Beyond Fear

A diagnosis of cancer may be one of the most difficult pieces of news anyone could hear. From one moment to the next, life changing. The beginning of a long journey whose destination cannot be predicted. While the stages of treatment may be similar for many patients, each person's response will be different. Cancer infiltrates, not just bone and tissue, but the entire lives of patients and their families. Caroline Seymour's photographs bear witness to what had to be endured by their subjects. Challenging though some of them may be, the position of an onlooker is a privileged one. The intention is not to sensationalise, but to show the beauty in these primal wounds within this most human and desperate of situations, as well as the skill, dedication and compassion of the doctors attempting to heal them. The photographs are juxtaposed with details of paintings and sculpture from UK national collections which place the work within a broader context. The religious references are not incidental; they are significant in that they emphasise both the humanity of the patients and their suffering. These photographs celebrate the beauty of the human body, of the art of surgery, of the care given by the surgeons to cure a deadly disease. They are testament to the courage and integrity of all involved.