Mary Bannon - Things I've Learned

Type of Media
Creative Writing

Artist Statement
Art has provided comfort to me in several ways during this time. My son has enjoyed the art therapy room at several of the hospitals he has been a patient at. This provided some relief and something to do during long visits for both of us. We became friends with several art therapists over the years. and they have been wonderful resources for ideas on how to express emotion through art. I have found writing to be the best outlet for my own feelings. Putting words down on paper helps me to process my feelings in way that is private and very personal. I started doing this as a teenager and have continued sporadically over the years, I love photography and writing. Photography captures moments that immortalize memories, while writing document my thoughts and can bring me back to a favorite time or move me to someplace I'd rather be.

Bio
I am a mother to a brain tumor survivor and I am a cancer survivor myself. My son has been fighting brain cancer since he was 3 years old; he is now 14. He has been under treatment the entire time, during this time he also lost his vision. I am 54 years old; I was diagnosed with breast cancer when my son was 5, and I underwent treatment for at the same time as he did. I lost my father to colon cancer when I as 15. Cancer has dominated much of my life.