According to the German Cancer Aid, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Germany, affecting on average one in eight women in their lifetime. A cancer diagnosis is always a shock at first - along with a difficult path. Franziska has decided to do this, women to assist in this process. She is a photographer specializing in work with women with cancer since 2018. According to her own statements, she has now encouraged more than 200 women with her photos to take a new perspective on their self-image. We asked, and Franziska told us her extraordinary and inspiring story.
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This is how the 2015 photo project came about
Franziska came up with the idea for her present work on the photo project "beautiful&strong" from an acquaintance who was suffering from cancer herself. She had photographed this woman several times and most recently shot adorable pregnancy pictures of her - until one day she showed up in her studio without hair. "After accompanying a person through so many positive experiences, it was a shock." she remembers. "At that moment I knew: I want to do this in the future."
It's easy to photograph people who are confident, happy, comfortable in their bodies and know how valuable they are. In contrast, women who are affected by breast cancer are usually completely deprived of this self-esteem. Due to the illness and the changes in the body, this is increasingly felt and perceived negatively.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Meanwhile, Franziska photographs women with breast cancer almost every week. The whole thing is financed by donations. It is a unique heart project that makes you think: What does it mean for a woman, breast cancer to have? What does that do to your own femininity? And what does femininity actually have to do with self-love?
Facing cancer is life changing. Many goals and ideas are suddenly no longer feasible. "The women,< /span> who come to me mostly have little self-confidence and cry first. The focus is usually on the bad things.“ And Franziska tries to shift this focus with her photos. If it is often based on fears, insecurities, pain and the physical traces, that the cancer has left behind, it applies change perspective and help these women see themselves through different eyes. „We want to convey to women that they are beautiful and valuable with a changed body. Because femininity is not just the body, but rather an inner attitude“
