Each year around 55,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer. Due to medical advances the survival rates are increasing each year however, more younger women are being diagnosed, with several cases in the UK reporting that girls in their teens are developing the disease. When breast cancer is diagnosed at a young age, it is more likely to be aggressive and to spread quickly.
More than a third of women experience a loss of identity and confidence after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Whatever your age you cannot predict how you will react to losing a breast. For some of the women that I photographed they had decided to have breast reconstruction and some were considering having mastectomy tattoos which was a relatively new concept.

Shortlisted for the Observer Hodge Photographic Award 2006

Exhibited as part of The New York Photo Festival 2010