The Cancer Within

By Bonnie Annis

October 20th, 2016

When I went in for my initial ultrasound, on the screen I saw what appeared to be a large one-armed crab. When the radiologist told me that dark mass was cancer, I asked how he knew so quickly. He told me the shape of the tumor revealed the diagnosis even before biopsies or other tests were done. He explained the crab shape was indicative of many cancers. The word cancer comes from the Latin word for crab. As I worked on this mixed media piece, I wanted to capture my interpretation of the tumor growing inside my body. It was ugly, but strong. I pictured it amid a web of veins and arteries clawing its way through my body.