Testimonials
"I am honored to have shared The Breast and the Sea workshop with you!! The sisterhood I found there has created deep, everlasting friendships. Many of us found our voices that day. We supported one another physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Each of our cancer and life experiences was different, but the love, support, and healing we shared together were unequivocal.” -Jessica Semmel, New York, NY
"We bared more than our breasts. We saw into our souls, our fears, and our hopes." -Betsy Blume
“The Breast and the Sea project empowered me and made me feel whole again. Your project helped give me the courage to show the world who I am and tell my story.” -Debbie Bowers, Bethelehem, PA
"You're touching all of our spiritual sides, and we all really need that. It's not just all about medicine. There's a lot of dignity in what we shared. There is bravery in conquering something that we never thought we would do, which was to bare our bodies and souls, to each other and the sea. I felt beautiful. I want to thank you. You gave me a piece of me that I was lacking. You brought it back." -Kim
“The Breast and the Sea workshop is raw, beautiful, cathartic, and extremely professional!!!” -Marianne DuQuette Cuozzo, Bellmore, NY
"I love your project so much, because it is a tremendous healing experience for the women who participate. What I saw that day, at your workshop, was women who came from all different walks of life—different ages, different surgical choices. Some were confident, some scared, and some clearly devastated. To see the difference in them coming out of the water from the time we got there was amazing. It was so powerful. What you do is amazing. It makes a huge difference. You could be in support groups online or go to support groups, but to be able to bare your soul and your scars...it's transformative. Thank you. It was a very healing experience for me." -Regina Caliendo, Huntington, NY
“Thank you so much for the most amazing experience!!! Your workshop was absolutely life changing for me!! For me, it wasn’t just about breast cancer. Although I was shy and insecure, I was able to step out of my comfort zone. I felt so free and empowered. It was just so incredibly beautiful!!!” -Irene Brociner, East Meadow, NY
"It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of The Breast and the Sea project. The workshops have been such amazing experiences that I carry with me always. Having been able to be naked with my emotions has provided me the ability to accept my truth and feelings towards my continuous fight with cancer. Rebecca presents with such grace and honesty. Miana’s photos are a way to show strength and to help anyone that may be dealing with difficulties they feel may be too hard to endure. The project’s work is so important for the cancer community, bringing honesty and hope to women in their darkest hours! If not for The Breast and the Sea, I may not have the positive outlook that I do on life after cancer. I have attended four workshops." -Janeen Rosado, Miller Place, NY
"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 heal." -Lauren Novotny, Tarrytown NY
“I thought this experience was amazing. It was very freeing. Your workshop exceeded my expectations. I felt the reserve and seriousness I was feeling melt away and turn into freedom and joy. I felt lighter and more comfortable with myself. More confidant. It was so obvious how uplifting the experience had been for everyone. We had all changed.” -Rita
"The highlight for me was the camaraderie we shared. Even though we were different from each other in many ways, we became sisters in the sea." -Andrea Culberson, Weston, FL
The Breast and the Sea project is one of the most powerful experiences of healing that I have experienced in all my 17 years of being a breast cancer survivor. I am so grateful for Rebecca and her strength as a survivor to move beyond her own pain and reach out to others, determined to help them become comfortable with their bodies and scars, to find acceptance, to help them become part of a community, and to most importantly through their experience with the sea… to HEAL.” -Doris Jelinek, Levittown, NY
"I have not been part of a photographic project before. As a group, I felt very comfortable with Miana. I really didn't know she was there, as I was concentrating more on the experience." -Karen Wilford, Plantation, FL
“I heard Rebecca Pine speak last year. I was moved to tears by the reality of the empowerment of those affected by something so beautiful. Most people think of art as pleasurable but not as such a powerful healer. It is personal and relatable. We all know someone who has been affected by breast cancer and we all know of the beauty and the power of the sea. The connection is undeniable. You could hear a pin drop throughout the presentation. You couldn’t take your eyes off of Rebecca while she was speaking. She is an artistic speaker with great fluency. Her honesty and directness, the beauty of her writing made the audience feel both pain and empowerment (success, recovery).” -Sue Iovino, Huntington, NY
“I had the honor of hearing Rebecca speak at an event for my wife’s breast cancer foundation in 2016. Rebecca’s speech was emotional, real and empowering. So many do not think about the lasting impact that mastectomy has on a woman. Rebecca moved the audience with her personal story and how she helps women recognize their own body as something different but beautiful. I thought I understand what a mastectomy does to a woman as I watched my wife recover physically. Hearing about and seeing these powerful, emotional moments helped me understand how deep these emotions run. They can heal but never go away. Rebecca gave me an understanding I would have never had, which I will use to continue to help my wife along her journey of healing.” -Robert Caliendo, Huntington, NY
