Participants wanted for Photo project to portray people with cancer

Sigrid S. Skånland
Sigrid S. Skånland

Cancer patients are often shown as stereotypes in the media – a person without hair in a hospital bed. Sigrid S. Skånland wants to change this by showing the diversity of people with cancer through portraits. 

Sigrid S. Skånland is a researcher and project leader at the Institute for Cancer Research. She was awarded the “Researcher of the Year” prize in 2023 for the work she does on developing and implementing precision medicine for patients with blood cancer. She has spent the last decade studying patient cells in the lab and says she would like to interact more with the patients.

Portrait of Ingunn with hear daughter and husband. Breast cancer (click to enlarge)
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Photo: Sigrid S. Skånland

- It is important to remember who we are doing the research for. I meet with the patient organization regularly, and it is always very valuable to hear the patient perspective.

Skånland is an amateur photographer, and when she won the prize of 100.000 kr, she decided to use it to combine her hobby with her work. 

- When I meet the patients, they don’t look like the stereotype created by the media. I want to do this project where I portray people with cancer both to learn more about them, and also to make it visual that cancer can happen to anyone.

Skånland’s ambition is to portray around 50 people with a cancer diagnosis. The aim is to present the portraits as an exhibition and in a photo book. She welcomes anyone who is interested to learn more about the project to contact her.

Links:

About the project, by the Blood Cancer Association (PDF)

Skånland web page

Department of Cancer Immunology

Researcher of the Year 2023 (news article from ous-research.no)

 
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