The Dear Boobs Project

The Dear Boobs Project is about creating a book of intimate, courageous, and often hilarious letters from women of all walks of life, who have undergone surgery due to breast cancer.

Launched!

I launched The Dear Boobs Project on social media on the 31st May 2017, the day after my last radiation treatment, after a year of my own treatment for breast cancer. Within 30 days I had 30 Dear Boobs letters in my inbox, and now, only 5 months in I have been gifted almost 100 Dear Boobs letters from all over the world! Clearly others think 'Dear Boobs' is a great idea too!

Inspired!

The inspiration to create The Dear Boobs Project came to me during my experience of breast cancer treatment from July 2016 to June 2017. The letter writing was something I used during chemotherapy, when I was very sick. On the better days, I would write to myself “Dear Emily on a bad day” and reassure myself there was light and hope to come. After 5 months of chemotherapy, as my breast surgery date came closer, and after a little ignoring and much agonising over why I was feeling so low and sad about losing my floppy, uneven, cancer filled breast and its partner, I wrote: “Dear Boobs". Writing it helped, and reading it helped, and I couldn't NOT share it.

The Vision!

Once published, I intend to distribute 1000 beautiful and bold Dear Boobs books to waiting rooms all across New Zealand.

Boobs wisdom for all!

I hope that for the women who have had personal experience with breast cancer, reading Dear Boobs will not only make them feel that they are in great company, but also that their own relationship with their breasts, boobs, tatas, lady lumps, bosoms, whatever they call theirs, really does matter. I imagine that Dear Boobs will make readers laugh, perhaps cry, but mostly grasp their own experience better, and feel the hope and healing power of being part of a sisterhood that understands how it is. I hope the stories will also inform supporters and families about the significance and sometimes ongoing impact of breast cancer surgery on women’s emotional and spiritual health, and their relationships. Also, to provide a unique insight into the hard decisions, the emotional complexities involved in letting go of a body part or two, and the sometimes-long road to a new normal.

The future!

I can't wait for the essential boob wisdom, in the letters that I hold, to be printed onto real pages. Every day as I work on the project I visualise a Dear Boobs book, portraying incredible images of some of the women who wrote it, in the hands of those who will benefit the most.