Beyond Breast Cancer: Meet the New You
Meeting the New You: A Celebration of Strength, Courage, and Body Confidence
Before I say anything else, I want you to know that this work is deeply personal to me. I lost my beloved sister to breast cancer, and not a day goes by that she isn't with me in that studio. She is the reason I pour everything into this, and she is with me every single time I pick up my camera. If you are reading this, whatever stage of your journey you are on, this is for you. And it is for her.
Over the years I've had the privilege of meeting some of the most extraordinary women I've ever known. They haven't climbed mountains or broken records, not the kind the world usually notices, anyway. But they've done something far harder. They've faced breast cancer, walked through treatment, endured everything it takes from your body and your mind, and come out the other side asking a quiet but powerful question: Who am I now?
This is for them. For all of them. Sarah xxxx
The Journey Nobody Prepares You For
Let me be honest with you: breast cancer treatment is relentless. Whether you've been through a lumpectomy, a full reconstruction, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or all of the above, by the time it's over you can feel completely drained. Not just physically, but in ways that are much harder to put into words. You look in the mirror and the woman looking back doesn't quite feel like you. She looks tired. She looks different. And that can be one of the loneliest feelings in the world, especially when everyone around you is saying but you've done it, you're through the worst of it now.
What people don't always talk about is that the end of treatment isn't the end of the journey. In a lot of ways, it's the beginning of a whole new one.
And one of the things I hear so often, something that breaks my heart a little every time, is how many women start to feel shy around their own partners. The body they knew has changed. Scars they're still making peace with. A shape that's different. And that shyness, that pulling away, can make an already hard time feel even more isolating. You don't feel like yourself, so how can you let anyone else see you?
I want you to know, and I really want you to hear this, that feeling is completely understandable. And it doesn't have to be where your story ends.
The Women I've Met
I've sat with women who came to me nervous, apologetic almost, as though they needed to justify why they were there, why they deserved to feel beautiful, why any of this was even for them. Women who had lost their hair, who'd had surgery that changed the shape of their bodies, who told me they hadn't recognised themselves in months. Some hadn't looked at themselves properly in even longer than that.
And every single one of them was breathtaking.
Not despite what they'd been through. Because of it. There's a kind of beauty that comes with survival that you just can't fake. It's hard won and deep, and it lives in every scar, every changed curve, every single act of courage it took just to get through the day. I've watched women walk through my studio door making themselves small, and walk out standing taller. Sometimes a lot taller.
Those moments never stop moving me. Not after all these years.
Sixteen Years of Telling Women's Stories
I've had my studio here in Heathfield for over 16 years now, and in that time I've had the joy of photographing just about every chapter of a woman's life: pregnancy, new families, big milestone birthdays, large family reunions, you name it. Every single one of those shoots has meant something to me.
But if you ask me which is the most powerful? Which stays with me the most? It's this. Without question, it's boudoir.
I know that word makes some people nervous, and that's okay, I understand it. But what I mean when I say boudoir is simply this: giving you the space to be seen exactly as you are. Not performing. Not pretending. Not trying to look like someone else or an earlier version of yourself. Just you, right now, in this body, in this moment, and showing you how absolutely stunning that actually is.
In my opinion, there is nothing more magical than watching a woman see herself the way she should have been seeing herself all along. That is what this is about. That is what makes this work unlike anything else I do.
The Hub in Hellingly,: A Circle of Strength
I have to tell you about a group of women I've had the pleasure of meeting, and honestly, even their name tells you everything you need to know about their spirit. They're called The Bad Boob Club, and they meet on the first Friday of every month at the Hellingly Hub, between 11.15 and 12.45.
Every one of them is either fighting breast cancer or finding their way through life on the other side of it. It's an informal place to meet other breast cancer survivors, no agenda, no pressure, just real women sharing real experiences. Sometimes you just need to be with someone who gets it. Someone who doesn't need it all explained. Someone who knows what it feels like to sit in that treatment chair, to face the mirror on a hard day, to feel grateful and exhausted and uncertain all at the same time.
Just having a friendly face from someone who truly understands what you're going through, that's a lifeline. And these women are exactly that for each other, every single month.
If you'd like to go along, the doors are open and you'd be so welcome. A few of them have come along to the studio in Heathfield to celebrate their journeys with a Body Confidence Experience, and honestly, it's been one of the greatest honours of my career to be part of their stories.
The woman who walks into every room and makes it brighter. The face and the heart of The Bad Boob Club. 🩷
Seeing Yourself as the New You
You might not look the same. You might not feel the same. But you are stronger and more beautiful than you know, and more than you thought you'd ever feel again.
That moment when you see yourself clearly, maybe for the first time in a very long time, is everything. It's the light at the end of the tunnel. It's the point where you stop looking back and start looking forward.
That's what I want for you. That's what this is all about.
Included are some of the images from these incredible women here. Every one of them chose to be seen, and in doing so, they might just help another woman feel a little less alone in her own journey.
Every tattoo tells a story. So does every scar. She wears them all with pride.
Let Me Help You
If you're going through treatment right now, if you're recovering from surgery, navigating reconstruction, or just at a point where you want to do something kind and celebratory for yourself, please reach out. I'd love to hear from you.
You don't have to feel ready. You don't have to feel confident yet. You just have to be a little bit curious. I'll take care of everything else.
Just get in touch and tell me where you are in your journey. I'm here.
Your message comes straight to me and I read every single one personally. Whatever you share with me stays completely between us. Your journey is yours, and I will always treat it with the care and respect it deserves. Sarah xx
A little bit about me. I'm Sarah, and I've had my photography studio here in Heathfield for over 22 years. In that time I've had the privilege of photographing women at every stage of their lives, but nothing comes close to the work I do with women who have faced breast cancer. It isn't just a passion. It's personal. I wrote this blog in loving memory of my beautiful sister Jane, who lost her life to breast cancer. She is with me every single day, and she is the reason I pour my whole heart into every single shoot. If you'd like to talk, I'm always here. 🩷