Health Care Quarterly:

Using a brush and canvas to bring my personal cancer battle out of the shadows and into the light

Rosalyn Haynes used art to help her during her cancer fight.

Cancer has made its mark on my family. It has taken several of my immediate family members and impacted people close to me. It’s a disease that I know well.

While it’s been a shock seeing those closest to me affected by the disease, I had never experienced its trials and tribulations firsthand. Throughout most of my life, I had been a healthy woman. That good fortune and strength allowed me to raise three children and be a grandmother to even more.

That changed when I woke up one day. It was unclear what was wrong with my body. My whole right side was numb, a sign that something more serious was wrong. After a trip to the hospital, a benign mass the size of a golf ball was discovered on my brain. I went from being a healthy 66-year-old grandmother to having immediate brain surgery.

Although the surgery went well, that wasn’t the end of my health problems.

A malignant tumor was discovered on my kidney and I was quickly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The same disease that had taken my loved ones now had its eyes set on me. The thought of what was ahead was sobering and unclear. However, I knew my spirit, resilience and ability to laugh would help me in the fight.

My doctors decided to treat my cancer using immunotherapy, also called biologic therapy. This type of treatment helps boost the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. Within just the past few decades, immunotherapy has become a very important part of fighting certain types of cancer.

I would travel to the OptumCare Cancer Care clinic on Fort Apache Road in Las Vegas to see my doctor and receive my rounds of treatment. In order to attack the cancer and try to knock it out, I would need six separate treatments. Sitting in the clinic during treatment, I tried to escape what was happening with my body. One of the most beautiful things about the brain is that when you focus on something else, it can strip away anxiety and pain — if only for a minute.

I focused on the art around the OptumCare Cancer Care clinic. There are paintings all over the clinic walls and the images really inspired me, allowing my brain to travel far away from the treatment. You could say the art sparked a creative awakening of sorts in me. To help me in the fight against cancer, I decided to paint.

Although I had never really been a painter, I knew my mind needed a way to express what was happening to my body. For my very first painting, I wanted to bring to life what the cancer looked like inside my body. The deep reds and purples I dotted on the canvas showed the disease and the way my body was fighting it. Creating that first painting helped show me cancer can be defeated.

I also wanted to show how treatment was helping me get my strength, energy, and life back. I used vibrant greens, blues and yellows to paint a hummingbird getting nectar from a flower. That nectar represented me continuing to gather strength to enjoy life for years to come.

As I continued to go back for treatment, the more I developed relationships with the clinic staff. The staff was caring and became a support system. Painting was not only a way for me to express my cancer journey creatively, but it also was a way to say “thank you” to all the people at OptumCare Cancer Care who have helped me.

The paintings showed other patients that while your body may be weak, your mind can remain strong. It was also a lesson in not letting the cancer have control over your entire being.

I’m now planning on hosting paint nights for friends and others battling cancer. It’s a way to pass on what I’ve learned fighting this disease and to help someone else who needs it. I can truly say that painting has been the best form therapy. It’s my way to beat cancer.

 

Rosalyn Haynes is a local OptumCare Cancer Care patient.

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