Mariah A. Crenshaw (she/her) is a 31-year-old Black, fat, queer woman who currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2018, Mariah was diagnosed with Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and has the BCRA2+ mutation. At the time, she was 26 years old, living abroad in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her treatment path includes lumpectomy, chemotherapy, double mastectomy, and hormonal therapies.
Laura is a breast cancer previvor, who survived sepsis and a failed DIEP flap mastectomy. She has had seven reconstructive surgeries in an effort to mend the damage from her original preventative double mastectomy. Today, Laura is a mastectomy model, showing her scars while inspiring others with her resilience and determination.
Lyssette Horne is a queer, Black, chronically ill, artist, activist, skin cancer survivor, and breast cancer previvor.
Inspired by the works of Audre Lorde, Lyssette created BlackQueerRoar, an online blog to share the realities of living with chronic illness and cancer survivorship as well as the barriers BIPOC Queer and trans people face accessing health equity.
They hope that by sharing their experiences with complex trauma and chronic illness that others can recognize and will pursue the best care for their healing journey.
Lyssette’s activism has led to many creative endeavors including an Emmy-nominated short documentary about the myths and causes related to youth homelessness. They were also named one of the ‘Top Forty Under 40’ by The Advocate magazine and their work was featured on the cover of Gay City News.
Christen Clifford is a mother, interdisciplinary feminist artist, and writer. Chip and Felicity are, in her opinion, the best queer kids in the world. Clifford teaches at The New School, makes art about body politics and sexuality, and has been written about in Artforum, Art in America and ARTnews. Her work about cancer includes her autobiographical art film-in-progress Cancer: A Love Story and the Instagram performance project #healthcareasperformanceart # breasthealthasfeministperformanceart. After ovarian and uterine cancers in 2016, and breast cancer in 2023, she is currently NED, no evidence of disease, cancer free. Fuck yeah. @cd_clifford
Eshaana Sheth is a South Asian model, award-winning filmmaker, writer, and actress based in Los Angeles. Her films, which have received acclaim on the international film festival circuit, explore the nexus of culture and the lived experience through intimate, diverse lenses. Specializing in comedy, she publishes a satire series and performs celebrity impressions, which have been recognized by celebrities and outlets such as Verizon Media, PopSugar, and BuzzFeed. Recently, she starred in a play at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Right before the pandemic, Eshaana was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 20s; she is passionate about normalizing the rare and harsh realities of being a young adult with an “old” illness and fleshing out the often reductive narratives of illness in media as she navigates survivorship as a working artist. You can explore more of her work and press at eshaana.com and follow her on Instagram and TikTok at @the_eshaana.
Michelle is a NYC and LA-based breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with Stage 1b hormone-positive breast cancer at the age of 27. Before her diagnosis, she helped build a cancer center from the ground up and managed the daily operations. She is currently a Patient Experience manager at a cancer health system.
Michelle's passion is to pay it forward to the cancer community by using her professional skills and personal experiences at work and through social media. Her mission is to help individuals impacted by cancer to navigate their journeys, survivorship, health and wellness, and everything in between.
Vanessa Lana Gonzalez is a queer, nonbinary, Latinx that was born and raised in New York. They graduated from the University of Scranton with a bachelor's in Counseling and Human Services and spent 10 years in the nonprofit/ case worker sector. In 2012 they decided to change course and attend The Natural Gourmet Institute culinary school in Manhattan. They continued to cook for a decade in NYC and LA until they were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.
What gives them joy is art, cooking for friends, dancing to house music, nature, hiking with their majestic dog Tito, yoga, movement, traveling, and plant medicine. They recently completed a breathwork activation training, and are looking forward to providing healing and support for those in the cancer and LGBTQ+ community. Vanessa currently lives in LA with their dog Tito and many plants.
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Julia Comita
Director, Photographer, Producer
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Stephanie Francis
Director, Designer, Producer
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