In all our cancer information, whether it’s in our booklets on our website, we use photos of real people affected by cancer. The photos bring our information to life, and it means that when you read our information, you're seeing other people who've gone through their own cancer experience.
If you're interested in being in our photos, contact Tess Rallison on trallison@macmillan.org.uk or 020 7840 4783.
In the Cancer Information Development team, we organise two kinds of photoshoots. One is the clinical photoshoot. These are done in hospitals across the UK. We do these so we can show people having real treatments, real tests and scans, and real appointments with medical professionals. These photos help people see what it will be like when they go through it themselves.
Everyone in our shoots chooses whether they want to take part, and they can say how they would like their photos to be used. For example, below is Agnieszka, who volunteered to be photographed having chemotherapy in Glasgow. She wanted to take part so that other people who need chemo can see what it’s like before their treatment starts. We use this photograph in our information about chemotherapy:
We also arrange living with cancer photoshoots. We do these at a volunteer’s house, and we invite people affected by cancer to pop in with their family and friends for around an hour each. Then we just take photos of them doing normal, everyday things like having a cup of tea and a chat, reading a book or magazine, or going for a walk:
Some of the photos might show the side effects of cancer or its treatment, such as body changes like hair loss. But most of them just show people’s real lives. Everyone who comes to a shoot chooses what they want to do. Some people decide they don't want to smile, because they want to show the emotional impact cancer has had on their life. Other people choose to take their wig off, and some want to be photographed having fun with the family members or friends who have supported them.
Our next photoshoot will be in London sometime in September 2014. We don't have a specific date yet, because we want to arrange it to fit in with the people who want to attend. We’re looking for more volunteers, so if you live in London and could spare an hour to take part, please get in touch! We can pay reasonable travel and parking costs for you and anyone you want to bring with you. We will also email you some of your photos afterwards. All our photos are taken by a professional photographer, so they're great snaps! For more information, contact Tess Rallison on trallison@macmillan.org.uk or 020 7840 4783.
