Cancer Survivor Visual Fundraiser

Hi! I’m Crystal Granville. I’m a stunt woman and model living in Los Angeles, CA. In December 2020 I found a lump on my breast. My doctor at the time assured me that I was young and healthy and it would be nothing to worry about. The small lump continued to grow until my doctor finally ordered a biopsy and mammogram. My life took a devastating turn on March 8th, 2021 when I was diagnosed with stage 3C aggressive triple negative breast cancer.

I am now 1 in 8.

Being 27 and hearing that you have cancer is shocking but what is even more shocking are the death rates of women under 50 from invasive breast cancers. As a creator of visual arts, since my diagnosis I have felt compelled to create more meaningful art and spread awareness however I can.

From breastcancer.org:

-About 43,600 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2021 from breast cancer. Death rates have been steady in women under 50 since 2007, but have continued to drop in women over 50. The overall death rate from breast cancer decreased by 1% per year from 2013 to 2018. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances and earlier detection through screening.

-For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2021, it's estimated that about 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers.

From healthline.com:

-Survival rates are lower for women younger than 40. According to a 2016 study, women ages 40 or younger were 30 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than women who were diagnosed between the ages of 51 and 60.

According to the National Cancer Institute, if you’re in your 30s, your risk of breast cancer is 1 in 204, or about 0.4 percent.

After months of doctor visits, chemotherapy, and a double mastectomy I can officially say I am cancer free!

Though, the story does not end there. Radiation and more surgeries are still necessary. In the same way that a Phoenix rises from their ashes in each lifetime cancer survivors rise from their own ashes. Daily they have to shed self doubt, fear, social anxiety, body image issues, and the list can go on and on. My vision for this project is to create a visual representation of a Phoenix rising from the ashes using fire and ash on my nude body, post bilateral mastectomy. I want to use these images to highlight my upper body and showcase the scars as a piece of art rather than a part of me that will be missing forever.

I have been working with an oncologist named Dr. Reva Basho. She is the Co-Director of the Women's Cancer Research Program at Cedars-Sinai. Her research focuses on the treatment of high-risk breast cancers and development of novel targeted therapies. If it were not for Dr. Basho and her research there is a chance I would not be here today. It is important to me that I am able to honor all of the women that have undergone testing to help make the treatments I received a possibility along with all of the hard work that her team has done.

Click to Read more about Dr Basho

The plan is to create a series of 3 main images that highlight the beauty of recovery and also make a statement about the struggles of cancer in a way that is visually stirring. The 3 original full res images will then be printed and framed and auctioned off in an online auction (Possibly with NFT) with the potential for more growth in the future. The money made from the auction and other immediate donations would be donated directly to Dr. Basho and her team to aid in further research along with a smaller print version of the images. Additional donations will be divided 50/50 to help with ongoing medical costs such as treatments for lymphedema and other surgeries that will arise as a result of it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story here. You can also follow along on instagram.com/mustbecrystal under the IGTV tab for updates and a more thorough walk through of my diagnosis and how I have been handling it. Much love! xo Crystal