October is Breast Cancer awareness month 🎀

Dear Art Lovers and Friends,

I am now 12 months chemotherapy — a milestone I once wondered if I would ever reach. Saying those words still feels a little surreal. There were days during treatment when simply making it through the next hour felt like an accomplishment. Now, I find myself looking back on that season with a mixture of relief, gratitude, exhaustion and, at times, disbelief.

Life after cancer treatment is not always a dramatic return to “normal.” Some days are filled with energy, laughter and a renewed appreciation for life, while others bring fatigue, pain, worry or memories I thought I had already gently placed aside.

Healing has been less of a straight line and more of a winding path. I am learning to be patient with my body, kind to my mind, and grateful for the ordinary moments that I may once have taken for granted.

I also know that everyone's experience with cancer is different. Every diagnosis, treatment, recovery and emotional journey is deeply personal, and everyone faces it in their own way. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is also a time for remembrance.

Remembering Those We Have Lost

I often think about the people who fought bravely and are no longer here to tell their stories. I think about their courage, their families, their unfinished plans and the spaces they left behind. Their lives were so much more than their diagnoses, and their memories continue to live on in the people who loved them.

I lost my Godmother in 2023 after her 12-year battle with breast cancer. It is a stubborn, relentless and, quite frankly, foul disease. She had been part of my life even before I was born, as she and my Mum were best friends. Growing up, she was always there — making me the most beautiful birthday cakes and bringing me Filipino lollies and treats that you simply couldn’t find just anywhere. Those little gestures may have seemed simple at the time, but they are memories I cherish deeply today.

She fought with everything she had, every single day. I remember seeing her during her final days, and I was heartbroken. There are moments now when I wish I could talk to her about my own journey — to tell her what I have been through and imagine what it would have been like for us to fight alongside one another.

But I also believe she has been with me throughout this journey in her own way.

Grief can exist alongside gratitude. I can be thankful for my own healing while still feeling sadness for those who did not get the same chance, or make it. I can celebrate survivorship without forgetting the reality of loss. Both feelings can live within the same heart.

Carrying Hope Forward

At 12 months post-chemotherapy, I am not claiming to have all the answers. For me, awareness is about so much more than wearing pink. It is about encouraging regular screenings, listening to our bodies, supporting research, checking in on the people we love, and standing beside those navigating cancer at every stage of their journey. I'm still 1 year in, of my 10 year treatment journey.

And for anyone facing treatment, recovery, fear or grief: you do not have to move through it perfectly. Take one day at a time. Accept help when you need it. Be gentle with yourself. Hold on to the moments that bring you comfort, and allow yourself to celebrate the small victories.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I am celebrating life, remembering those we have lost, honouring those still fighting, and carrying hope with me into the future.

Thanks for visiting my little corner of the internet. I hope to connect with you soon. 

-Irene.

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Irene Cabasa Art acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

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