Gulnaz, Pakistan

On World Cancer Day, I want to share a part of my journey, one shaped by pain, resilience, and the unexpected healing power of art.

I am a breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in 2014, during one of the most difficult phases of my life, navigating treatment while going through a divorce. The societal backlash that followed was even more brutal. Many believed I “deserved” what I was going through simply because I was divorced. Those words stayed with me, quietly damaging my mental health. For almost four years, I carried my pain in silence.

Though my parents, my daughter, and my sister stood by me with unwavering support, I still couldn’t bring myself to speak about what I had endured.

In 2017, during my master’s degree, I began a project on archiving. As someone who documents every moment, I initially felt excited to trace my life from 2011, the year my daughter was born to 2017. What I didn’t expect was how deeply it would shake me. Opening old reports, revisiting photographs, and confronting forgotten memories became an emotional flashback. It all hit me a hundred times harder than I imagined.

I cried endlessly. The emotions were overwhelming. I wanted to speak but didn’t know how. I wanted to be heard but didn’t know whom to tell.

So I let the art speak for me.
I studied every image, every report, every memory. I poured my emotions into my work, creating an 8 x 8 foot installation. A grid of my life composed of photographs mounted on broken CDs. Through this process, I began to release years of held-back pain.

This project helped me heal. It helped me face myself. It helped me realise that none of what happened was my fault.
And since that moment, I have been vocal about my journey, for myself and for every woman who needs to hear that you are your own strength.

The world may be cruel, and words may wound deeply, but art has the power to mend what life breaks.
This project became my healing, my voice, and my testimony.

Sometimes, art saves us in ways we never expect ... and my journey stands as proof of that.