TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Nadia Larsen was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago.
“It turns your life upside down,” says Larsen. She adds that the first 24 hours after receiving the news, she was in shock.
“You’re going to have anger, you’re going to say why me? Direct it into fighting mode.” Which is exactly what she did. For one full year, she did chemotherapy.
She says every three weeks, she would go in for treatment and by the time she started to feel okay from the treatment, she had to go back for the next round.
Larsen says, “so it never ends, it’s like a cycle.”
After chemotherapy came 28 sessions of radiation. She explains the big burn on her back from how powerful the radiation is on the body.
“It went through the body and a lot of women their lungs get damaged, and it burned here,” says Larsen.
But it was during that time that an idea was born. Larsen says, “I was looking and I said is there a photographer in town that had breast cancer that I can call to photograph me so I can document my journey.” When she couldn’t find anyone, she decided to pick up the camera herself.
Now Larsen takes pictures of survivors to help them document their journey. Larsen says, “it makes me feel good because when I photograph women, we talk about all these things, what helped her. I learn from them too.”
“It gives hope to the next woman that looks at it,” Larsen adds.
Larsen is now cancer free and living her life to the fullest. Larsen says, “I don’t take it for granted anymore. Do the things you want to do now.”
