Articles and Interviews:
“It’s a tremendous amount to put your body through, and it’s not like we’re going to get our breasts back,” said Rebecca Pine, 40, who decided against reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy.
In this article, Well reporter Roni Caryn Rabin reflects on why the women whom she and photographer Béatrice de Géa featured in a recent story about “going flat” after mastectomies were surprisingly eager to reveal themselves to the world.
The day after arranging a recent photo shoot, I got one of those emails that reporters dread.
As our Pink Power TODAY series marking Breast Cancer Awareness continues, breast cancer survivor Joan Lunden sits down with three women who made the very personal choice to forego breast reconstruction after their mastectomies.
Gail Pine was an impressive woman: she was born with spina bifida and doctors told her she wouldn't be able to walk or have children, but she did both. Later in life, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and doctors warned that she didn't have much time left...
Pine, a breast cancer survivor, wants other women to know that healing is a highly personal process and that reconstructive surgery, while right for many women, may not be right for everyone.
Rebecca Pine, 41, of Long Island, NY, who decided to go flat after her second mastectomy in 2013, launched an online project called "The Breast and the Sea: Transforming Our Scars"" with Bucks County photographer, Miana Jun. This weekend, Pine is to lead a workshop on reconstructive decisions, body image, and self acceptance at the annual meeting of Living Beyond Breast cancer, the Bala Cynwyd-based advocacy organization.
For women who've had mastectomies, what to do next is, increasingly, a matter of choice. And what some women are choosing to do may surprise you.
A series of striking images of women who have had double mastectomies has been featured in a US newspaper. Rebecca Pine was one of the women. She spoke to BBC Outside Source. Photos courtesy Miana Jun.
Women choose to "go flat" after cancer surgery. Women choose to 'go flat' after cancer surgery." Rebecca Pine, The Breast and the Sea. PANEL: Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), Ann Stone, Jennifer Higgins, Lara Brown
Rebecca’s strength and resilience shine through as she describes her journey. This episode is full of clear and evocative language, as she walks us through her decision-making process. As she talks, she brings the listener, no matter where they’re at in a breast cancer journey, to the reminder of self-care, self-acceptance, and the realization of beauty.
After the whirlwind of a breast cancer diagnosis and its subsequent treatments, long after the physical wounds have mended, the inner scars can remain raw. Rebecca Pine will delve with us into the inner healing process. We will explore body image, self-acceptance, and reclaiming wholeness. Practical ways of cultivating inner awareness, welcoming vulnerability, and releasing difficult emotions will be shared. Rebecca was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, and has a unique approach to healing through mindfulness, nature, and creative expression.
Rebecca Pine interviews women whose lives have been touched by this illness—survivors and pre-vivors—from all ages and walks of life. She writes their stories in the first person and focuses on each woman's unique emotional healing journey. Miana Jun artfully captures moments in each participant’s experience that portray strength, beauty, and courage. The photography in the project has enveloped the theme of women in the sea, with scars bared in moments of authentic emotion. The project empowers women who have been through breast cancer. Their message is that we are whole, with and without breasts. We are beautiful, with and without scars. For more information on our amazing honorees and The Breast and the Sea project, please visit www.thebreastandthesea.com
February 2016, New York, NY
A selection of their written and photographic work, including a series of pigment prints were featured at SoHo Photo Gallery. Miana, Rebecca, and Dale presented two Artist's Talks and offered a Survivor Workshop, bringing a "taste of the sea" to the city.
August 29 - September 29, 2018
The Breast and the Sea is a Long Island-based written and photographic project that captures and documents the strength and beauty of breast cancer survivors. Photographer, Miana Jun, and writer/survivor, Rebecca Pine, share stories and photographs of participants, with scars bared in the sea.
For the past month, Huntington’s FotoFoto gallery has housed “The Breast and The Sea,” a Long Island-based project aimed at empowering those impacted by breast cancer through transformative workshops, photography and writing.
When going through the phases of breast cancer, Rebecca Pine found that there was a wide variety of medical information but not a lot of first-hand accounts from others who went through the same things.
“What I really needed was stories from women who had gone through this that were not only surviving but also thriving,” Pine said. “I needed to hear really strong messages of hope.”
Rebecca is co-founder, along with Miana Jun, of The Breast and the Sea, a written and photographic project empowering breast cancer survivors. During this interview, you’ll discover the scope of this project and the powerful connection women have with the sea and its sense of wonder, growth, and healing.
One brisk autumn day, I stood beside the sea, feet sprinkled with sand. I was often drawn to the sea as I sorted out my recent cancer diagnosis and the immediate and long-term ramifications of the decisions that needed to be made.
PBS To the Contrary "Going Flat: Women choose to 'go flat' after cancer surgery." Rebecca Pine, The Breast and the Sea. PANEL: Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), Ann Stone, Jennifer Higgins, Lara Brown
CBS Sunday Morning with Erin Moriarity of 48 Hours: Some women who have lost breasts to cancer have chosen to deal with their loss in a fashion that is sparking conversations, and controversy. They call it "going flat." Instead of reconstructing their bodies with surgical implants, they are embracing their scars, and even baring them in defiance of the disease.
The Breast and the Sea
Miana Jun, Photographer FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rebecca Pine, Author info@thebreastandthesea.com www.thebreastandthesea.com
Breast Cancer Project of Hope, Healing & The Sea
© Miana Jun 2015
The Breast and the Sea (www.thebreastandthesea.com) is a written and photographic project capturing the strength and beauty of breast cancer survivors and their relationship with water. Participants experience the transformative potential of combining community connection amongst survivors with personal reflection.
Photographer, Miana Jun, and Author/survivor, Rebecca Pine, share stories and photographs of participants, with scars bared in the sea. The Breast and the Sea, an expression of the many voices of breast cancer, helps to normalize the changing bodies of those who have been touched by this disease.
“Our project is a sanctuary that gathers together the many voices of breast cancer—offering support, community, and healing.” -Miana Jun and Rebecca Pine,Collaborators
“It has been healing because I was able to expose my scars without judgment and without fear...knowing that my photos will help someone else to heal.” -Lauren, Participant
Eight-year breast cancer survivor and author, Rebecca Pine, is a loving mother of four who has been writing passionately for many years. While going through breast cancer, Rebecca had a difficult time finding stories and images of women who overcame the same challenges she faced and were not only surviving, but thriving. She began The Breast and the Sea to help empower others faced with breast cancer.
Co-collaborator, Miana Jun is a photographer based in Bucks County, PA and Brooklyn, NY. Her wedding, dance and food photography has been published in numerous publications and blogs. Participating as a photographer in The Breast and the Sea project comes from her hope and wish to both empower women and help them find healing through the photographic process.
www.thebreastandthesea.com info@thebreastandthesea.com