I decided that instead of just posting a quick picture of another beautiful women, that something more should be said; a little about each beautiful lady, and hopefully let you as the reader hopefully understand not only why i chose to go this direction with my photography, but why women want to have their pictures taken in this fashion. I am calling these posts Feature Presentations. If you have a great story behind why you want to have a Boudoir Shoot done with me, send me an email with your story and you could win a session for free!
The first in my series of Features belongs to my friend Tina. She is a military wife, a mother of 2 and one of the strongest women i know, she makes great sweet treats and should really sell her icing for profit, knowing her though, she is more likely to sell it for charity. She is straight forward and real, and she, is a survivor. She survives her kids, (any parents know that is a challenge every day!) She survives while her husband is away, (currently for 15 months,) i would crumble and fall but she stands tall and strong. She survives her animals and their crazy antics, but she is a survivor of one more thing, something that impacts so many women and families out there, Tina, is a breast cancer survivor. She didn't let it bring her down, or give up, she just looked at it in her Tina way and said, "Really? I don't think so!" She fought the fight and won, she has the scars to prove it, and she wears them proud, because that is one hell of a battle to win. But here is her fight, in her words.
"My name is Tina and I had just moved to Germany with my Active Duty U.S. Air Force husband a month prior when I went to the DR to look at “The Lump” that I found a week prior to us leaving the US . After we got settled and over the jetlag I went to the Dr and my world was turned upside down. I was 36 yrs young when diagnosed with stage II Triple Negative breast cancer, 1 lymph node involved. I had a lumpectomy in July 2005 and started 6 rounds of chemo every 3 weeks in August 2005, my last chemo was November 18, 2005, day before my 37th birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I then started 6 wks Monday-Friday of radiation in January 2006. My hair had finally started to grow back and I started to feel human again.
We moved to Tampa in June 2008. I never found an oncologist here to follow me, BUT, I continued to get my mammograms and gynecological exams on the same schedule I was on in Germany.
In October 2010, my Mother got sick and was diagnosed with Metastatic lung cancer. She unfortunately lost her battle 26 days after diagnosis. Her oncologist had suggested we talk about me once we got everything taken care of for my Mother. I went to see him in January 2011, during this time he recommended that I get tested for BRCA gene, and I ended up testing positive for BRCAII, which is the gene for ovarian and breast cancer. SO, with that said, for me it was not a matter of IF it will come back, BUT a matter of WHEN. I had also had a MRI of my breast and something suspicious was seen in my left breast, the initial diagnosis was all in my right breast. I had an MRI guided breast biopsy. The pathology came back with what we thought at the time were pre-cancerous cells. At this point with the fact that I tested positive for BRCA II and the biopsy showing pre-cancerous cells I choose to have a bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction in May 2011. It is now May 2012 and I have just finished with the second to last step in the reconstruction and I am PLEASED with the results. I show my scars proudly ‘cause they are a HUGE part of who I am. "
Every women is beautiful, and the scars whether physical, mental or both, are simply apart of who you are and contribute to your beauty, don't let anyone tell you different. My friend Tina, is quite obviously, no exception to those words and i applaud her for being such a strong and Real women. Thank you for letting me photograph you!