Local photography series spotlights breast cancer survivors

The diverse faces of people impacted by breast cancer were spotlighted in Kitchener Thursday evening.

Portraits of breast cancer survivors were on display at Catalyst Common for the unveiling of a series called "I Want You to Know."

"I Want You to Know" features the stories of 31 breast cancer survivors. (Terry Kelly/CTV Kitchener)

The project, co-produced by a photographer and a breast cancer survivor, both from Waterloo, captures the experiences of 31 survivors ranging in age from 26 to 73.

“What we really realized is a lot of the campaigns were not diverse in nature and were not including everyone in the conversation around breast cancer,” explained photographer Hilary Gauld. “So it was really important to us to open that conversation up to make sure that all people in communities were able to see themselves.”

Those photographed in the campaign say while all their stories are different, they’re united by the common goal of helping others by raising awareness.

“Truly, it's not about us that are in the photographs, it’s about people – it's about our kids, our family, our friends,” said cancer survivor Halima Wilson.

“We want to do everything we can to help them advocate for themselves and understand that it can happen to anybody.”

You can see the photographs and read the survivors stories at DenseBreastsCanada.ca

The series was unveiled Thursday, Oct. 26 at Catalyst Commons in Kitchener. (Terry Kelly/CTV Kitchener)