Natalie Featherston
Fight Like a Girl, 2019, Oil on aluminum, Courtesy of the Artist.
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Transcript
Hi. I’m Natalie Featherston, and this is my painting, Fight Like a Girl.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer a month shy of my 46th birthday, I was angry- truly, deeply angry. It was hard to find a place for that rage, but I found an outlet in the “oh-you-have-breast-cancer-maybe-this-ridiculous-pattern-will-make-you-feel-better” exam gown. It was easy to hate. Pink, floral, and covered in butterflies, the only thing that made it worse were those awful awareness ribbons. Trust me, I was aware.
It was easy to hate, because as doctor appointments began to consume my calendar, it became the one constant in my world. I would find myself in yet another specialist’s office wearing this ridiculous piece of fabric waiting to hear if a clump of cells was going to kill me. So, instead of hating my complete loss of control, I hated the gown.
That was a few years ago, and with time comes perspective. I’ve gotten through the worst parts of treatment and my prognosis is excellent. I’ve had a change of heart about the gown, too. What I once saw as a mark of weakness is now a symbol of solidarity. All women will put that gown on at some point, and doing it isn’t weakness, it is power.
For me, the gown has become a sign of women taking charge of their health, undergoing screenings, or soldiering through a cancer diagnosis and fighting their way through treatment.
Fighting like a girl.