustment and “flipping the coin” to the shiny side. The upside being that my mother and fathers experiences with cancer, I became more aware more than ever to live life with integrity, laughter and light. Not with “vague awareness” but being true to it. That is how I want my children to grow up.
I have no doubt Angelo will do the same.
Thanks Andrew, and thanks for pointing out Paul’s images… I just had a look at them this morning.
Very very jarring. Amazing courage to chronicle and post something like this; I cannot imagine the emotional fortitude that it required…requires. Of anyone going through it.
How one finds (and conveys…) meaning and purpose afterward, I struggle daily to understand.
Thank you for posting, Peter.
Mark, I don’t have the answers… I just take it one day at a time.
Memories of the recent past haunt (as I’d like them to… because I never want to forget), but I am fortunate in having another wonderful woman in my life now, and three children, to create many happy memories too.
I was holding it together as I viewed these until I got to the shot of him shaving her hair then the tears started. My story is similar and starts when my wife was thirty but fourteen years later continues to have a happy ending. I second Andrew’s comments.
On the photography side a hard one to look at but (also) reminds us of the power it (photography) has.
A fitting post to be reading on this day. Thanks for sharing Peter.
Jason, may you and your wife have many “fourteen years later”, together.
My aunt was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer – despite never having smoked a day in her life. Incredibly, she was accepted into a drug trial study that focused specifically on her type of cancer, and even more incredibly, she is currently in remission. I and my family did not have the opportunity to visit her during her drug trials – and it’s not because we didn’t want to or try to….
We all deal with things in different ways and for my Aunt, she didn’t want to be “seen like that”. It actually broke our hearts that she didn’t want us to be there to support her…..
We will get to see her this coming summer and looking at these pictures makes me feel so many different emotions – happy that we will actually have the opportunity to see her again, angry that she didn’t let us be with her at the time when she probably needed us most, admiration for the bravery that people have….and so many more things that I don’t have the words for.
However, looking at these pictures, the one thing that really pops in my head is the word courage….rightly or wrongly, my aunt was very concerned with her outward appearance during her drug trials and while I can only guess, I would imagine that any person would have such concern. But the courage to ignore this, the courage to let people see us at our weakest moment, the courage to be photographed at our most difficult moments – this all takes incredible courage…..not matter what may attack our bodies, the spirit of courage and resolve never dies….incredible!
Kevin, as I read all these experiences I’m left shaking my head at how much devastation this disease has caused, and will cause.
I wish your Aunt, and your entire family, well.
Thank you, Peter and the sharing of all of you! Your sharing touches my heart and I am speechless for a while. Today is Good Friday and I can only pray to God for all that are suffering. May the Lord Jesus take away the pain we had & we resurrect through Him…
Peter, as painful as these images are, thank you for sharing them. So many of us have friends and relatives who have suffered from this dreadful disease. I waited a few days to view the images wanting to give them my undivided attention. And now I am left speechless with an incredible spectrum of feeling and emotion, and I’m humbled by the enormous courage of Angelo Merendino. He has presented his art of photography with dignity and inspiring beauty that touches us and reminds us of how precious life is and that life is a gift from God not measured in years. As a man of faith, I believe that everything that happens to us has a purpose, although sometimes we may not know it in this life. Nevertheless, we can take comfort in it and God’s abiding love as I hope Angelo is able to do. May God bless him and his family. You and he will be in my prayers, especially during this Easter season.
Peter, this is really too desperate. Even as a physician it was impossible to look at these pictures without tears. For yourself, it must have been heartbreaking. Our thoughts and prayers must go out to all those in similar predicaments.