DRAWING from her personal journey as a cancer survivor, a Thomasian doctor turned to canvas and brushes to raise awareness for breast cancer in an exhibit launched on Oct. 7 at the UST Hospital’s St. John Paul II Building.
Dr. Aileen Peña, a radiologist who graduated from the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, mounted her exhibit titled “Pink Perspectives: A Journey Through Art and Healing,” reflecting on her battle with breast cancer and experience undergoing a mastectomy.
She was diagnosed with Stage 0 breast cancer at the age of 36.
“I’m not really good with words. I usually express my emotions through art. I paint what I feel,” she told the Varsitarian.
The collection, Peña said, was a “diary” detailing the emotional stages she went through during her cancer journey—from the anxiety of awaiting the diagnosis, to the frustration of learning the result, and, finally, to acceptance.
Her frustration was captured in “Uncertainty,” a 50×60-cm. acrylic painting of a woman’s head, obscured by abstract splatters of paint against a pink background, a color associated with breast cancer awareness.
In “Perky,” a 50×60-cm. work, Peña expressed the joy and acceptance she felt upon seeing her reconstructed right breast after mastectomy, playing on the dual meaning of the title.
“That was the time when I saw in the mirror that I can handle this. After the procedure, even though my right breast was removed, it still looked good with the reconstruction,” Peña said. “There was seemingly a glimmer of hope because it was still beautiful.”
Peña extended a message of strength and courage to breast cancer patients through her piece “Be Strong. Be Brave,” which features the pink ribbon, the symbol of breast cancer awareness.
“It’s okay to feel all the sad emotions initially. Let it flow through you. But still, we have to look at the brighter side of things,” she said. “Breast cancer is curable if it’s detected at an early stage.”
The exhibit was organized in collaboration with the UST Hospital Department of Surgery and the Benavides Cancer Institute. It ran until Oct. 31.
Proceeds from the exhibit were donated to UST Hospital’s Foundation for the Training of Surgeons and Research in Cancer Surgery Inc. to help fund surgical missions for indigent breast cancer patients. John Kobe S. Balod
