Where did it all begin?

“I used to be a Senior Executive within American and French companies based in Africa and Vietnam. I always worked, ran companies in other countries, and was always a very busy person, travelling the world, always surrounded by new people,” she recounted.

“And then I got diagnosed with cancer – It was such a shock, so frightening.”

“I went from this Executive to this sick person,” she said. 

Janette emphasised that she had felt as if her life was turned upside down, and she was scared for what was to come. But this same emotion birthed a new passion for writing – words that could help others experiencing a similar fate.

“I started to write things down, not exactly a diary, I just used to write a lot, every single day along this journey. And then I decided to turn it into a blog,” she said.

“Then I had this professional blog created, which ended up getting a huge response from people that in some way or another have been touched by cancer – either people with cancer or people with family members that have cancer,” she said, speaking of the comfort that the truth of her words brought.

A newfound passion to raise awareness

Having had a background in marketing and being a specialist in brand management, Janette continued to think of ways of how her message could help reach others, in turn raising more awareness.

“Can I do something kinda worthwhile, instead of working for money?” she questioned. “And then I thought I could create awareness for ovarian cancer,” she said. 

She decided to start raising awareness on the importance of screening and getting your yearly check-ups done which would in turn help in catching it at an earlier stage, as intimidating as these might be.

“Cancer creates such fear within people – but the truth is even though these diseases tend to be death sentences, if you are vigilant with your health and go do your screenings and you listen to your body if you feel something is not quite right, there is a 95% chance that they can cure it if they catch it early,” she said.

“It doesn’t have to be a death sentence,” she stressed. 

Here’s where the collaborative project was birthed

At this point in time, Janette had wholeheartedly dedicated herself to her mission of wanting to create more awareness and encourage others to listen to their bodies and seek out help if they are uncertain about something.

“And then I came up with the idea to start raising some funds. And I already knew Andrew, so I wondered if perhaps I can create a visual journey,” she said, as she began to seek a photographer who would be willing to document her journey.

As she spoke, Janette pondered on photography as art, and how a photographer with the blood of an artist has the ability to capture moments that will be shown all over the world, and essentially reach a lot of people.

“So I thought, if I do that, if somebody took some photos of me, we could have an exhibition, and raise funds, and do a small talk to raise even more awareness,” she said. 

“And so I phoned Andrew. We had met for the first time around 7 years ago, and we had immediately clicked cause I liked his work – he’s created stuff which I can understand.”

“He had contacted Marija, who at first, wasn’t sure if she could do it. You hear about a mature woman with cancer, and you think, this is too tough for me,” she said.

Marija and Janette met nonetheless, and they immediately hit it off, with Janette’s bright and positive nature making it easier when dealing with such a difficult topic.

“We got together and she fully entered into my life. She was with me a lot, photographing this journey, in the hospital, at home, at the beach, in the kitchen, with my husband and even in the nude,” Janette said. 

Body changes and the nude

As a part of the curatorial project, Marija even photographed Janette in the nude – and this was Janette’s own personal request, as she wanted to also document the body changes that she had undergone.

“The way that my body has gone – I used to be at the gym every day. Before I found out I even had cancer, I didn’t even have a doctor in malta because I had never needed one,” she said.

“All of a sudden, I went bald all over, huge scars running down my body, a tube coming out of my kidney, I lost all the muscle I had, my legs ended up becoming really thin. I had lost around 10 kgs.” 

“I was looking at the mirror and I didn’t know who was looking back, that for me was the outward sign that I was actually in fact dying, that’s what it felt like,” she said.

At some point, Janette asked Marija if she wanted to photograph her in the nude because she wanted to show the way that the body is physically affected in its appearance. Marija was very excited when she found out that she could photograph her nude, as it is another element that contributed to the rawness and truth brought out behind this body of work.

“Why didn’t you ask?” Janette told Marija, to whom she replied, “I didn’t think I could.”

The face of cancer

“We got all kinds of photographs,” she said, with Andrew having curated them.

“I moved around the world quite a bit, and whenever my husband and I go, we create a home, and we have a home wherever we are,” she said.

“But also, it’s the home that’s within you – I look out into the world now and I have a new reality, and people look at me and they have the impression that I’m different. But then they speak to me they know I’m not, but I look different because I’m very sick,” she said.

“I’m the face of cancer within this book, coupled with the beautiful writing and the poetry,” she said. 

“But no one’s done a project which says it all through the lens and connects it all with everyone through the words. It’s unique in that way, unique for Malta and for the world as well,” she expressed.

Stories Of Home

In a wonderful collaboration between Maltese creatives and a woman with a moving story to tell, Stories Of Home is the raw exploration of life with ovarian cancer.

Stories Of Home is a 132- page art book featuring a visual archive, film photographs and an art essay reflecting on the project’s year-long process.

A series of events are being organised in order to help reach the maximum level of awareness that his book has the potential to reach, to truly shed a light on the reality of life with terminal cancer.

The project has developed as a photo essay that investigates the vulnerability of the subject, changing values of familiarity and the idea of ‘home’. It operates as a visual, experimental and collaborative art statement that condenses the time spent in conversation between Andrew, Marija and Janette.

It is a personal, political and confessional work that Janette hopes to use in order to generate more conversation around ovarian cancer.

The book is being sold for €50, and all proceeds will be forwarded to the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation.

If you or anyone you know has a similar story which they would like to speak about, don’t hesitate to get in contact with Sasha at [email protected]

Share to raise awareness